Notre-Dame Cathedral Fire

brianlux said:

pjhawks said:

ok so i found this strangely odd.   story in Philly Inquirer today about reactions to fire has quotes from the likes of the Obama's,  religious leaders around the world, and pearl jam bassist jeff ament (from twitter). see story below.

The world reacted with shock and prayers to the massive fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, united in grief and in solidarity with the people of France.

As the flames tore through the 12th-century cathedral, Spain's prime minister offered France the help of his country in the recovery.

The fire is a "catastrophe for France, for Spain and for Europe," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez tweeted Monday, adding that the flames are destroying "850 years of history, architecture, painting and sculpture."

French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters near the scene that he will seek international help, including from the "greatest talents" in the world, to rebuild Notre Dame.

President Donald Trump, speaking at an appearance in Minnesota, spoke of the "terrible, terrible fire" that devastated "one of the great treasures of the world."

"It's a part of our growing up, it's a part of our culture, it's a part of our lives," Trump said of the landmark.

The Notre Dame Cathedral, situated on an island in the Seine River in the heart of Paris, is one of the world's most visited tourist destinations, drawing some 13 million people each year. The fire's emotional impact was widely felt. People from all over described in Facebook posts how they cried when they heard about the fire.

Former President Barack Obama posted an old photo of himself, his wife Michelle and their two daughters lighting candles in the cathedral.

"Notre Dame is one of the world's great treasures, and we're thinking of the people of France in your time of grief," Obama said on Twitter. Michelle Obama, who was in Paris on Monday on a book tour, said "my heart aches with the people of France."

"The majesty of Notre Dame - the history, artistry, and spirituality - took our breath away, lifting us to a higher understanding of who we are and who we can be," she tweeted. She predicted the cathedral would rise again.

Japan's government early Tuesday expressed sympathy and said it would consider sending support to the French government. "Its damage is a loss to the world and our hearts ache," said Yoshihide Suga, the chief cabinet secretary.

The Vatican said Pope Francis "has seen with shock and sadness the news of the terrible fire."

As the flames spread, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, prayed at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan for intercession.

"God preserve this splendid house of prayer, and protect those battling the blaze," Dolan said in a statement.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said many works of art and holy objects inside the church had been saved, but the art world was distressed about what might have been lost.

Barbara Drake Boehm, senior curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's medieval Cloisters branch in New York, was desolate about damage to the cathedral, which she called "one of the great monuments to the best of civilization."

"Civilization is just so fragile," Boehm told a reporter in a trembling voice. "This great hulking monument of stone has been there since 1163. It's come through so many trials."

Jeff Ament, bass player for Pearl Jam, remembered spending hours at the cathedral in his first visit, in 1991, with record executive Michael Goldstone.

"Thinking about Paris," Ament tweeted, with photos of the cathedral.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted that he's "horrified," calling the cathedral "a unique example of world heritage."

In Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church's secretary for inter-Christian relations Hieromonk Stefan called the fire "a tragedy for the entire Christian world and for all who appreciate the cultural significance of this temple," the state news agency RIA-Novosti reported:

On Twitter, Trump suggested using planes to drop water on the flames. France's Civil Security agency said that wasn't feasible.

"All means are being used, except for water-bombing aircrafts which, if used, could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral," the agency tweeted.

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Associated Press reporters Jocelyn Noveck and Kiley Armstrong in New York, Jim Heintz in Moscow, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, and Samuel Petrequin in Paris contributed to this report.

___

Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselsky

Barack Obama, Jeff Ament.  Pretty famous dudes right there! 

BLACK35 said:

I'm just curious about a few things in regards to all the donations that are coming in to help rebuild it again. 
Did they not have insurance on the building in case something bad happened?
All these donations are great and hear that it's somewhere near a billion dollars now. I would surely think that is more than enough money to rebuild it.
Also doesn't the church diocese have a shit ton of money they can put towards this on their own without all these extra donations?
I just wish some of these large donors come put there money somewhere else that helps in a much better way than just being used on a structure. How about someone buying A bunch a the measles vaccine and donating it to Madagascar which has no vaccine at all and is the hot spot for this disease at this moment. Maybe they could build use some money to help build water filtration systems for some of these countries that have no clean water at all. 

curmudgeoness said:

cincybearcat said:

I am so bummed about this.  And yet I'm torn about the rebuild.  I guess it was a "working" church....but I kinda think stabilizing the remaining facade and leaving as is would be a potential option.  

