Workers are seen during preliminary work in Notre Dame Cathedral, three months after a fire destroyed much of the church's wooden structure in Paris. Photo credit: CNS/ Stephane de Sakutin Notre-Dame not yet safe to restore – architect
l A French architect says that Notre Dame Cathedral still isn’t safe enough for restoration work to begin, more than three months after a devastating fire nearly destroyed the monument.
French television showed the chief architect of France’s historic monuments, Philippe Villeneuve, taking Culture Minister Franck Riester on a tour of the cathedral.
He said that “we are still in extreme urgency of securing the site”.
Wooden supporting arches are being placed under the 28 buttresses, without anchoring them in stone. A robot was helping to clear debris on the lower level of the cathedral.
The minister said that the safety and quality of the restoration “is what counts” despite the goal of finishing the repairs by 2024.
Parents ask court to move comatose child to Italy
l Parents of a comatose five-year-old are attempting to move their child to Italy from a London hospital after doctors in the UK declared any further medical treatment to be futile and ordered the removal of “life-sustaining treatment”.
Tafida Raqeeb has been in a coma since February 9, after she suffered from a brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM), which resulted in a burst blood vessel in her brain. Her parents said she was “completely healthy” prior to the injury.
On July 16, her parents asked the High Court in London to allow her to leave the country. Doctors at the Royal London Hospital say there is no chance she will recover from her coma.
UK porn access restriction put on hold again
l A planned restriction on websites that host pornography in the UK, set to go into effect on July 22, has been delayed for another six months. This marks the third delay for the proposed rules, which mandate that porn websites verify that users are over 18.
“I’m extremely sorry that there has been a delay…mistakes do happen, and I’m terribly sorry that it happened in such an important area,” UK Digital Minister Margot James told the BBC.
To view online pornography, internet users would need to confirm their age by entering information from a driver’s license, credit card, or passport. If users do not wish to input their personal information, they may purchase a special ID card, available at thousands of retail shops across the nation for under £10.
Vice-president speaks out against religious persecution
l Religious persecution is a concern for the entire global community, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a religious freedom gathering last week.
“We’re gathered here, 106 nations strong, because we believe in the freedom of conscience – the right of all people to live out their lives according to their deeply held religious beliefs,” Vice President Pence told religious and civic leaders from around the world at the Second Annual Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in Washington.
US diocese reaches $5m deal with abuse survivors
l The Diocese of Crookston announced last week it has reached a $5 million (€4.4m) settlement with victims/survivors of clergy sexual abuse. The settlement resolves 15 lawsuits for sexual abuse claims filed between April 2016 and May 2017 because of the Minnesota Child Victims Act.
“To all victims and survivors of sexual abuse by clergy, as the Bishop of Crookston I apologise for the harm done to you by those entrusted with your spiritual care. Although you can never be fully compensated for your suffering, we are thankful this litigation has now come to a good end and are hopeful this settlement offers you justice and will be helpful for healing,” Bishop Michael Hoeppner said in a letter to Catholics of the diocese.