Now What?

Now that a little time has passed since the fire that raged through Notre Dame, questions are being asked: how did this happen? What choices were made that might have been made differently? Who will pay for the repairs? How long will it take?  These are all reasonable questions but they should give us pause.

Emmanuel Macron, for example, has said he wants the restoration completed within five years.  Why? Historic preservationists and experts in conservation are suggesting the work will take from 10 to 15 years.  But the Paris Olympics are in 2024 - five years hence.  So the rebuilding of a church is being timed to meet the needs of an overblown sporting event.

Why have so many companies and rich people reached into their pockets to restore the cathedral?  We don't know their motivations but some are complaining they might enjoy tax breaks from doing so (the Pinnault family has already declined any such benefits).  These critics want the money to go elsewhere.  So the loss of this Gothic treasure is becoming another cause for political dissension.  There's a real urgent need for French society to grapple with the economics of the excluded; but there's a time and a place.  A great people should be able to address income inequality, the urban-rural divide, and still be able to mourn the loss of a national treasure.

Sometimes, I despair of humanity.  So often, we mess things up with our egos.  Why do we always have to make it all about us?  In these last days of Lent, as we prepare to witness the great sacrifice of Jesus, we have the opportunity to remember that there is a different way, the way of the cross.  Notre Dame, before it was a national monument, before it was a testament to monarchical power, before it symbolized the French nation, was, as it remains, a church.  A place to worship Jesus, who gave his all for others.  Might we do likewise.