A screenshot, purportedly of a newspaper quoting Pope Francis’s statement about COVID vaccine has gone viral on social media. ‘Pope Francis says Covid Vaccine will now be required to enter heaven,’ the clip claimed with a text overlay that read, ‘The devil in human form. How can Catholics believe this lying serpent? Does he think Catholics are STUPID or don’t have BRAINS?’

The image is being shared at a time when the world is on the verge of completing the coronavirus vaccine trial with 50 COVID-19 vaccine candidates in the race. Several Facebook users have shari the post.

Claim:

Pope Francis said that Covid-19 vaccine will be required to enter heaven.

Fact Check:

The newspaper clip is from a the story published on a satirical website, The Babylon Bee. The story not only had the same headline but also had the same thumbnail image and was dated November 30, 2020, as mentioned in the viral image.

On searching for the About Us section of the page, we found the page is a satire site that puts up satirical contents on politics, Christianity and everyday life.

We were also not able to find any media reports regarding any such statements made by Pope Francis.

Thus, the clip is from a satire site and is shared with a false claim that Pope Francis said coronavirus vaccine is required to enter heaven.

If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.

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