Christchurch after the cathedral

From New Zealand-

For once, the much-overused adjective "iconic" is being used in a correct context. The Christchurch Cathedral, which last Friday was sentenced to demolition by the announcement of the Bishop of Christchurch that the Anglican diocese no longer had definite plans to rebuild it, has been over the 131 years of its existence an important and enduring symbol.

That the symbol carried strong connotations of origin, faith and culture only adds to its significance and the extent to which it had become indivisible from the identity of a city and its people.

Christchurch without its cathedral in the square is, for most people, unthinkable. There should be little surprise, then, that there has been a public backlash to the decision: a petition to save the building has been launched, calls have been made for the church to make public all information on the cathedral rebuild, and there is talk of legal and other recourses to stop the demolition.

Yet while that may be a perfectly understandable response, it is an inescapable part of Christchurch's tragedy that the city that once was will never be quite the same again. This, however, should not necessarily be emblematic of loss and despair.

More here-

http://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/editorial/200503/christchurch-after-cathedral