Summary of eRumor:
Pope Francis said during mass in Ecuador that God had instructed him to revise the Ten Commandments to reflect new temptations that Christians face today.
The Truth:
Pope Francis hasn’t announced plans to revise the Ten Commandments.
hat false report started with the website Real News, Right Now. The website, which is known for publishing fictional “news” stories, reported that Pope Francis made the announcement in South America in July 2015:
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.”
The report also claimed that the Fifth Commandment would be revised to forbid Christian from eating genetically modified food, and a new Eleventh Commandment would make “selfie” photos a sin.
Real News, Right Now doesn’t identify itself as a fake news website, and it’s stories are based loosely in factual events, which often misleads readers. In this case, Pope Francis did in fact hold mass in Ecuador, and he talked about family values, but he didn’t say that God had instructed him to revise the Ten Commandments, the New York Times reports:
Francis never mentioned gays or the divorced directly on Monday, but many analysts believe he wants to push the church to take a more accommodating stance.
Pope Francis and Catholic Church leaders were set to discuss family values during a meeting planned at the Vatican in October 2015, according to the agenda. Leaders were scheduled to discuss whether divorcees should be allowed to receive the Holy Sacrament, and how the church should receive gay men and women.
But, again, Pope Francis didn’t say that God had instructed him to revise the 10 Commandments, or add an Eleventh Commandment, as the eRumor claims.