Catholic Church

Are the City of London, the Vatican and Washington, D.C., all sovereign states? No, that's not true: While the Vatican city-state is, the City of London and Washington, D.C., are not. The claim appeared in a Facebook post on May 20, 2020, that says "Everything what we know is a lie" The rest of the post is a compilation of…

Is former President Barack Obama a Muslim? No, that's not true: He has spoken frequently about being a Christian, not a Muslim. He gave speeches about his Christian faith before and during his eight-year presidency. The site that posted the image and claimed Obama's religion is Sunni Muslim usually shares memes, jokes and military-related posts. The claim appeared in a…

Have American megachurches failed to offer help to the Ukrainian people? No, that's not true: An informal survey by Lead Stories shows several of America's largest congregations and denominations are actively soliciting and distributing relief to the people impacted by the war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his "special military action" in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The…

Is humanity being held hostage by a new world order pushing COVID-19 vaccines? No, that's not true: The video in this Facebook post recycles previously debunked claims about COVID and plays into the rhetoric of an elaborate QAnon story of a cabal of blood-drinking elites working for global dominion. The claims appear in a post (archived here) on November 16,…

Have 229 Christian missionaries been sentenced to death "tomorrow afternoon" by "Afghan Islamists"? No, that's not true: Variations of this specific prayer request have been circulating since at least 2009 with some changes and various details added. The Taliban rapidly took over Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 and many people in that country faced dangerous situations, but there is…

Does a 10-second video clip show President Joe Biden "again" inappropriately kissing a young boy? No, that's not true: The clip, from 2015, shows Joe Biden comforting his grandson, Robert Hunter Biden, at the funeral of the child's father, Beau Biden. Joe Biden strokes his grandson's hair, and kisses him on the cheek and puts his hand on the boy's…

Did "Black Lives Matter and Antifa" set fire to a Catholic church in Minneapolis? No, there is no evidence the historic church was set ablaze by protesters or activists in the same city where the Derek Chauvin murder trial was taking place. A fire broke out at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Polish National Catholic Church on April 19, 2021,…

Were eight years lost when the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582, meaning that the global apocalypse supposedly foretold in the Mayan calendar for 2012 actually was supposed to happen in 2020? No, that's not true: Only 10 days were lost when the Gregorian calendar replaced the Julian calendar because it is more accurate. Besides, the Mayan calendar did not…

Did Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden say he was raised in a "Black Baptist Church," despite also saying he has been a "practicing" Catholic all his life? That claim is partially true, but it's missing context: Although Biden has said he was raised in a "Black church," while referencing a Baptist church in Delaware, it was in the context of…

Did the Catholic Church forgive a pedophile priest with HIV who raped 30 children? No, that's not true: There is no evidence the priest the story claims was HIV-positive, raped 30 children and was forgiven by the Catholic church ever existed. The situation and person accused of raping children and being absolved by the church appears to be completely fabricated.…