“It is with great sadness that we saw one of the most important monuments of European and world civilisation being consumed by flames. The Cathedral of Notre Dame, for all French citizens, as well as for all of us who have stood before its splendour, is one of the most emblematic churches, one of the most emblematic landmarks in Europe.
Nonetheless, Notre Dame is not just a religious symbol of european and world heritage, not just an important sight in Paris; it became the symbol of transition from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment. It constitutes an important site of the Enlightenment in the annals of world civilisation. Through the pages of Victor Hugo's “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” it became the timeless symbol of selfless love, of justice with equality, of the “age of Light” for humanity. Its destruction would symbolise the destruction of an immense symbol of world heritage.”
April 16, 2019