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Original poster

To think there are better things to donate €100m to than rebuilding Notre Dame?

344 replies

Bearbehind · 16/04/2019 09:07

I know no one has to donate anything but 2 French billionaires have reportedly donated €100m and €200m respectively towards rebuilding Notre Dame.

The Catholic Church is not exactly short of money.

It just doesn’t really sit right with me spending all that money on a building when it could be used for so many other things

OP posts:
TaMereAPoilDevantPrisu · 16/04/2019 12:16

Yeah, there's absolutely no connection between ND and the Catholic church at all. Nothing to do with them, no sirree.

StCharlotte · 16/04/2019 12:28

When we stop caring about history, beauty, aesthetics and culture, then we might as well stop caring about civilisation altogether.

I don't think that's the issue.

I think it's exactly the issue. As well as believing that the Catholic Church should contribute (of course they should except they're up to their gold-leafed ears in court cases these days!), OP thinks the money should be spent on more "worthy" causes than Notre Dame. Who decides what's worthy?

spanieleyes · 16/04/2019 12:29

Cathedrals and churches built in France before 1905 belong to "collectivités locales" (local authorities, roughly to the State) who are financially responsible for their upkeep and, conversely, local dioceses own religious buildings built post 1905 (likewise, they fork out for any renovation or maintenance work).

So no, Notre Dame belongs to the state

PurpleFlower1983 · 16/04/2019 12:33

I will be donating, although not 100 million Grin It’s a building of huge historical significance that has survived wars and revolutions. I’m so glad I visited a couple of years ago and I want to take my little girl when she is older.

TaMereAPoilDevantPrisu · 16/04/2019 12:34

Yes, that's been pointed out several times. I still think the Catholic church has a moral duty to be at the forefront of paying for renovations.

I work about quarter of a mile away from ND, actually. I might pop along in my lunch break tomorrow and have a look.

greenpop21 · 16/04/2019 12:34

It's private money, I'd just be glad it's not coming from public services.

TaMereAPoilDevantPrisu · 16/04/2019 12:37

It's only private money because of Macron's craven pandering to lobbying though. If I were in charge I'd be taxing them till their pips squeaked and their spare three hundred million would already have been spent on repairing the leaking roof at my son's primary school, among other things.

Jasmineallenestate · 16/04/2019 12:41

The NHS wasted 10 billion pounds on an iT system. I would rather it went to a worthy cause like rebuilding a beautiful monument that meant something to be.

happyhillock · 16/04/2019 12:43

People can spend there money how they please, those millionaire's probably give a lot to good causes that we don't know about, as for the cathedral it's self it should be rebuilt.

SlappingJoffrey · 16/04/2019 12:46

The problem is that OP posted while clearly not knowing that the French state not the RC church are the owners, and thus the ones ultimately responsible. So people are responding to that. If you take the view that the RC church, while not having been the owners for over a century, still held services there so they should really contribute too, that's a much more reasonable argument than OPs and doesn't start from a false premise.

Ribbonsonabox · 16/04/2019 12:47

I agree that you could say that about anything. Just because it's not something you personally value does not mean it is not of value to anyone. That cathederal is part of Frances cultural identity and history and is incredibly important to a large number of people.
I'm by no means rich but if the cathederal where I grew up was damaged in a fire I would donate money in the same way I donate money to health causes and refugee charities and any other charity.
Architecture, History and the arts in general are incredibly important to me.
I get extremely worried by the way people devalue these things when they are essential to human development.
I worked for the NHS and my husband still does in mental health and this attitude seeps into spending... things are thought of as none essential when in fact they are incredibly essential.... particularly in terms of mental health. Things have been scaled back in terms of therapies offered to people on the NHS. The first things to go are always arts based... you see this in education as well I think.
I dont agree at all.

PCohle · 16/04/2019 12:56

It's their money. I'd rather they spent it on this than on a super-yacht.

Surely every time anyone makes a non-essential purchase (I'm eyeing the new top I bought this morning) it could have been donated to a worthier cause.

As many others have said, the building is owned by the French State, not the Catholic Church.

malificent7 · 16/04/2019 13:03

I think its a lovely gesture myself.

