Monday 15 April 2019

An icon of Christian civilisation burns



Many people are turning to one of the BBC's greatest achievements to mark a terrible moment in European history tonight.

They are recalling that lump-in-the-throat moment from the first episode of Civilisation where Kenneth Clark said, "What is civilisation? I don't know. I can't define it in abstract terms yet, but I think I can recognise it when I see it, and I'm looking at it now":


When I first a clip of Notre Dame on fire tonight I couldn't believe what I was seeing. As Tom Holland tweeted, "This is like a vision of apocalypse. Who ever thought to see such a terrible thing?"

Andrew Neil also speaks for me this evening: "I fear only the twin towers of Notre Dame will have survived largely intact. The medieval wooden ceiling and frame has gone. The spire too. The beautiful stained glass windows must also have suffered. Too depressing to continue. Poor France."

15 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I'm afraid the same thought occurred to me.

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    2. Neil Cavuto Cuts off Catholic League President Bill Donohue when he brings up desecration of Catholic Churches in France in the past year.
      incredible video

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    3. Actually I say don't speculate at all just wait for facts to come out, but the host is determined to drive speculation ONE way and not allow it the other.

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  2. Well I won't be tuning into the BBC for News and analysis nor indeed any MSM. Nor will I take at face value what 'police spokespeople" say, but carefully try to intepret between the lines and form my own judgement.
    This is where we are now in Europe, close to the days of Soviet Union media.

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  3. Fake News: The, "always truthful," BBC News reported, on 10pm news that the cathedral could not be saved. If they had taken the trouble to monitor their French colleagues, they would have known that the General commanding the Paris Fire Brigade had already announced that the walls had been saved.

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  4. The BBC call Notre Dame a place, a tourist attraction, an important site, the heart and soul of a city.. They try very hard not to bring Catholicism into it and rarely call it a cathedral and place of worship. They have succeeded with their secular outlook by stripping it of it’s religious history and significance and replacing it as just an important historical building.

    They finished their latest report with this para which just about sums up the BBC view of Christian faith.

    “Many of those looking on as flames engulf the building are in tears. Their dismay is shared by believers and non-believers alike in a nation where faith has long ceased to be a binding force.”

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    1. This is a tricky area. I agree we should "de-Catholicise" Notre Dame but on the other the BBC are at least factually correct in saying that faith (meaning Catholicism in this context) no longer binds the French nation. I very much doubt the phrase "ce n'est pas Catolique" would ever pass the lips of Macron.

      But I don't see anything difficult in saying that Notre Dame is part of our European cultural tradition - a very big part, just like the Parthenon and the Coloseum are. I don't want to see any of them levelled...but we know there are extremists opposed to this rich European cultural tradition who do.

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    2. Note to self: proof-read all posts! should = should not...other = other hand...Catolique - Catholique...

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    3. MB, to have another try - my point is that in my view the BBC do their best to eradicate or downgrade Christianity from their schedules and from reporting about it positively.

      As a result, the BBC fail to acknowledge or promote that our Christian heritage and teachings still have a significant positive impact on British (and European) society values and culture.

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    4. Yes they do their best to cut the religion and religious significance out of a religious building or religious civilisation when it is a Christian one, or as in this case, specifically Catholic. But if it is another religion, they show a special reverence towards it and rush to enfold themselves in it with adopted piety, as Nicky Campbell did on the last Sunday Morning programme when he referred to 'the holy Koran'. Why would he do that if he's not a Muslim? It's not holy to him, is it? I can't imagine him saying holy Mass or holy matrimony or the holy Bible, or the holy season of Lent, as devout Christians do. And of course we know that Christians no longer run the religious programmes department at the BBC and haven't done for several years. Why is that? Part of the craziness of current BBC policy preferences which enjoin special deference towards certain 'others'.

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    5. Yes, the BBC were telling us about the decline in RC Priest numbers signalling hostility to that religion whilst the fire at Notre Dame was still burning.

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  5. 'Twas only a matter of time...

    https://summit.news/2019/04/16/french-student-leader-i-swear-to-allah-we-dont-give-a-rats-ass-about-notre-dame/

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  6. Nigel - I'd like to see fewer rallies and more thought...

    https://twitter.com/brexitparty_uk/status/1118110364359696384

    Have a word with Gerard if you don't understand what I mean. :)

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  7. "I agree we should "de-Catholicise" Notre Dame." With whom are you agreeing? President McCrone perhaps, who said Notre Dame will be rebuilt in a form consistent with modern French principles. After the Revolution ND was turned into a Temple of Reason; is that what you want?

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