WASHINGTON, D.C. April 16 (DPI) – The fire that devastated Notre Dame Cathedral yesterday may turn out to be a major moment in history, coming at a time when social forces have been marginalizing traditional religion, doubting of Western institutions and attacking private enterprise and private capital.

The cause of the fire – apparently an accident triggered during a longstanding renovation of the 700-year-old landmark – is still not known. But its immediate impact – an outpouring of sadness, followed by worldwide resolve to support re-building – has been powerful. There have been immediate pledges of vast sums from prominent French and American businessmen.

Indeed, the amount of money already pledged – in the hundreds of millions of dollars – may trigger commentary about how so much private wealth could lurk in the shadows, only to appear after a catastrophe such as this. Why can’t that capital, the left-wing pundits will ask, be confiscated and re-distributed to other places that it’s needed?  Or a counter-narrative: Thank goodness for the mega-rich, who have the ability to make a difference at a key moment such as this.

Public sources have pledged funds as well, such The City of Paris, which said it will donate 50 million Euro. But the public pledges are dwarfed by the offerings from businessmen and other private sources.

One thing is clear: the loss feels monumental to people worldwide, not simply in France. The most popular comments on WSJ.com and WashingtonPost.com today (NYTimes.com provided no comment boards attached to articles related the fire):

I heard a reporter say this morning that the burning of Notre Dame is to the French what losing the White House or Mt. Vernon would be to Americans.  When Notre Dame was the age the White House is today, Columbus had not yet stepped foot in the New World.  It is hard for us in the U.S. to grasp the history behind this iconic structure.

For those who suspect this wasn’t an accident, I would agree, except that there is a long history of buildings that were badly damaged while being renovated. The fact that the fire began where the restoration work was being done suggests that this was the case here. Workers with blow torches or welding equipment in old buildings that are fire risks are a recipe for disaster.

From WashingtonPost.com:

The Arch Bishop of Paris: “Notre-Dame is burning, France is crying and the whole world, too”.
Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council: “Our lady [“notre dame” in French] of Paris is our lady of all Europe. We are all with Paris today.”
Irish President Michael Higgins: “(He) would like to express the feelings of solidarity of the Irish people with the people of France at the catastrophic damage to one of the most iconic buildings in Europe—a building which the people of Paris have shared with millions from all over the world, as part of a shared global cultural heritage.”
Billionaire François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of the Kering group that owns the Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent fashion brands, has already pledged €100m (£86m; $113m) towards rebuilding Notre-Dame
Contrast that with Trump’s fatuous remarks “so horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris… Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!”
Went down like a lead balloon here in France Does he really think that the French wouldn’t have thought of doing that? No understanding, no empathy, so crass, so typical of the man.
Perhaps he would like to contribute a  hundred million to so of his ‘$ billions’ towards its reconstruction?
No, I doubt it too.

I never thought, there would be a time in the US when we would look beyond our nation, for leadership of the Western World.
But Macron supplies what has been absent at the helm of the US for these past few years: clear and strong ethical leadership amongst the clamor for more hatred.
Bravo.