An article from an ABC News affiliate in Houston, ABC 13, claiming that Pope Francis had reportedly told a gay man that “God made you like this” was flagged by Facebook readers as possible fake news.
False stories surrounding the pope and the Catholic Church seem to constantly circulate through the internet—we’ve fact-checked a few —so it isn’t surprising that some readers were skeptical of this report.
One of the vocal survivors of the clerical sexual abuse scandal in Chile, Juan Carlos Cruz, met with Pope Francis in April. During an interview with CNN, Cruz recounted what he remembers the pope telling him.
“You know Juan Carlos,” Cruz said, “that does not matter. God made you like this. God loves you like this. The Pope loves you like this and you should love yourself and not worry about what people say.”
Cruz recalled the conversation in an interview with the New York Times:
The Vatican has not commented on the validity of these claims from Cruz. ABC 13’s report accurately represents what Cruz told CNN and other outlets the pope had said.
This does not mean that TWS Fact Check is confirming that Pope Francis did in fact make these statements, merely that Cruz has claimed he did.
If you have questions about this fact check, or would like to submit a request for another fact check, email Holmes Lybrand at [email protected] or the Weekly Standard at [email protected]. For details on TWS Fact Check, see our explainer here.
