pay to pray

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i was in montreal canada and i noticed that there is an admission fee to go into the Notre Dame Cathedral. Not a donation, AN ADMISSION FEE. you cannot enter into the cathedral without paying the admission fee except if you go to Mass. If you want to go in just to pray you have to pay.
they have turned the basilica into a den of thieves. my sister wanted to pray to st anthony but in order to go in you have to pay a mandatory 5 dollar fee.

is it a house of prayer or a house of thieves? a family of 5 pay 25 dollars to pray in the church. is that against canon law?

I can understand asking a donation for the upkeep of the church but i think its terribly wrong to demand a fee to enter the Church even when a Mass is not being said.

A poor beggar cannot pray in the cathedral unless he attends the Mass.

what if somebody has an emergency and needs to pray in the church at a time outside of Mass? they are barred from praying if they don’t have the money.

Isn’t this what the Lord meant when he said " My father’s house is a house of prayer but you have turned it into a den of thieves"?
 
That’s strange. According to the Cathedral website:
The cathedral is open every day of the year from 8:00 am to 6:45 pm (7:15 pm on Saturdays and Sundays).

Access to the cathedral is open and free of charge every day of the year, during the opening hours.
And further, from the FAQ:
Is there an entrance fee for the cathedral?

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris is a church. It is State property, but the clergy manages it for the Roman Catholic church. Entrance is open and free of charge. Only the cathedral Tower visit () and the Treasury have entrance fees.
 
MarkThompson said:
That’s strange. According to the Cathedral website:The cathedral is open every day of the year from 8:00 am to 6:45 pm (7:15 pm on Saturdays and Sundays).

**Access to the cathedral is open and free of charge every day of the year, during the opening hours.**And further, from the FAQ:Is there an entrance fee for the cathedral?

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris is a church. It is State property, but the clergy manages it for the Roman Catholic church. Entrance is open and free of charge. Only the cathedral Tower visit () and the Treasury have entrance fees.
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You’ve got the wrong church. The OP is talking about Basilique Notre Dame in the old quarter of Montréal, QC.
 
Phemie said:
You’ve got the wrong church. The OP is talking about Basilique Notre Dame in the old quarter of Montréal, QC.
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Oh, my mistake. Frankly I would have thought that if any church in the world charged an admission fee it would be the state-owned tourist mecca that is Notre-Dame de Paris.

Well, as to the Quebec church, it is unfortunate, but charging an admission fee for entry other than for the liturgy is no more “pay to pray” than closing the church during non-liturgy hours would mean “prayer forbidden.” Incidentally, according to the website:
Admission to the Basilica remains free for prayer, Mass, Confession, meditation and the liturgy of the hours.
I expect that would cover personal prayer; that was my experience, at least, with Italian churches.
 
Phemie said:
You’ve got the wrong church. ** The OP is talking about Basilique Notre Dame in the old quarter of Montréal, Q**C.
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MarkThompson said:
Oh, my mistake. Frankly I would have thought that if any church in the world charged an admission fee it would be the state-owned tourist mecca that is Notre-Dame de Paris.

Well, as to the Quebec church, it is unfortunate, but charging an admission fee for entry other than for the liturgy is no more “pay to pray” than closing the church during non-liturgy hours would mean “prayer forbidden.” Incidentally, according to the website:Admission to the Basilica remains free for prayer, Mass, Confession, meditation and the liturgy of the hours.I expect that would cover personal prayer; that was my experience, at least, with Italian churches.
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The Notre-Dame does charge. From their website:
Admission
Code: 
  		Admission fees apply to all visitors, with or without a guided tour.  This contribution is necessary to cover the annual costs of restoration  and upkeep on this historic building.
	Adults: $5
	Ages 7 to 17: $4
	Age 6 and under: Free
Guided tours
Code: 
 		Two tours of the Basilica normally take place every hour, on the hour and half hour.
	Monday through Friday: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM (Last tour of the day)
	Saturday: 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
	Sunday: 13:00 to 3:30 PM 	
     **Please note:** Because the Basilica regularly  accommodates weddings, funerals and special events, scheduled activities  may be disrupted from time to time. The Basilica reserves the right to  change its guided tour schedule and visiting hours without notice.
 
stuff like this just makes me mad forcing someone to pay to pray didnt Jesus yell at the pharisees for doing this?
 
Catholic90 said:
The Notre-Dame does charge. From their website:
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Yes, I know. If you are visiting just to see the sights and admire the church, there is a charge. However – I thought I made this clear? – the website also states that if you are there for “prayer, Mass, Confession, meditation and the liturgy of the hours” then admission “remains free.”
 
MarkThompson said:
Yes, I know. If you are visiting just to see the sights and admire the church, there is a charge. However – I thought I made this clear? – the website also states that if you are there for “prayer, Mass, Confession, meditation and the liturgy of the hours” then admission “remains free.”
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That was not told to us and the pamphlet of the Cathedral does not say this. The pamphlet says that all people must pay except for masses or other religious services which are free.

All else admission fees are a must.
 
a83192 said:
That was not told to us and the pamphlet of the Cathedral does not say this. The pamphlet says that all people must pay except for masses or other religious services which are free.

All else admission fees are a must.
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I think it’s important to ask ourselves WWJD in a situation like this.
 