Lifecraft · 16/04/2019 13:19

It's such another sign that we live in a world where 'things' are valued more than human life.

Says you, posting on the internet from a smart phone or a laptop. Why don't you sell them and give the money to cancer research or something else to help people. Or maybe some things are worth spending money on.

FriarTuck · 16/04/2019 13:35

Au contraire, it's the multibillionaires virtue signalling with their public statements about tax-deductible charitable donations. Nothing stopping them handing the cash over behind the scenes.
But by doing it publicly it reassures the French people that it will be rebuilt. And it encourages others to donate also. And it encourages other multi-billionaires who might otherwise never give to charity that giving is a worthy act (even if done as virtue-signalling as there's still the benefit).
It's a big tourist attraction (so makes money for ordinary people in the area as well), a big piece of history (so worth preserving) and it obviously means a lot to the devout Catholics (and probably any other Christians. So I reckon it's worthy of donations for rebuilding. And I'll be donating (though sadly my bank account won't quite run to the larger amount)

damnthatoneistakenagain · 16/04/2019 13:36

People are frothing on twitter now, as the offers to rebuild Notre Dame add up to 300 million euros.

Why?

Because no rich businessman stumped up for other fire damaged buildings, (not even those that resulted in loss of human life.)

You can probably guess which one they are on about the most.

Strugglingtodomybest · 16/04/2019 13:37

Lifecraft

It's such another sign that we live in a world where 'things' are valued more than human life.

Says you, posting on the internet from a smart phone or a laptop. Why don't you sell them and give the money to cancer research or something else to help people. Or maybe some things are worth spending money on.

Ha ha! I'm not sure where I mentioned that I'm perfect, but I do have a standing order to Cancer Research if that counts?

TreadingThePrimrosePath · 16/04/2019 13:38

There are a lot of traditional craft workers who are going to be in full employment for years putting the cathedral back together again.

TreadingThePrimrosePath · 16/04/2019 13:41

Sorry Perking, I missed the fact you’d said the same thing more eloquently. 🙂

scaryteacher · 16/04/2019 13:43

Exactly Treading....I know we have stonemasons in the UK who work on the maintenance of some of our cathedrals, so presumably the same in France? It'll provide employment for a couple of decades, and hopefully perpetuate those skills.

MattFreisWeatherReport · 16/04/2019 13:43

Disagree with you on this one, Bearbehind. I'm with Springiscoming upthread and someone on yesterday's OMG-something's-happening thread who said it was upsetting in the context of recent social history to see something emblematic of our culture being destroyed so quickly and easily. Paul Mason wrote something similar yesterday: medium.com/mosquito-ridge/notre-dame-was-built-to-last-until-the-end-of-the-world-191c9d825ae9

But rather than a wholesale replica-style rebuild, I must say what I would like to see is a modern architectural solution to a semi-devastated building-scape. No one in the world does modern architectural design and lighting like the French imo and it would hold a heavy symbolism in terms of transmuting the old and beautiful into something new but just as beautiful. It could be just the grand projet Macron is looking for.

TaMereAPoilDevantPrisu · 16/04/2019 13:46

You can probably guess which one they are on about the most.

Given that ordinary people are being bankrupted replacing cladding on flats they bought in good faith while massively profitable building firms wash their hands of the issue, I'd say that's worthy of some Twitter froth.

Backwoodsgirl · 16/04/2019 13:51

Free world, free country, people are free to spend their money as they choose.

There are lots of worthwhile causes, but what’s important to one person is different to others.

TaMereAPoilDevantPrisu · 16/04/2019 13:54

people are free to spend their money as they choose.

Well, no, there are limits. People aren't free to buy cocaine or slaves.

Lifecraft · 16/04/2019 13:54

Ha ha! I'm not sure where I mentioned that I'm perfect, but I do have a standing order to Cancer Research if that counts?

And how do you know those offering to donate millions for Notre Dame don't also donate to people charities.

Things are important. Things of beauty, art and music, buildings, whatever. They add to the world to make life worth living.