Pope asks for France's most famous cathedral to be opened

Cathedral or museum?, was one of the questions asked on the occasion of the reopening of the gates of Notre-Dame. Pope Francis called for a "generous and free reception" of the expected visitors to Notre-Dame Cathedral, in the message read at the reopening of the monument. "Notre-Dame will soon be visited and admired again by an immense crowd of people of all conditions, origins, religions, languages and cultures, many in search of the absolute and the meaning of their lives," the Pope said. "I know, Excellencies, that the doors will be wide open" to receive them "as brothers and sisters," he added. French Culture Minister Rachida Dati caused a scandal after she proposed in the newspaper Le Figaro that entry to the cathedral be paid, provoking fierce opposition from the diocese. Pope Francis declined the invitation to this opening ceremony, which was attended by numerous leaders and personalities, an absence all the more notable since he is to visit Corsica next weekend for a colloquium on popular religiosity. The Sovereign Pontiff recalled the "terrible fire" five years ago, which "greatly compromised the building" and stressed that "our hearts are drawn to the risk of seeing a masterpiece of Christian faith and architecture, a secular witness to your national history, disappear". "Today, sadness and mourning give way to joy, celebration and praise", he added, paying tribute to "the remarkable work of the numerous professional bodies" and the courage of the firefighters. The Pope welcomed "the determined commitment of the public authorities and the great impulse of international generosity which contributed to the restoration". This impulse is, in his opinion, "the sign not only of an attachment to art, but also to history", but "even more" is the sign "that the symbolic and sacred value of such an edifice is still perceived, from small to large". "May the rebirth of this admirable church be a prophetic sign of the renewal of the Church in France", added the Sovereign Pontiff, in the context in which French Catholicism is engaged in a long decline, accelerated by the sexual abuse crisis.