Several Facebook (FB) users are claiming that Pope Francis says Catholics can eat whatever they want during Easter, as the Lenten season kicked off. This is fake.
Appearing as early as Feb. 12, two days before Ash Wednesday, the viral posts attributed the following quote to Francis:
“Eat whatever you want for Easter, the sacrifice is not in the stomach, but in the heart. They refrain from eating meat, but don’t talk to their siblings or relatives, don’t visit their parents or bother them to attend to them. Don’t share food with the needy, forbid children to see their father, forbid grandparents to see their grandchildren, criticize other people’s lives, beat their wife, etc., A good barbeque or beef stew won’t make you a bad person, just like a fish fillet won’t turn you a saint. Better seek to have a deeper relationship with God through better treatment of others let’s be less arrogant and more humble at heart.”
The pope never made such a statement on the practice of fasting.
The Vatican City’s official website, which keeps a record of all the pope’s letters, messages and homilies, has no record of such a message being delivered by Pope Francis since he became pope in 2013.
In fact, in his message for this year’s Lenten season, Pope Francis reminded Catholics on the importance of fasting as part of penance:
“Prayer, almsgiving and fasting are not three unrelated acts, but a single movement of openness and self-emptying… I invite every Christian community to do just this: to offer its members moments set aside to rethink their lifestyles, times to examine their presence in society and the contribution they make to its betterment.”
Source: Holy See Press Office, Message of the Holy Father Francis for Lent 2024, 01.02.2024, February 1, 2024
An article from Radio Veritas Asia, a media outlet owned by the Catholic Church, quoted Filipino priest Joseph Salando as saying that the post is “not authentic and misattributed.”
Salando added that the message also contradicts the church’s teachings on Lent and Easter:
“Catholics are obliged, depending on age and health condition, to fast and abstain on certain days, but not during Easter, as the quote seems to emphasize.”
Lent is a 40-day period of fasting and abstinence observed in several Christian denominations, including Roman Catholicism, in preparation for Easter Sunday.
Uploaded by FB user Maria Borg, the post has garnered around 17,000 interactions. At least 15 other posts bore the same quote which garnered a total of 11,000 interactions, according to social media monitoring tool CrowdTangle.
Have you seen any dubious claims, photos, memes, or online posts that you want us to verify? Fill out this reader request form or send it to VERA, the truth bot on Viber.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)