| USA TODAY
Pope prays for US, calls for peace amid Capitol riots
Pope Francis said Sunday that he was praying for those who died in the riots of the United States Capitol and called for calm to prevail to help protect American democratic values. (January, 10)
AP
The statement: Pope Francis was arrested after Vatican blackout
Rumors that Pope Francis was arrested after a blackout in Vatican City began to spread over the Internet on January 10.
The claim first appeared on Conservative Beaver, a website that calls itself “providing news of interest to proud Canadians”.
His story – published under the title “VATICAN BLACKOUT: Pope arrested on 80 counts of child trafficking and fraud” – states that the arrest was ordered by Italy’s prosecutor.
It also claims that the FBI is “making arrangements to fly to question him” and that the pope’s arrest will be “the first of many.”
Conservative Beaver did not respond to a request from USA TODAY for comment.
The claim may be linked to QAnon, a conspiracy theory based on baseless allegations that President Donald Trump has been fighting a “deep state” apparatus run by pedophile political elites, business leaders and celebrities, according to USA TODAY.
More: Fact check: the invader with the painted horned face in the Capitol Building is a well-known QAnon supporter
Pope Francis has been working for the past few days
Pope Francis was not arrested. No reputable media outlets reported the alleged arrest. And Pope Francis made several statements and appearances on January 10 and 11 that confirm that he is not in custody.
On January 10, Pope Francis delivered a speech from the Library of the Apostolic Palace. It was broadcast live on YouTube. He was also active on Twitter between 5:01 and 9:30 am EST, the equivalent of 11:01 am and 3:30 pm in the Vatican.
On January 11, the Holy See referred the Catholic News Agency to the public schedule of meetings that Pope Francis had held that day.
The pope published a decree allowing women to be installed as readers, read the Scriptures and serve at the altar as eucharistic ministers, according to the Associated Press. He was also active on Twitter in 7:30 am EST, the equivalent of 1:30 pm at the Vatican.
No blackout in the Vatican
There was also no blackout in Vatican City.
Mountain Butorac, a tour guide who lives near St. Peter’s Basilica, wrote in The Catholic Traveler that there was no “massive blackout” in the Vatican.
A late-night live broadcast of Vatican News on YouTube appeared to be dark on January 10. But that could have been due to the camera’s low exposure, and there were some visible lights in the photo, according to Butorac and Lead Stories.
“You can see that the lights are very on,” wrote Butorac. “You can see the dome, you can see the lights of the colonnade, you can see some lights in the office / apartment, you can see the lights in the crib, you can see the star of the Christmas tree.”
Colm Flynn, a correspondent for the Eternal Word Television Network who lives near the Vatican, also told the Catholic News Agency that he “did not notice any power outages over the weekend.”
Prison complaints stolen from unrelated news
The false allegations about Pope Francis follow a pattern of disinformation by Conservative Beaver and other sites.
Conservative Beaver had previously made false claims about the arrests of prominent individuals, including philanthropist George Soros and former President Barack Obama. In both cases, the website has altered genuine legal documents about other individuals’ arrests to promote their claims.
Conservative Beaver appears to have adapted news about a man’s arrest in Alabama on January 7 for the pope’s story.
WHNT News 19 reported on January 7 that Grady Paul Gaston was arrested “in connection with a 75-count charge, including possession of child pornography, human trafficking, incest and possession of drug paraphernalia”.
Conservative Beaver reported on January 10 that Pope Francis was arrested for an almost identical list of charges, although he increased the number to 80 and added “criminal fraud”.
WHNT News 19 also included a quote from Madison County, Alabama, Sheriff Kevin Turner about the arrest.
“These individuals are really the worst of the worst in society. I can promise you, we will not stop targeting human trafficking until we end this despicable trade in Madison County, as well as in counties around our state. As long as I go. Sheriff, my department will strive to protect our citizens, especially those who need us most, our children, “said Turner.
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Conservative Beaver included exactly the same quote, edited only to reflect a different location and attributed to Giuseppe Governale, Italy’s leading anti-mafia prosecutor.
The quote says: “These individuals are really the worst of the worst in society. I can promise you, we will not stop targeting human trafficking until we stop this despicable trade in the Vatican and Italy, as well as in the neighboring countries of Europe. Although I am a leading prosecutor in Italy, my department will endeavor to protect our citizens, especially those who need us most, our children. “
Our rating: False
Based on our research, the claim that Pope Francis was arrested after a blackout in the Vatican is FALSE. No reputable media outlets reported the alleged arrest, and Pope Francis made several statements and appearances on January 10 and 11 that confirm that he is not in custody.
Our sources of fact checking:
- USA TODAY, “What is QAnon?”
- Vatican News – Italian, January 10, Angelus 10 gennaio 2021 Pope Francesco
- Pope Francis, January 10, Tweet
- Pope Francis, January 10, Tweet
- Catholic News Agency, January 11, “Why is the internet full of false claims of a ‘Vatican blackout’?: The CNA Explainer”
- Press Room of the Holy See, 11 January, Le Udienze, 11/01/2021
- Press Room of the Holy See, January 11, Spiritus Domini
- Associated Press, January 11, “Pope says women can read at Mass, but they still can’t be priests”
- Pope Francis, January 10, Tweet
- The Catholic Traveler, January 10, Blackout at the Vatican
- Lead Stories, January 10, “Facts check: Pope is NOT arrested on 80 counts of child trafficking and fraud during alleged ‘Vatican blackout'”
- USA TODAY, November 24, “Fact-finding: false claim that George Soros was arrested for electoral crimes”
- USA TODAY, December 4, “Verification of facts: false history claims that former President Barack Obama was arrested for spying”
- USA TODAY, September 17, “Fact check: false claim that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was arrested for child pornography”
- WHNT News 19, January 7, “Man arrested on 75 counts of human trafficking and child pornography”
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