Catholic Church

ROME - That puff of white from atop the Sistine Chapel has long been a starting gun for conspiracists. With a new character in the story, they proclaim they alone tell the truth about dark forces playing pontifical puppeteers. These stories humans tell to make simple sense of complex events move ever faster, now that there's money to be made…

Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Chicago native, was chosen as successor to Pope Francis. Prevost, who becomes the first American to lead the Roman Catholic Church, has chosen the name Leo XIV. (Source: Lead Stories' screenshot of Vatican TV) Prevost's earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Villanova University in 1977, and a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union…

The conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor is set to start on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. It is a centuries-old ceremony entrenched in secrecy and powerful rituals, which strikes the world's imagination. This year, 135 cardinals from 71 countries across the five continents (of which Pope Francis has appointed 108, and 12 come from countries that never had a cardinal…

Did Pope Francis' dog "refuse to leave his grave"? No, that's not true: None of the variations of the internet rumor support that by links to credible news reports or authentic footage or photographs from the papal funeral, which was covered in detail by multiple journalistic organizations. There is no evidence that the late pontiff kept any pets during his…

By Raffaella Menichini, Lead Stories Deputy International Teams Manager (Rome) and Lead Stories staff A nine-day mourning period has begun with the death of Pope Francis, who died on Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88, according to a statement released by the Holy See Press Office. The cause of death, declared by the Vatican's Directorate of Health…

Does a video circulating on social media show thousands of Christians in France gathered to pray after the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony purportedly mocked Jesus? No, that's not true: The video shows people gathered in Rosary Square in Lourdes, France, on August 14, 2022 -- the eve of the annual Feast of the Assumption. This video does not show…

Did President Joe Biden declare Easter Sunday to be "Transgender Day of Visibility"? No, that's not true: The Biden White House did issue a proclamation celebrating the "extraordinary courage and contributions of transgender Americans," on March 31, as it had in each of the three prior years. In 2024, the day coincided with Easter. While Transgender Day of Visibility, started…

Did President Joe Biden say he was born in Israel in a speech he made during the 2023 Hamas-Israel conflict? No, that's not true: During his speech, Biden explained why he believed Israel was developed. An official transcript records him saying "why it was born," not "where I was born." The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X,…

Does a video show displaced Palestinian people who had no place to go sleeping outdoors on the ground? No, that's not true: The video was filmed in early August 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, during World Youth Day, an international Catholic pilgrimage and gathering with the pope. The video is unrelated to the Hamas-Israel conflict and Israel's October 13, 2023, evacuation…

Does a viral picture prove that the Vatican is "ruled by aliens" or show that "the UFO symbol is almost everywhere" there? No, that's not true: The image does not show the Vatican or its official symbols -- the photo shows a coat of arms seen in a Catholic church in Mexico, and there is no UFO on it. The…