There was some bleak amusement to be had in the media’s struggles as it reported on the Notre-Dame fire. Some news sources seemed surprised that a cathedral might be a sacred site: “Tourist mecca Notre-Dame also revered as place of worship,” was the flat-footed headline on an Associated Press report.
Another venerable publication to commit a howler was the New York Times, which claimed that Fr Jean-Marc Fournier, chaplain to the fire brigade, had carried “a statue of Jesus” out of the burning cathedral. A correction was later added: it wasn’t a statue the priest had rescued, but the Blessed Sacrament.
