We did not know that they were working, as no contract had been signed for this. For us, this was the shocking thing, why did they treat him like that? Who said to go for it? Interview.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gyulafehérvár is neither morally nor legally responsible for the tragedy that happened at the boarding house of Tamási Áron High School in Székelyudvarhely on December 18 last year, Gyulafehérvár Archbishop Gergely Kovács said in the interview.
When they learned about the wall collapse, he and his colleagues were shocked to learn that they had worked on the building at all, since the Archdiocese had not issued an order for this, he emphasized several times during the conversation. Father Gergely Kovács reported on the Archdiocese's position regarding the accident that took place last year at the dormitory of the Tamási Áron High School in Székelyudvarhely, as a result of which two high school students lost their lives.
What is the current position of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gyulafehérvár regarding the tragedy that occurred on December 18 at the boarding house of Tamási Áron High School in Székelyudvarhely? You also launched an internal investigation, what was the result?
Many people imagine that the archbishop knows everything, as if he signed all the contracts. However, we have many buildings in the diocese, for which we have signed contracts for renting and repairing, and it is understandable that I do not follow these, but there are persons appointed for this purpose. From Gyulafehérvár, I cannot see what is happening in our property 150-200 km away. I personally cannot follow every step. When the accident happened, on December 18, at first we did not understand what had happened.
"What happened?" we asked. Then we realized - we didn't even know - that they started working on it.
We did not know that they were working, as no contract had been signed for this. For us, this was the shocking thing, why did they treat him like that? Who said to go for it?
This is also being investigated by the public prosecutor's office. We were also interrogated, they requested everything related to this, including e-mails and Whatsapp messages. We gave everything. Our conscience is clear, because I am convinced that we are neither morally nor legally responsible. We followed the steps. We signed the contract for the design, in good faith, the contracts would have been signed with roughly the same contractors who had already worked as subcontractors in previous years on the large and small buildings of the Áron Tamási school.
It was about external landscaping work, not the building, because we, as the owner, had no money for it, only for the yard.
We really agreed with the mayor's office and the Tamási Áron High School that the courtyard should be renovated with the money we already have, and the plans for this were underway. This also required a static survey, so we had that done as well. That is why it surprises me when they state that it was not seismologically classified. I, the archbishop, whose desk it is not, started looking on the Internet to find out what categories there are, in which our building is classified, and I saw that it is fine from this point of view. The survey is recent, completed in September. That is why I say that we are fine with the documentation, we were fine.
The full interview can be read on the Maszol portal!
Featured image: Ferencz Hunor / Maszol
