Five years after a devastating fire, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris will reopen this weekend, showing off its rebuilt ceilings and new stonework. The cathedral’s interior reconstruction, erasing somber memories of its 2019 fire, is a major step forward despite scaffolding and cranes still working on the damaged exterior.
Read More(OPINION) A year later, there remain so many unanswered questions about the cathedral’s future, how and when it will be rebuilt and what hurdles remain. The pandemic has shifted attention and journalistic resources away from a story like the status and future of Notre Dame. Journalists are limited in their ability to travel and France remains on lockdown.
Read MoreDespite Europe’s increased secularization, traditionalists argue Notre Dame’s renovation should include no contemporary flair as part of a larger effort by Christians to protect their religious heritage wherever it may be located around the world,
Read MoreA recent piece posted to Real Clear Investigations takes a deep dive into the trend of church vandalism in France, quantifying it with anecdotes, lots of data and interviews with people in the know. The reporting sheds a spotlight on the attacks and may be one of the best reported pieces on what’s been going on there by any news organization to date.
Read MoreRebuilding Notre Dame will be a painstaking task. Estimated to cost in the billions, the cathedral has also become a political pawn in a broader fight between traditionalists and secularists. In a country divided politically — the recent European election was another reminder of this — the fate of Notre Dame very much rests in the hands of the country’s warring lawmakers.
Read MoreAs investigators continue to sift through the damage — which includes three massive holes in its vaulted ceiling — in an effort to pinpoint the cause of the inferno, French officials and architects are working on trying to determine how much money and time it will take to restore Notre Dame to its former glory.
Read More(NEWS ANALYSIS) In the wake of the devastating fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, insightful reporting of the event and reflections of its significance could be found across Twitter a day after the catastrophic blaze. Here are eight perspectives that stood out to us.
Read More(COMMENTARY) Before Monday’s fire in Paris, a string of arson cases and other acts of desecration took place inside Catholic churches in France during Lent. In a country with a recent history of terrorism, these incidents somehow didn’t warrant any kind of attention from American news organizations. Even major outlets with a presence in Paris failed to adequately do so.
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