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France Debates How to Pay for Saving Crumbling Cathedrals
Market Place ^ | 2/22/18 | John Laurenson

Posted on 02/23/2018 6:22:32 PM PST by marshmallow

Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral is in a dismal state of disrepair and needs $70 million for urgent renovations, according to Michel Picaud, head of Friends of Notre Dame de Paris. One possible solution for the famous church and other religious monuments is to ask patrons to pay an entrance fee, but so far the Church has been against that.

Taking a tour of the decrepit parts of the cathedral (its construction began in the 1100s), is a long, breathtaking and dispiriting experience. Around the back of the cathedral, Picaud points to a collection of stones – including finely worked pinnacles and gargoyles — that have been piled up in a long stack.

"These are all from the cathedral," he said. "Either they fell down or they were taken off the cathedral because there was a big risk that they would fall."

He says water is seeping through the roof, threatening the beams that hold it up. And where there should be gargoyles, there are often bits of plastic piping sticking out instead. Some of the flying buttresses, the supporting structures that are a distinctive feature of the Gothic period cathedral, are near collapse.

In France, the government owns all historic churches and is responsible for their upkeep. Picaud hopes to supplement insufficient government funds with private sponsorship, in the form of donations. But others, like Edouard de Lamaze, say some churches should charge an entrance fee. He is president of the Religious Heritage Observatory, which has a mission to save France’s close to 120,000 historic churches and other religious buildings.

(Excerpt) Read more at marketplace.org ...


TOPICS: Catholic; Current Events; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: architecture; cathedrals; disrepair; emmanuelmacron; europeanunion; france; history; macron; notredame; paris
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1 posted on 02/23/2018 6:22:32 PM PST by marshmallow
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To: marshmallow

Sell immigrant organs on the black market. 2 birds - 1 stone


2 posted on 02/23/2018 6:25:02 PM PST by The Iceman Cometh (Donald J Trump 45th President of the United States !MAGA)
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To: marshmallow

Why bother spending any money on them? The Muzzies are now in charge and they are all going to be blown up anyway.


3 posted on 02/23/2018 6:25:16 PM PST by doug from upland (Why the hell isn't Hillary Rodham Clinton in prison yet?)
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To: marshmallow
In France, the government owns all historic churches and is responsible for their upkeep.

And that is the problem. But no worries. After the muslimes take over it won't matter

4 posted on 02/23/2018 6:33:32 PM PST by FatherofFive (Islam is EVIL and needs to be eradicated)
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To: marshmallow

It’s up to the Catholic Church to maintain their own buildings.

How could it be otherwise?


5 posted on 02/23/2018 6:37:32 PM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: FatherofFive

Better to see it collapse then become a mosque.

But if the French still care about their culture,
then $70 million is a cheap price to pay to save
a national landmark.


6 posted on 02/23/2018 6:37:56 PM PST by CondorFlight
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To: CondorFlight

Why not charge an entrance fee for every immigrant that wants to enter France?

That would pay for it in no time at all.


7 posted on 02/23/2018 6:38:40 PM PST by CondorFlight
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To: Mariner

“It’s up to the Catholic Church to maintain their own buildings.

How could it be otherwise?”

Per the article (read it):

“In France, the government owns all historic churches and is responsible for their upkeep. “


8 posted on 02/23/2018 6:39:45 PM PST by TexasGator (Z)
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To: marshmallow

Paint a Gold Dome over them.


9 posted on 02/23/2018 6:40:29 PM PST by TheNext
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To: Mariner

That varies greatly by country. Most people don’t realize, for example, that the priceless cathedrals, art, historical treasures, etc, in the Vatican do not belong to the Holy See. They were gifted to the people as cultural and artistic patrimony. So the Catholic Church maintains them, has all the upkeep, but contrary to wide belief, cannot sell everything and give thr money to the poor.


10 posted on 02/23/2018 6:49:18 PM PST by Marchmain (What would Mary do?)
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To: marshmallow

Could the crumbling of the ancient cathedrals in France be more symbolic?


11 posted on 02/23/2018 6:58:01 PM PST by EDINVA
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To: Mariner

The French has stolen Church property since 1789.


12 posted on 02/23/2018 6:58:24 PM PST by C19fan
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To: marshmallow

Don’t worry. They will soon be mosques, and Middle East oil money will spruce them up.


13 posted on 02/23/2018 7:05:53 PM PST by Savage Beast (President Trump LEADS the resistance! Vive la resistance! Pray for the victory of truth!)
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To: doug from upland

No, i think the new muzzie overlords will Haga Sophia all of France’s cathedrals, shortly.


14 posted on 02/23/2018 7:09:33 PM PST by myheroesareDeadandRegistered
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To: marshmallow

Four minerets...done


15 posted on 02/23/2018 8:05:45 PM PST by Ouchthatonehurt
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To: marshmallow

When I told people several years ago that Notre Dame would become a mosque, they laughed.

I pray I don’t live to see it.


16 posted on 02/23/2018 8:11:28 PM PST by karnage
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To: marshmallow

Kick out all “refugees”. The saving on welfare payments and extra police will be substantial.


17 posted on 02/23/2018 8:15:54 PM PST by apocalypto
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To: marshmallow

Bkmk


18 posted on 02/23/2018 8:41:49 PM PST by sauropod (I am His and He is mine.)
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To: Mariner; redleghunter; Springfield Reformer; kinsman redeemer; BlueDragon; metmom; boatbums; ...
How: This is France:

In 1793, during the French Revolution, the cathedral was rededicated to the Cult of Reason, and then to the Cult of the Supreme Being. During this time, many of the treasures of the cathedral were either destroyed or plundered. The 13th century spire was torn down[10] and the statues located at the west facade were beheaded.[11] Many of the heads were found during a 1977 excavation nearby and are on display at the Musée de Cluny. For a time the Goddess of Liberty replaced the Virgin Mary on several altars.[12] The cathedral's great bells managed to avoid being melted down. The cathedral came to be used as a warehouse for the storage of food.[9]

Under a 1905 law, Notre-Dame de Paris is among seventy churches in Paris built before that year that are owned by the French State. While the building itself is owned by the state, the Catholic Church is the designated beneficiary, having the exclusive right to use it for religious purpose in perpetuity. The archdiocese is responsible for paying the employees, security, heating and cleaning, and assuring that the cathedral is open free to visitors. The archdiocese does not receive subsidies from the French State.

In 1991, a major programme of maintenance and restoration was initiated, which was intended to last ten years, but was still in progress as of 2010,[9] the cleaning and restoration of old sculptures being an exceedingly delicate matter. Circa 2014, much of the lighting was upgraded to LED lighting. -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame_de_Paris

19 posted on 02/23/2018 9:03:29 PM PST by daniel1212 (Trust the risen Lord Jesus to save you as a damned and destitute sinner + be baptized + follow Him)
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To: Marchmain
More like too much owned by the devil:


20 posted on 02/23/2018 9:10:23 PM PST by daniel1212 (Trust the risen Lord Jesus to save you as a damned and destitute sinner + be baptized + follow Him)
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