LGBTQ+ flags, 'wokeness' and sexual abuse coverups: The misinformation already targeting the pope

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LGBTQ+ flags, 'wokeness' and sexual abuse coverups: The misinformation already targeting the pope  Just as his predecessor was a prime target for fake news, Pope Leo XIV has been hit with various false claims on social media and elsewhere.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/16/lgbt-flags-wokeness-and-sexual-abuse-coverups-the-misinformation-already-targeting-pope-le  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00The new Pope has already been hit with waves of misinformation.

00:06One week into his papacy, Pope Leo XIV has already found himself

00:10in the middle of multiple false narratives, much like Pope Francis before him.

00:15Let's start with this social media post, which claims that this video shows

00:19the new pontiff deliberately snubbing and turning away from the LGBTQ rainbow flag

00:24as he greets onlookers at the Vatican.

00:26However, the flag in the video isn't the LGBTQ flag.

00:29It's the Italian peace flag, first used in 1961, which predates the LGBTQ flag.

00:35We can see that the lettering on the flag while back to front says pace,

00:39the Italian word for peace, and there's no indication that Pope Leo

00:43purposely turned away from it as he approached.

00:45The original video can be found on the Vatican's official YouTube channel,

00:49which says that the event was an audience between the Bishop of Rome

00:52and media professionals on the 12th of May.

00:54Another online rumour suggests that the Pope urged people to be woke

00:58in a prayer he delivered at an unspecified time.

01:01Woke means awakened by compassion, guided by truth, humbled by grace,

01:05Pope Leo allegedly said.

01:07Be awake, be loving, be woke.

01:10But there's no evidence he ever made these comments.

01:12A Google search yields neither relevant reporting nor official announcements from the Vatican.

01:18A more dangerous claim alleges that Pope Leo covered up a series of sexual abuse cases

01:22committed by a Peruvian priest in 2004.

01:25The Pope was serving as the Bishop of Chiclayo

01:28and failed to investigate the cases in 2022, according to the allegations.

01:32However, Spanish outlet El País reports that the Vatican's dicastery

01:36for the doctrine of the faith has fully investigated the matter

01:39and found Pope Leo's conduct impeccable.

01:42Pedro Salinas, a Peruvian journalist who has extensively researched

01:46sexual abuse accusations in the Catholic Church,

01:48has also found that the allegations against the new pontiff are false.

01:52There's no documentary evidence or solid testimonies pointing to Pope Leo, he said.

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