I get the statements about the $ and using it on other things.  These national symbols have a lot of value though.  Regardless, it sucks that it caught fire.  Such a loss.  It is my #1 foreign "attraction" (for lack of a better word) that I have been too...well 1 or 2...with Pompeii in the mix.  Such a beautiful church in an amazing city.

Hundreds of millions of dollars were donated by French billionaires. Could they have spent their money differently? Yes, but -- it's their money. I imagine that if something happened to the Statue of Liberty, Warren Buffett or Michael Bloomberg would step up immediately and do something similar -- and they still would have plenty of money left over for humanitarian causes (I don't know anything about how the French spend their wealth, but you can google Buffett and the "Giving Pledge").

As for the cost of the renovation, a billion dollars sounds like a lot. But I don't think it is. I nearly lost my mind some fifteen years ago when the town where I lived announced that it was going to cost $100M to remodel the existing high school. We are talking about a much larger, much, much older building, on very expensive real estate in an urban setting. Countless experts and specialists will be needed to do everything the right way. And the project could take many years.

tbergs said:

Meltdown99 said:

Why I Don't Care About Notre Dame Cathedral Burning, and Why You Shouldn't Either. 

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My morning began with the news of the Notre Dame Cathedral being lit up in flames. I shrugged my shoulders and went about my day. Went to a lecture composed around 350 students, and amongst the noise echoed the same question: "Did you hear about Notre Dame?" I did. I moved on.

I went to lunch and the dining hall was filled with the same noise surrounding the same topic. I checked Twitter and it took up the top 3 spots on Trending. I couldn't escape this damn church.

On Twitter, I ran across a tweet that praised the Cathedral for what it stood for, what was being lost, and why I should be sad too. I thought for a moment; nothing was being lost. They still had their texts, art, religion and the building could be rebuilt. No lives were lost. It was just a building, even the Holy texts warn against materialism. I didn't understand why everyone was upset, because I definitely wasn't.

Instead, I thought about the battles of my ancestors and the Catholic church. The same institution that massacred millions of indigenous people across the Americas, stole their land, forcing them into schools away from their family to forget their culture and "savage" ways of living. This institution that enabled these founding fathers to steal Africans and force them into slavery and take them to their "New World." This same institution that excuses pedophilia and rape. That justifies xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, and other types of hate. The same institution from which modern day racism is derived. The same institution that burned down the sacred sites of indigenous people, black churches, etc. Yet, they just lost a church?

You see, I don't care about this building because it can be rebuilt and restored. My language, cannot be restored. My land cannot be given back. The lives that were taken cannot be brought back. The lives of the slaves that were brought here by force, cannot rest peacefully in their homeland. You see, I'm not bothered by the (almost) destruction of one building when its cultivator's destroyed traditions, languages, and lives of millions of people around the world, especially with the implications it still has on their descendants today.

I don't care about this church burning down, and you really shouldn't either. But if you do, perhaps the material aspect of it, and your own internalized hatred of the "other" means more to you than the lives that were lost for you to live on the land [Canada] that you do today.

-Joe Roberts

A 1st nations person perspective.

With this type of attitude then it is never allowable to ever be upset, sad or disappointed because at some point your race/religion/gender/etc. did something really horrible to somebody else. It's ok to recognize that not everything the church has done or even stands for is great and still be saddened by the loss of a historical landmark that did bring a positive influence to millions of people over it's lifetime. Both parallels can exist.

PJPOWER said:

Are the Catholics sure that God wants them to rebuild this instead of feeding the masses that they could with the billion dollars it will take to get the sign of catholic imperialism looking pretty again?  Asking for a friend.