Archbishop Paul Cremona had informed the Prime Minister "weeks ago" that it was not within the competence of the St John's Co-Cathedral Foundation to carry out a major project such as the proposed underground museum without prior approval from the Church and the State.

When contacted, the Curia said Mgr Cremona had made his views known in a letter to Lawrence Gonzi. "The Archbishop expressed his position that it is not within the competence of the St John's Co-Cathedral Foundation to carry out such a major project without having in advance the approval of the two bodies that constitute the foundation, namely the Archdiocese of Malta and the Republic of Malta," the Curia said.

Mgr Cremona's view was not reflected in the joint statement he issued with the Prime Minister last Wednesday, which stated that the two agreed that "a project linked with St John's Co-Cathedral should not be an element that divides the Maltese public" and therefore they had recommended to the foundation that it drops the project.

The announcement was made just hours before Parliament was due to debate an opposition motion urging the government to withdraw its support for project, which was to receive €14 million in funding from the EU.

When contacted yesterday, the Prime Minister's spokesman confirmed that Mgr Cremona had been in touch with Dr Gonzi some weeks ago but stopped short of saying what was discussed.

"The Prime Minister and the Archbishop discussed the Archbishop's concerns about the project (last) Tuesday," the spokesman said, and that "weeks ago (Dr Gonzi) was informed by the Archbishop that (Mgr Cremona) would like to discuss the project with him".

The Prime Minister's office was also asked if he agreed that the foundation required the approval of Church and State before going ahead with the project, given that the PN had recently argued that the government could not interfere in the workings of an independent NGO such as the foundation.

The spokesman said: "The Prime Minister appreciates and gives lot of weight to the Archbishop's views that the execution of such a major project should be approved by the Church and the government. Following this discussion, the Prime Minister and the Archbishop agreed to recommend St John's Co-Cathedral Foundation, which is an independent foundation, not to pursue with the project."

Meanwhile, environment NGO Flimkien Għal-Ambjent Aħjar yesterday reiterated its calls for the resignation of the members of St John's Co-Cathedral Foundation as well as its claims that studies showed that the project would have had a detrimental effect on the foundations of St John's.

In comments to The Times last Friday, foundation member Paul Attard had said: "Our intention was to create more exhibition space and we always declared that we were ready to stop the project if expert and professional opinion would have counselled us to do so."

Foundation president Mgr Philip Calleja, a senior member of the Church, had said he did not "even dream" of resigning.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com