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.
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