Dispute over the restoration of Notre Dame cathedral – Wel.nl

Critics say the bishop of Paris wants to convert the restored Notre Dame in Paris into a Christian Disneyland. The bishop in charge of the church wants to make several modifications to the interior. Cults disappear to create more space for art. And what particularly amazes critics: the use of a lot of artificial light puts the visitor in contact with the church in a different way. For example, featured quotes from the Bible are available in several languages, including Chinese.

At the entrance to the cathedral, you will see a new baptism of light. Instead of letting all the light come in from above, there will be “softer light at eye level” throughout the cathedral which will give the 2,400 missing and 150 concert participants a year a “more intimate feeling”. According to the priest, the faithful are more involved in the celebration of the Eucharist, rather than descending to the spectators in front of a “kind of theatrical stage.”

Le Figaro, who has seen gifs of the new interior, sees nothing in it. “The pictures give the impression of a runway at an airport, or a parking lot.”

According to the ecclesiastical authorities, they are only using the renovation to bring the many visitors (12 million per year) into better contact with Christian ideas.