This sounds like a sin to me, and this was said long before the Crucifixion.
Matthew 15-17 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
Peter knew exactly who Jesus was. It was revealed to him by God Himself. Yet he still denied Him three times.
> This sounds like a sin to me, and this was said long before the Crucifixion.
As the saying goes, "he who fights and runs away shall live to fight another day."
As did St Peter. As did these journalists, or so it seems. No shame there (particularly if they crossed their fingers first) and more the fool the militant muslim terrorists for being deceived by "the old cross-your-fingers-and-convert-to-Islam" trick.