There has been some good news in the wake of the fire that heavily damaged the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, said Friday.
On Thursday, while a group of religious and business leaders met to start a fund from St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City to benefit the Notre Dame rebuilding fund, they received a call from the office of the French consul general with the news that what was left of the church will buttressed, but "we'll be able to rebuild upon that structure," Dolan told Fox News' "Fox and Friends."
"There has to be at least a foundation, at least a good part of the infrastructure there, if Notre Dame is to regain its luster," said Dolan. "That was good news. The other good news, we have to admit this was an accident. I think all of us at the beginning thought, oh, no, this is a terrorist act...thank God that didn't happen."
Dolan also addressed the Good Friday observance, commenting that even though the day marks the crucifixion of Christ, it also shows how "good triumphs over evil."
"Good had the last word, the salvation of the world through the cross of Christ," said Dolan. "That happened on this Friday. No wonder we call it good."
He also commented on a survey about religious affiliations in the United States, which showed 23% said they have no religion; 23% identify as Catholic, and 22.5% say they are evangelicals.
"It is sobering for us it says while Americans want to believe, the trend is then to translate that into belonging keeps going down," said Dolan. "Belief doesn't persevere unless you belong to a group of people that share your most interior values."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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