The team at Catholic Social Media (CSM) shared the following alert with us today regarding the abundance of fake quotes being attributed to Pope Leo XIV. Take a moment and read this piece below.
It all started with a text chain. The head of my men’s Rosary group forwarded on a speech, supposedly by Pope Leo, which included the line, “I, too, was angry with God...there were days when I prayed and only felt an echo…”
Something about it seemed a bit off. It didn’t read like something a Catholic cleric would say. It seemed a little too slick, edgy, and canned. So, I started digging. The fact checking site Pressone was already on it, in addition to Snopes. Here are some other statements that those sites have already debunked as fake:
- Pope Leo stated, “You cannot follow both Christ and the cruelty of kings.”
- Pope Leo told Vice President Vance, “You’ve turned religion into a factory for manufacturing votes.”
- Pope Leo played jazz trombone under an assumed name.
These fake statements aren’t the end of it, however. Earlier this month, a new YouTube channel popped up, leoxivsermons, which was full of deepfake statements, often with accompanying video generated by AI tools. The channel gained more than 17,500 followers and one million views before YouTube took it down. But the damage had been done, as copies of those fake sermons and speeches proliferated across the Internet. The BBC and Vatican News have already reported on the problem.
So, what does this mean for parish communicators? No matter who is behind these fake statements, the path forward is clear. Here are five things you can do to make sure that the clear voice of our Holy Father is heard:
- Stick with trusted sources: Whether you’re reading Pope Leo’s speeches on the Vatican website, skimming reports from Catholic News Agency, or using material from your diocesan outlets, you're relying on trusted outlets for news on the Holy Father. That's incredible!
- Avoid meme-sharing groups for now: Generally, these groups have always been full of questionable content, but even more so now. Take a break and put those groups on mute until the dust settles a bit.
- Wait a minute: You may see something GREAT online, attributed to the pope, and immediately want to put it in a parish newsletter or click the “share” button. Do yourself a favor – walk away for a moment and think about it. Then do a little research, and, if you can’t find the origin point of the quote or video, move on with your day.
- Gently correct errors: You’re likely getting all kind of things forwarded to you by parishioners or well-meaning Catholics. If you receive something that’s clearly fake, point it out in charity.
Stay the course: As Jesus said in Matthew 24, “Many will come in my name…and they will deceive many.” That’s not a cause for despair, but for rejoicing – because we also know that “…the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.” Moments like this may lead us to doubt ourselves, but we can trust that the Lord has truly called us all to “preach the Gospel to all creation” (Mk 16:15). We can be sure that the Way, the Truth, and the Life will win out in the end!
