A hitch back in Notre Dame?
I suspect that many readers
will, like me, have memories
of visiting the famous
cathedral which was gutted in
the recent fire.
Perhaps you too marvelled at
the sun streaming through the
Rose windows, at the epic
Gothic structure and at the
skill of the artisans who – with
the most primitive of tools -
first embarked on the work and were long dead before the completion of
even the initial building over two hundred years later.
Within hours of news of the conflagration being broadcast around the globe,
nine hundred million Euros had been pledged for the rebuilding.
French President Emmanuel Macron, a man not noted for his largess with
the public purse (just ask those engaged in des gilets jaunes - the yellow
vests – protests against austerity) had committed the funds and resources to
rebuilding Notre Dame in time for Paris hosting the 2024 Olympic Games.
There was much rejoicing at the rescuing of works of art and Holy relics (of
questionable provenance) by the undoubted heroics of the chaplain of the
Parisian Fire Brigade.
Purported to be a relic of the wreath of thorns placed on the head of Jesus
Christ at his crucifixion, the hallowed object was salvaged from the
cathedral's treasury. French King Louis IX had brought the relic, which is
contained in an elaborate case of solid gold, to Paris in 1238.
As millions still starve around the globe, while the established churches
largely cast their eyes in another direction, one wonders why the great and
the good flocked to be part of (usually a very visible part of) this immense
charitable response to the loss of a World Heritage landmark, but failed to
make equally generous contributions of support for the living while they still
are……living!
A gesture towards God or Mammon?
Anon
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