Modifications being carried out at Mdina's 17th-century cathedral will not cause damage, the Curia has insisted, rebutting a reader's claims that the works will effectively "destroy" the historical building.

The Church said the need had long been felt to adapt the presbytery to the today's pastoral and liturgical requirements and the modifications requested by the Cathedral Chapter were approved by the Catholic Cultural Heritage Commission.

The Commission has approved the re-adaptation of the presbytery by carrying out certain modifications to the enlargement carried out during the time of Bishop Gaetano Pace Forno in the mid-19th century, in such a way that the Archbishop's chair will now face the people rather than the altar.

"This will not imply the 'destruction' of the two mosaics but simply 'levelling' them down to the rest of the Church floor," the spokesman said.

The two antique marble lecterns at St Paul's Cathedral, a masterpiece in baroque art designed by Lorenzo Gafa, are to be placed by the sides where the thrones stood while the presbytery will retain its current dimensions. The Persian carpet will continue to be used - to the extent that the Cathedral Chapter brought over from Persia, at its own expense, an expert to carry out the much needed restoration.

But in a letter (page 17) the reader raised a number of other questions, one of which questions the fate of the two mosaics depicting the apostles Peter and Paul which hang above the space proposed to hold the new bishop's chair.

He said this "pseudo-reform" to the cathedral was not in accordance with contemporary catholic liturgical praxis.

The reader mentioned the office for the liturgical celebrations of Pope Benedict when it decided to hold a celebration at the ancient altar of the Sistine Chapel, last January, "so as not to alter the beauty and harmony of this architectural gem, preserving its structure from the viewpoint of the celebration and making use of a possibility provided for by the liturgical guidelines".

St Paul's Cathedral stands on the traditional site of the house of the governor Publius, who received St Paul when he was shipwrecked on Malta.

It houses one of the most ancient paintings on the island, an icon dating back to the 13th century. Pride of place is given to a work of art by Mattia Preti above the main altar, which was carried out directly on the wall.

The Mdina Cathedral Chapter ran landed in hot water in 2007 when it applied silver paint at the back of the cathedral without obtaining the necessary permission and was forced to take remedial action.