The Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu said he hoped the “same spirit of generosity” shown in the wake of the Notre Dame cathedral fire “will be for all the natural hazards everywhere”.
Hundreds of millions of euros have been pledged to restore the world-famous fire-ravaged landmark in Paris following Monday night’s blaze.
Dr Sentamu told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Iconic buildings often actually have a way of attracting people and I suspect, I hope, the same spirit of generosity that has gone out to help, like when we lost the roof on York Minster … I’m hoping that this spirit of generosity will not be just for this building but will be for all the natural hazards everywhere.”
He added: “I think both can be done. There is enough food in the world to feed everybody, but not enough food for our individual greed, so I still want to say the building should be restored into its former glory, but the people who’ve been very generous should realise there are a lot of children in the world who are starving and we have the ability to feed everybody. So it’s not either or, for me it’s both.”
Dr Sentamu, alongside the Archbishop of Canterbury Most Rev Justin Welby, have asked all cathedrals and churches across England to toll their bells for seven minutes at 7pm on Thursday evening.
Sentamu’s comments come amid criticism from some people who say the money could raised could be spent elsewhere, on smaller struggling churches or helping workers.
HuffPost UK blogger and historian Mike Stuchbery compared the response to the fire to that of Grenfell in Britain, asking “Where were the billionaires after that?”
He added: “Let’s all help to rebuild Notre Dame, and at the same time, where we can, let’s work on rebuilding the bonds of community and bridging the divides between rich and poor.
“Otherwise, what’s the point of such beautiful places if they don’t inwardly mean anything?”
An estimated 13million people a year were drawn to the famed cathedral, a significant share of them tourists coming to admire the building’s vaulted ceilings, flying buttresses and stained-glass windows. Many visitors also come to worship.
Notre Dame’s rector has said the Paris cathedral will be closed for five to six years, following Emmanuel Macron’s five-year target for the ruined building to be rebuilt.
Authorities have begun taking down part of its support walls to protect it from further damage.
Meanwhile, France’s Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has announced a competition between international architects to rebuild the spire of the cathedral.