the great silence of the clergy

“The frame, the frame, I’m a little fed up with the frame, that’s all we talk about”moans the priest Henry de Villefranche, canon of Notre-Dame. Way of saying that God was a little too silent during all these years of work which followed the fire of April 15, 2019? “For two years, at home, we haven't talked enough about interesting things and too much about this project that we keep calling 'out of the norm'. This is a big exaggeration. This story about the statue of the Virgin who escaped miraculously is nonsense. Apart from the altar, practically the entire interior of the nave escaped the fire. If the choir organ was damaged, it was by water from the firefighters. Lots of dust was deposited everywhere, but almost nothing was touched. We must demythologize this idea of ​​a permanent miracle. »

And return to transcendence? Since the fire, we have heard little from the clergy in the face of a State that likes to remind people as soon as possible that Notre-Dame is France, that the walls are its responsibility, and that the cathedral is just as much a tourist place. than a temple of the spiritual. Brief, that God had better behave.

In the aftermath of the disaster, observers were already wondering: where are the Roman collars and cassocks? M^gr Michel Aupetit, Archbishop of Paris at the time, has the reputation of preferring, despite his conservative moral opinions, to play Brassens on his guitar, rather than attending official dinners. One of the vicars general, Benoist de Sinety, is responsible for making up for these absences, but, between the two men, the atmosphere is abrasive, and the vicar quickly goes into exile in the provinces. Same cacophony from the priests of Notre-Dame. Rue Chanoinesse, their headquarters on the Île de la Cité, in 4^e district, the knives are drawn behind the politeness of the facade. The unctuous rector M^gr Patrick Chauvet is said to be more adept at choosing the camera angle than at uniting a crew in the storm.

When the archbishop found himself, in December 2021, forced to resign (accused in The Point to have had a « intimate relationship with a woman »Michel Aupetit denies any moral failing, but admits an unfortunate situation), his successor, Laurent Ulrich, will take things in hand. His first, very symbolic gesture, upon arriving from Lille where he had been officiating until then, was to be dropped off by car in front of the cathedral. He quickly transferred the priest of Notre-Dame to the Madeleine church, and appointed in his place a man said to be ambitious, former spokesperson for the Conference of Bishops of France, Olivier Ribadeau Dumas. With the exception of Canon Henry de Villefranche, the entire ecclesiastical team on the Île de la Cité has been renewed since the fire.

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