One line in Pope Francis’s “State of the World” address to diplomats last week really stood out, regarding the disaster that struck Notre-Dame on April 15, 2019. “The fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris,” Pope Francis said, “showed how even what seems so solid can be fragile and easily destroyed.” It would be easy to treat the line as little more than a throwaway – a brief nod to one of the year’s more startling events. That would be a mistake.
Pope Francis situated the remark in the middle of his discussion of “the European project”, which, he said, “continues to be a fundamental guarantee of development for those who have long shared in it, and an opportunity for peace in the aftermath of turbulent conflicts and injuries for those countries that aspire to take part in it.” He went on to warn Europeans against the loss of the sense of solidarity, which has been a distinguishing characteristic of European culture and civilisation for centuries, a constant, even and especially in the most trying times.
