"Pope Francis cancels the Bible and proposes to create a new book."
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Pope Francis delivers a blessing during the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 5, 2017. (AP)
It's fake news that the Pope cancelled the Bible
Has Pope Francis said that it’s time to ditch the Bible?
Nope -- he still thinks the Bible is the good book.
"Pope Francis cancels the Bible and proposes to create a new book," said a headline on the Everyday Devotional website, which says it reports the latest Christian news around the world.
Facebook users flagged the post as being potentially fabricated, as part of the social network’s efforts to combat online hoaxes.
While the story that followed the headline warned against changing the Bible, it didn’t contain any information showing that Francis cancelled the Bible.
Featured Fact-check
The headline is the same as one about a week earlier by There Is News, which stated that Francis announced, "The Bible is totally outdated and needs a radical change, so The Bible is officially cancelled." The story said that a new book will replace the Bible, and one of the names under consideration is "Biblia 2000." There is News identifies itself as a humor website.
Pope Francis has made a series of controversial statements about religion and social issues, but there is no evidence that he called for cancelling the Bible.
In fact, in 2017, Francis called on people to consult the Bible as often as they look at their cell phones.
"What would happen if we treated the Bible like we do our mobile phones? If we turned around to retrieve it when we forgot it? If we carried it with us always, even a small pocket version? If we read God’s messages in the Bible like we read messages on the mobile phone?"
That sounds like a leader devoted to the Bible. We rate this statement Pants on Fire.
Our Sources
Everyday devotional, "Pope Francis cancels the Bible and proposes to create a new book," April 9, 2018
There is News, "Pope Francis cancels the Bible and proposes to create a new book," April 9, 2019
Reuters, "Pope says carry and read bible as if it were a mobile phone," March 5, 2017
Snopes, "Did Pope Francis Cancel the Bible and Propose a New Holy Book?" April 9, 2018
PolitiFact, "No proof Pope Francis said Jesus is metaphorical," Nov. 22, 2017
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It's fake news that the Pope cancelled the Bible
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