MarkThompson said:
Yes, I know. If you are visiting just to see the sights and admire the church, there is a charge. However – I thought I made this clear? – the website also states that if you are there for “prayer, Mass, Confession, meditation and the liturgy of the hours” then admission “remains free.”
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I did not see that on the website.

I was here - [sign]http://www.basiliquenddm.org/en/[/sign]

I did find this, however.

[sign]
Hours
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Code: 
 The church is open for prayer daily from 7:30 AM, seven days a week.
Out of consideration for those taking part in religious worship, there are no guided tours between 4:00 PM on Saturday and 12:30 PM on Sunday afternoon.
The church is open daily to visitors, seven days a week.
Monday to Friday: 8am to 4:30pm
Saturday: 8am to 4pm
Sunday: 12:30pm to 4pm
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[/sign]
 
a83192 said:
We told them we were going to go in to pray but they still would not let us go in free.
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Well, then you ought to call or email Josée Benoit, director of tourist activities (see bottom of this page) and complain. Sometimes lower-level staff just don’t get trained properly. If you do, please let us know what she has to say.
 
I had some interesting experiences in August at major churches in Florence, Italy. There was an admission fee posted, and a ticket office. I was in Italy on pilgrimage (with some young adults who, after our Italy sojourn, went to WYD). At the churches in Florence, upon seeing the admission fee signs, I simply went to the security person and told him/her “we are pilgrims and would like to enter the church to pray.” In all cases we were ushered into the churches, without paying, and led to an area set aside for prayer. We were asked not to wander around the other areas of the church and to leave when we were finished with our prayer.

If I had thought that an admission fee would have gone to the diocese, or the basilica, or the religious order caring for the church, I would have happily paid. But in every case, the fee-collectors were city employees, and I later confirmed that the fees go to the city governments.

I will not return to Florence. We were told that Venice and Milan had similar restrictions. I will not be spending my tourist dollars in those places either. In reality, the major churches/basilicas in these areas are currently more tourist attractions than they are active places of Catholic worship.

On the other hand, no church in Rome, Assisi, or Padua charged admission.
 
MarkThompson said:
Well, then you ought to call or email Josée Benoit, director of tourist activities (see bottom of this page) and complain. Sometimes lower-level staff just don’t get trained properly. If you do, please let us know what she has to say.
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Thank you for giving me the information. This is the letter I wrote to her. I will post her response when I get one.

====================================
Dear Madam,

I was going with my family to the Basilica to pray. My 8 year old sister especially wanted to pray to St Anthony for a favor that he granted her. Once we got there we were told that we had to pay to go in and pray. We would not be allowed in unless we paid. I believe that goes against what your website says about it’s entrance policy. This is what your website mentions. Admission fees help us preserve our priceless heritage now and for generations to come. Admission to the Basilica remains free for prayer, (EMPHASIS MINE)

This policy of paying to pray is wrong. The poor are denied entrance to pray except for Mass. What if someone has an emergency and has to pray at a time in which there is no Mass and they don’t have the money? The admission collector would not let them in and they would be deprived of the spiritual benefits and graces of prayer. I don’t understand how the Bishop can allow this type of moneymaking scheme to exist. I could see asking for a voluntary suggested donation if one could afford it to maintain the Church but to have a mandatory admission fee is outrageous. Only the middle class and the wealthy can pray or meditate in the Basilica except during Mass times.

I was very disappointed to see this type of money charging to pray in God’s Church. We felt hurt. It kind of reminded us of what the Lord said in the temple " And he said to them: It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves." Matthew 21,13.

I can understand paying for a tour but we did not want to go on a tour. All we wanted to do was to enter the Basilica to pray but had to pay 25 Dollars for our family. This is the first time we ever had to pay to pray in a Church. I don’t understand what the bishop is thinking.

This makes it look bad for the Catholic Church. This is similar to the abuse of paying for indulgences that caused the Protestant Revolt in part.

I do hope and pray that this abuse of paying to pray ends quickly so that people who are poor can pray in this magnificent Basilica.

God Bless
 
When I was there earlier this summer I told the person taking the tickets I was there to pray and not there as a tourist…I was NO t charged an admission fee. I have no problem with the church charging an admission fee…I’m sure it costs a fortune to upkeep these historic buildings and as most people visiting are there as tourists I see no problem with a $5.00 admission.
a83192 said:
i was in montreal canada and i noticed that there is an admission fee to go into the Notre Dame Cathedral. Not a donation, AN ADMISSION FEE. you cannot enter into the cathedral without paying the admission fee except if you go to Mass. If you want to go in just to pray you have to pay.
they have turned the basilica into a den of thieves. my sister wanted to pray to st anthony but in order to go in you have to pay a mandatory 5 dollar fee.

is it a house of prayer or a house of thieves? a family of 5 pay 25 dollars to pray in the church. is that against canon law?

I can understand asking a donation for the upkeep of the church but i think its terribly wrong to demand a fee to enter the Church even when a Mass is not being said.

A poor beggar cannot pray in the cathedral unless he attends the Mass.

what if somebody has an emergency and needs to pray in the church at a time outside of Mass? they are barred from praying if they don’t have the money.

Isn’t this what the Lord meant when he said " My father’s house is a house of prayer but you have turned it into a den of thieves"?
Click to expand...
 
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