Yes, my wife was raised in a convent in Bombay for which I am eternally grateful. They taught her English and Latin, gave her a decent education, and instilled in her the true charitable meaning of Catholicism. Growing up here, I missed the Latin, and she had to translate the phrase at the end of your post for me.
Regarding the Temple to Materialism, I am appalled, but then we live in a mobile home and flamboyance always shocks us. I find myself secretly hoping that they are skimping on the earthquake reinforcements. They could save a lot of money by importing a plastic version of the Cathedral from China without diminishing the overall tawdriness of the presentation.
I know the Vatican wasn't built in a day or for a dollar, but it seems the magnificence and permanence of the seat of the Religion makes it a very special architectural case.
I don't feel building a Cathedral is a venture that warrants sparing any expense. We are, after all, called to give God our best; why not go all-out with the architecture dedicated to the worship of Him?
That said, we are also called upon to be good stewards of what God has entrusted us with, and the Cathedral as designed is a tacky waste of money. Those responsible ought to be ashamed to have such a deliberately and purposelessly ugly object consecrated unto God. I'm pretty sure they can build something MUCH nicer-looking with the same or less money.