Source: The Boston Globe

On August 16, 2001, The Boston Globe reported on the nation's largest Roman Catholic cathedral, which is about to be completed in Los Angeles. "Because of its grandeur and ambitions, the cathedral...has become a growing symbol of pride and disdain." The cathedral is meant for the "nation's largest archdiocese, with about 5 million Catholics of many backgrounds, with Mass celebrated in 38 languages on any Sunday." Cardinal Roger M. Mahony addressed those who criticized him for spending so much money on the building in an article in the Catholic Agitator: "Contrary to what protesters say, ours is not an 'either-or'situation. We do not face the false dichotomy of tending to the dispossessed or building a cathedral. Rather, our circumstances are 'both-and,' in which the Catholic community ministers to the materially poor and addressed the spiritual needs of all."