The Facts
The covering of a spire of a Gothic cathedral located in the French city of Rouen, Normandy, caught fire on Thursday, with minimal damage reported as the blaze was extinguished early in the afternoon.
The local prefecture posted online images showing dark smoke rising from scaffolding at the top of the Our Lady of the Assumption cathedral, with the local fire chief saying 70 firefighters and 40 fire engines arrived to put the fire out.
The Spin
Narrative A
From cathedrals in France to Denmark's stock exchange in Copenhagen, historic buildings are extremely prone to fires. While smaller buildings are most at risk, even massive cathedrals like Notre Dame are vulnerable due to their wooden roofs. Most remarkable is that due to their lack of modern fire-resistant technology, some estimate that one historic building catches fire every day.
Narrative B
While accidental fires receive global coverage, the media refuse to cover the far more sinister rise in vandalism against Catholic churches. Attacks are on the rise in France, the US, and, most terrifyingly, in Canada, where almost 100 churches have been vandalized and burned down since the announcement of the discovery of mass graves near a residential school in 2021. Catholic churches deserve protection as much as anything else.