Can Quasimodo Still Claim Sanctuary For Esmeralda?

Oct 24, 2023

Whenever I hear the word “sanctuary”, the first thing that comes to mind is a Church where people can take refuge.

In the same way that Quasimodo cried for sanctuary to save Esmeralda, I picture it as a place of hope, a place so full of mercy that we can seek protection from it whether we deserve it or not.

Is this not how Pope Benedict XVI envisioned the future Church to be? Before he even became a pope, Father Joseph Ratzinger predicted the following:

“But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church. Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the whole horror of their poverty. Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret.”

Sadly, the opposite seems to be image of the Church today for many.

Instead of a place of mercy, it is often seen as a place of condemnation. Instead of a place to hide for safety, it is a place avoided for fear of being judged.

How did we ever arrive at a point where the only light that could possibly save the world is seen as nothing more but darkness?

People are aching everywhere, people are lost. But instead of drawing near to their sanctuary, they run away in fear.

Perhaps this is one of the greatest deceits of evil in our time. To cover the face of truth with its many lies and to make goodness appear frightful or wearisome.

“Now I know the full power of evil. It makes ugliness seem beautiful and goodness seem ugly and weak.” – August Strindberg, The Dance of Death

“Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil:
that put darkness for light, and light for darkness:
that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.
Woe to you that are wise in your own eyes,
and prudent in your own conceits.”
-Isaiah 5:20-21 (DRA)

Evil is so alluring because it hides behind a mask of goodness.

Then it keeps our eyes away from true goodness so that we cannot find the truth.

We can’t find sanctuary because we don’t even want to claim sanctuary.

We are like Esmeralda in Victor Hugo’s novel, bound and guarded as a prisoner while being led to her death. Maybe her mouth today is even gagged and she could not even cry for help.

To whom will she run to? In whom shall she hope?

Unlike the movie, Captain Phoebus was not the chivalrous soldier who loves her with a pure heart. In the novel, he merely wanted to seduce her and when he failed to, he abandoned her to death.

Her only hope comes from an unlikely savior.

Not someone the whole world sees as a gallant knight or a mighty prince, but someone like Quasimodo, a deformed bell-ringer shunned by the people for his hideous appearance.

Can the Christians today be compared indeed to Quasimodo? To the world, we may no longer appear to be like a knight in shining armor who could save the princess from the frightening dragon.

The dragon does not even seem to exist anymore! What exists today are the likes of the Archdeacon Frollo, people who have tainted the image of the Church to the point of driving away the very people who needs to find refuge in her.

To save Esmeralda, Quasimodo must risk exposing himself and bear the hatred and mockery of many.

He must come down from the safety of his dwelling so that he could rescue those walking along the path of death.

We as Christians can no longer remain hidden within the walls we have built. We must walk the path of Christ who did not mind coming down from heaven to suffer for us all in Calvary.

If Quasimodo wishes to save Esmeralda, he must endure the shouts of the mocking crowd. Only then can he still cry out, “Sanctuary”!

Sanctuary within the walls of the true and eternal city of God, not in its fallen messengers. Sanctuary within the very heart of Christ, finding solace in His holy wounds and infinite love.

“You are a hiding place for me;

you preserve me from trouble;

you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.”

- Psalm 32:7 (NRSVCE)

Here is a song from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” that reminds me about our time’s plea for God’s mercy. Who are the outcasts today? How do we help them find sanctuary in the Catholic Church?

Jocelyn Soriano works full-time as a Catholic writer to share the word of God and invite everyone to take refuge in God’s truth and love.

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