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Property and lives are destroyed and wasted and you're worried about insults?

France has rebuilt its iconic cathedral before

Notre Dame has gone through a lot in its 856 years. It has endured ill-advised remodeling, revolutionary ransacking and pollution-induced decay. Hitler once had it slated for demolition.

On Monday, fire raged through the cathedral, consuming its roof and causing its central spire to collapse. The full scale of “colossal damage” is being assessed, but French President Emmanuel Macron vowed that the Paris landmark would be rebuilt, and donations to do so began pouring in from some of France’s richest families.

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France has rebuilt it before. In the early 1800s, Notre Dame was half-ruined when a writer used the crumbling structure as the setting for one of his greatest works, setting in motion a rescue operation nearly as grand as its original construction.

“Parisians have had a direct relationship with their cathedral,” said Stephen Murray, an art historian and professor emeritus at Columbia University. “And I think it was largely because of the wave of interest because of the book."

During the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715), Notre Dame underwent a rather unfortunate renovation. Stained glass was replaced with clear windows, a pillar was demolished to allow carriages to pass through, and the original rood screen — an ornate partition usually made of wood or stone that divides the nave from the chancel — was torn down.

The French Revolution era was even worse for it. Seized by revolutionaries, dozens of statues were destroyed. The bishop’s palace was burned to the ground and never rebuilt. The spire was deconstructed after it was damaged by wind. Lead from the roof was used for bullets, and bronze bells were melted down for cannon, according to National Geographic.

The cathedral was returned to the Catholic Church by 1802, but it continued to decay.

Then, in 1831, the writer Victor Hugo published his novel “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” It tells the tale of Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer of the cathedral, who becomes obsessed with the beautiful Esmeralda.

But beyond the star-crossed love, Notre Dame is the star of the show. Hugo wrote two chapters just describing it. And he notably set his novel in the 1400s, Notre Dame’s heyday. Hugo wrote: “It is difficult not to sigh, not to wax indignant, before the numberless degradations and mutilations which time and men have both caused the venerable monument to suffer.”

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Restoration projects have continued through the years. In fact, another had just begun this month, funded in large part by the Friends of Notre Dame of Paris foundation, of which Murray is a member. He said he and other members were “in grief” Monday.

“In the Middle Ages, you would’ve believed that God sent the fire because God wanted a better cathedral. But you can’t hope for a better cathedral at this point,” he said. “The question is, how on earth are we going to find the resources to rebuild this one?”

The question is, how on earth are we going to find the resources to rebuild this one?”

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The question is, how on earth are we going to find the resources to rebuild this one?”

This might help a little. Maybe more will follow.

French billionaire pledges 100 million euros to rebuild Notre Dame

livinglava wrote:

Property and lives are destroyed and wasted and you're worried about insults?

Yes, I find it more than sad when the victims of a war - here the Great War - are insulted.

If someone wants to donate their money to fix something, should it be allowed?

It isn't owned by the Catholic Church, it's owned by the France. If someone wants to donate their money to fix something, should it be allowed?

Of course. What did I say, specifically, that made you question me on this?

The money coming from private citizens to rebuild this could be used elsewhere and to much greater benefit.

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Of course. What did I say, specifically, that made you question me on this?

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The money coming from private citizens to rebuild this could be used elsewhere and to much greater benefit.

It's like paying ransom to terrorists; when you do it, it stimulates more hostage-taking, i.e. because it becomes proven as a successful strategy for fund-raising.

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno has told the BBC why his government decided to revoke Julian Assange's asylum.

The Wikileaks co-founder was arrested in London on 11 April after seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy.

Mr Moreno accused Mr Assange of rubbing excrement on the embassy walls. Mr Assange's lawyer has accused Ecuador of "outrageous allegations".