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PARIS, April 18, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — On Wednesday, the French government announced an international design competition for a new spire at the fire-damaged Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, leading to fears that it will reflect secularism rather than Christian values.
After President Emmanuel Macron publicly pledged that Notre Dame would be rebuilt within five years, donations have reached nearly one billion Euros since the ravaging fire on Monday. While committing to reconstruction, Macron said, "We will rebuild Notre Dame even more beautifully and I want it to be completed in five years. We can do it."
Questions have arisen over the expense of the restoration and whether the millions of euros collected should otherwise be spent on France’s poor. “The international competition will allow us to ask the question of whether we should even re-create the spire as it was conceived by Viollet-le-Duc,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said. “Or whether, as is often the case during the evolution of heritage, we should endow Notre Dame with a new spire that reflects the techniques and challenges of our era.”
The prime minister said the government will present legislation offering a 75 percent tax deduction to private donors giving up to 1,000 euros. The deductible will remain at 60 percent for larger sums.
While construction of the famed church began in the mid-12th century, the lead-covered spire was designed by architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc and built in the mid-1800s. Since the Revolution of the 1790s, the iconic church has been the property of the French government, having served for a time as a pagan temple and nearly demolished in the early 1800s.
More at link: Will France rebuild Notre Dame as a Catholic church?
Some backgrounder: 850-year-old Notre Dame survived the French Revolution. Here are 4 other things to know
After President Emmanuel Macron publicly pledged that Notre Dame would be rebuilt within five years, donations have reached nearly one billion Euros since the ravaging fire on Monday. While committing to reconstruction, Macron said, "We will rebuild Notre Dame even more beautifully and I want it to be completed in five years. We can do it."
Questions have arisen over the expense of the restoration and whether the millions of euros collected should otherwise be spent on France’s poor. “The international competition will allow us to ask the question of whether we should even re-create the spire as it was conceived by Viollet-le-Duc,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said. “Or whether, as is often the case during the evolution of heritage, we should endow Notre Dame with a new spire that reflects the techniques and challenges of our era.”
The prime minister said the government will present legislation offering a 75 percent tax deduction to private donors giving up to 1,000 euros. The deductible will remain at 60 percent for larger sums.
While construction of the famed church began in the mid-12th century, the lead-covered spire was designed by architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc and built in the mid-1800s. Since the Revolution of the 1790s, the iconic church has been the property of the French government, having served for a time as a pagan temple and nearly demolished in the early 1800s.
More at link: Will France rebuild Notre Dame as a Catholic church?
Some backgrounder: 850-year-old Notre Dame survived the French Revolution. Here are 4 other things to know