The 'Agatha Christie Indult' and Notre Dame de Paris

I am struck by the similarities between the reaction to the destruction of the Gregorian Rite after the Council and the proposed destruction of the interior of the Cathedral Basilica of Notre Dame de Paris by the Archdiocese of Paris. In both cases, intellectuals, Catholics and non-Catholics, believers and non-believers, Right and Left spoke out. 

The 1971 Petition said it was, 'entirely ecumenical and nonpolitical, (and has) been drawn from every branch of modern culture in Europe and elsewhere'. Whilst the current Manifesto doesn't state it so clearly, a scan of the signatories shows the same 

In the case of the destruction of the Traditional Mass, the result was the Agatha Christie Indult. Will we see a similar result from the outcry over Notre Dame? We can only hope and pray!

It was almost as if the signers of the 1971 Petition to Pope Paul VI were prescient, since it opens with the words, 'If some senseless decree were to order the total or partial destruction of basilicas or cathedrals', which is exactly what is planned for Notre Dame.

1971 Statement by Scholars, Intellectuals, and Artists Living in England 

“If some senseless decree were to order the total or partial destruction of basilicas or cathedrals, then obviously it would be the educated -- whatever their personal beliefs -- who would rise up in horror to oppose such a possibility. 

Now the fact is that basilicas and cathedrals were built so as to celebrate a rite which, until a few months ago, constituted a living tradition. We are referring to the Roman Catholic Mass. Yet, according to the latest information in Rome, there is a plan to obliterate that Mass by the end of the current year. 

One of the axioms of contemporary publicity, religious as well as secular, is that modern man in general, and intellectuals in particular, have become intolerant of all forms of tradition and are anxious to suppress them and put something else in their place. 

But, like many other affirmations of our publicity machines, this axiom is false. Today, as in times gone by, educated people are in the vanguard where recognition of the value of tradition is concerned, and are the first to raise the alarm when it is threatened. 

We are not at this moment considering the religious or spiritual experience of millions of individuals. The rite in question, in its magnificent Latin text, has also inspired a host of priceless achievements in the arts -- not only mystical works, but works by poets, philosophers, musicians, architects, painters and sculptors in all countries and epochs. Thus, it belongs to universal culture as well as to churchmen and formal Christians. 

In the materialistic and technocratic civilisation that is increasingly threatening the life of mind and spirit in its original creative expression -- the word -- it seems particularly inhuman to deprive man of word-forms in one of their most grandiose manifestations.

The signatories of this appeal, which is entirely ecumenical and nonpolitical, have been drawn from every branch of modern culture in Europe and elsewhere. They wish to call to the attention of the Holy See, the appalling responsibility it would incur in the history of the human spirit were it to refuse to allow the Traditional Mass to survive, even though this survival took place side by side with other liturgical forms.”

From the Manifesto of 105 Intellectuals

But what the diocese envisions today reduces to nothing the conception patiently elaborated by Viollet-le-Duc. The project foresees the installation of removable benches, lighting that changes according to the seasons, video projections on the walls, etc. — in other words, the same fashionable (and therefore already terribly outdated) “mediation devices” that can be found in all “immersive” cultural projects, where often the silliness rivals the kitsch.

However, this tragic fire offers us an exceptional chance, an absolutely unique opportunity: the restoration of Viollet-le-Duc’s decor. We are indeed in a position to bring back to life a coherent set of decor of great formal perfection. The brilliant architect, anxious to prolong and complete the work of the builders of the Middle Ages, had conceived a total work of art, matching architecture and decoration, painting and sculpture, cabinetmaking and goldsmithing, stained glass and lighting. Guided by a very precise vision of an artistic and spiritual ideal, he had elaborated and implemented the cathedral of cathedrals.

Let us respect the work of Viollet-le-Duc, let us respect the work of the artists and craftsmen who worked to give us this jewel, let us simply respect the patrimonial principles of an historic monument. This restoration project must allow us to rediscover the authenticity of the place and its experience, by placing the right works in the right places, in harmony and coherence.