(ZENIT News / Paris, 31.10.2024).- A few weeks after the reopening of Notre Dame of Paris, the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, proposed charging a fee to tourists to enter the Cathedral, in order to preserve the religious patrimony and “restore all of France’s churches.”
Dati said that “With only 5 euros per visitor, we could raise 75 million euros a year. Notre Dame of Paris would save all the churches of Paris and France. It would be a magnificent symbol,” she said to Le Figaro newspaper, adding that “throughout Europe, one must pay to access the most notable religious buildings.” She suggested the idea to the Archbishop of Paris, in which she distinguished between tourists and believers.
The Diocese of Paris issued a press release reminding of the “unaltered position of the Catholic Church in France regarding the right to free admission to the churches.” This gratuity is justified “both in the dispositions of the law of 1905 on the separation of Church and State, as well as in the fundamental mission of the churches,” which is to “welcome unconditionally and, hence, necessarily for free, all men and women.”
Before the fire, a fee was only charged to enter Notre Dame’s towers, as well as the archaeological crypt and the necropolis of the Kings of France in the Basilica of Saint Denis.
In regard to the distinction between tourists and faithful that visit the Cathedral, the press release stated: ”Pilgrims and visitors have never been differentiated in Notre Dame: services are celebrated during the visits and visits continue during the services.” And, in regard to the fact that an entrance fee is charged in some religious buildings of Europe, the position of the Diocese of Paris is that it would “deprive pilgrims and tourists of communion among all, which is the very essence of the place.”
The press release also underscored the fundamental mission of the churches: “To welcome unconditionally and, hence, necessarily for free, all men and women, regardless of their religion or belief, their opinions and their economic means.” It is believed that to put a price for access to the interior of the building could “lead inevitably to people not visiting the Cathedral that, by nature, is open to all.”
