THE
P RTAL
May 2019
Page 9
Catholic Social Teaching
Solidarity and Paris
Fr Ashley Beck
H istorically the
Anglo Catholic movement in the Church of England, in which most of us
were reared before we joined the Catholic Church, has enjoyed strong cultural ties with the Church
in France. In the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries it was often claimed that Catholics in France were more
interested in reunion with Anglicans than Catholics in the United Kingdom. Like many others we were very
saddened by the fire which did so much damage to Notre Dame cathedral at the beginning of Holy Week;
we realised, when we were reminded that King Henry VI of England was crowned King of France there (as
Henri II) at the age of 10 in 1431. It is part of the shared Christian history and heritage of Europe and of our
two countries.
It is worth commenting that damage done to a
building, however awesome, is never worth the same
as the loss of human life. Many outrages committed
against people all over the world, and other examples
of human suffering, get less coverage in the media
than the fire in Paris received. As some have pointed
out many of the finest churches and cathedrals in the
world have at various stages been seriously damaged
or destroyed by fire, and rebuilt in the same spirit
of faith which inspired their original building (for
example Norwich cathedral in 1463, St George’s
cathedral in Southwark in 1941). Moreover Our Lord,
in his recorded sayings about the Temple in Jerusalem,
wants to remind us not to place too much faith or trust
in physical structures.
The ways in which people all over the world, and
not just Christians, reacted to the fire has also another
message which helps us understand Catholic Social
teaching, the running theme of these monthly articles
by me. I have written before about the quality we
call solidarity, which is both an intention to do all in
our power to help those who are in need, and also a
conviction that we are all joined together, called to
share our joys and our sorrows. It demands not only
charity but a determination to work to end injustice
in the world. What it means in relation to a fire in a
cathedral is that the building is something which
matters to all of us because of what it says about faith.
The Catholic Church breaks down all the barriers
of nation, ethnic background and so on; some of the
language used by some commentators after the fire,
speaking of Notre Dame as primarily a symbol of
French identity, was very disturbing. The solidarity
which we are all able to show in the face of an event
like the fire in Notre Dame, and perhaps even more
so when we try to respond to human suffering in the
world, teaches us about what it really means to be
human. At a time where there is growing division in
the world, and the growth of a poisonous and hate-
filled nationalism, here and all over the world (not
least in France) the fire in Notre Dame and people’s
response to it is itself as powerful a symbol as the great
cathedral itself.
And yet it was a shocking event. What I found
most striking were the signs of faith we saw: a priest
friend of mine sent me a message saying simply ‘I
am with the Youth singing and praying in front
of Notre Dame’ and we saw and heard these scenes
on television. This faith was all the more profound
because this all happened on the Monday of Holy
Week, and I am sure the Triduum in Paris later in the
week was very poignant. Buildings are important: set
aside and consecrated for the worship of God, they
witness to the Incarnation, to the sanctification by
God of physical and material things which become
vehicles for his grace; that’s why church buildings are
consecrated and, at least in the Catholic Church, can’t
In this spirit of solidarity pray for the Church and
be used for other purposes. But the dogged response
of faith to a serious fire or even complete destruction people of France and for those responsible for the
(as we have seen in places where Christians have been restoration of Notre Dame.
persecuted) is to sing hymns, pray to God and Our
For details of the university’s new MA degree
Lady for help, and get on with rebuilding. None of
in Catholic Social Teaching go to
this needs grand language or a desperate search for
www.bit.ly/Cath-Soc-Teaching
superlatives. Buildings are special, but they are only
or contact Fr Ashley Beck
pathways to God.
at [email protected]