Fact Check

Did Pope Francis Say 'God Has Instructed Me to Revise the Ten Commandments'?

"The Pope said the updated Commandments reflect the changing times and include some minor rewording of the existing rules, as well as the addition of two new Commandments."

Published July 7, 2015

 (giulio napolitano / Shutterstock, Inc.)
Image Via giulio napolitano / Shutterstock, Inc.
Claim:
Pope Francis announced during a sermon that God had instructed him to revise the Ten Commandments.

On 6 July 2015, the entertainment web site Real News Right Now published an article reporting that Pope Francis announced during a sermon that he had been instructed by God to change the Ten Commandments:

During his sermon, Pope Francis announced to Christians around the world that God had called upon him, instructing him “to revise the most sacred of texts, the Ten Commandments.” Given to the Israelites by God himself at Mount Sinai, the Commandments include instructions for worship and list several prohibited practices.

Pope Francis said Christians around the world are “faced with ever-increasing temptations brought on by the evils of modern society.” The Pope said the updated Commandments reflect the changing times and include some minor rewording of the existing rules as well as the addition of two new Commandments.

The Fourth Commandment, which advocates that proper respect be shown towards one’s parents, has been reworded in order to include children raised by same-sex parents. Pope Francis said the Seventh Commandment, prohibiting adultery and, among other things, homosexuality, has been removed entirely, as instructed by God, in order to extend “God’s grace to all His children.”

Although Real News Right Now does not includes a disclaimer identifying its content as fake news, the above-quoted story is just that: another piece of fake news.

Real News Right Now has published a number of other fabricated news items, including an article about President Obama's stripping Texas of statehood and an article about his banning the possession of Confederate flags.

The biggest indicator that Real News Right Now is a fake news publication comes from the site's "About" page, where author R. Hobbus J.D. brags about winning fictional awards such as the "Oscar Mayer Award for Journalistic Excellence" and the "Stephen Glass [a journalist notorious for falsifying news stories) Distinction in Journalistic Integrity."

Sources

Hobbus, R.   "Pope Francis: God Has Instructed Me to Revise the Ten Commandments."     Real News Right Now.   6 July 2015.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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