It has been revealed the price tag for the restoration work has blown out from $3.5 million to $6.5 million as workers find there is more damage than originally thought.

And while much of the money – rightly – will come from state and federal heritage grants, local Catholic parishioners have also been asked to reconsider their own contributions to the fundraising and asked if they could dig a little bit deeper.

It’s not a request likely to be embraced by the faithful who have been helping fund the restoration for well over a year now.

It has also been noted by plenty of parishioners that the church is asking them to dig deeper at a time when extensive renovations to the bishop’s residence remain fresh in their minds.

Those renovations, thought to have cost up to $1 million, raised more than a few eyebrows among parishioners, who questioned the need for so much work on what had traditionally been a fairly modest home for the bishop.

No-one expects church leaders to live in a tent, but the church must be mindful of the message it is sending.

As an institution, churches no longer command the same unblinking respect that existed in years gone by and they must be aware that their moves are now viewed with the same scrutiny as any large business or organisation.

And when a church is seen to be asking parishioners to give more while apparently applying different rules to its own spending, then they must know it is not going to end well.

The Catholic cathedral is an important and historic landmark in Bathurst and in this bicentenary year, of all years, the community should support moves to restore it.

But the church risks losing that support by pushing too hard for families and individuals to meet a shortfall that was never of their making.