Just in terms of how the
business and political elites reacted to the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in
Paris, the want of a distinctly religious
explanation reflected the hegemony of the secular culture in the
E.U. at the time. How the incident, which occurred on April 15, 2019, might fit into an established religious
narrative was largely ignored, at least by the media reporting on the fire and
its aftermath. Instead, the focus was on the impact on French politics and the donations being made
to repair the damage. In particular, the matter of billionaires donating a hundred or two hundred euros fueled
a debate on the morality of giving so
much when giving to the poor could ease economic inequality, rather than on the
religious legitimacy of being rich even
with the good use in rebuilding a cathedral. The media at least was silent on
the question of whether God had exacted divine retribution against the Roman
Catholic Church for having pedophile priests and high-ranked clerics covering
them up to safeguard the reputation of the universal Church. That the fire occurred during Holy Week makes the lack of any application of the faith narratives particularly striking, for what if a fire in a gem of the Roman Catholic Church during Holy Week was aimed at getting the attention of the clergy and laity?
The full essay is at "The Fire at Notre Dame Cathedral."
