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CEBU CITY — Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan has apologized after mistakenly posting on social media that Pope Francis had passed away, a claim that was later proven false.
The mayor took down the erroneous post and issued a public apology on Monday, acknowledging the distress and confusion it caused among his followers and the Catholic community.
"We understand that this oversight had caused frustration, confusion, distress and even outrage [among] our followers and the Roman Catholic community, with that we are very sorry," Chan said in a Facebook post on Monday.
He assured the public that his team would implement stricter measures to verify information before posting on social media to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
The false report about Pope Francis spread widely online, with some posts even using AI-generated images of the Pope in a hospital bed with an oxygen mask.
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Fr. Gregory Gaston, rector of the Pontificio Collegio Filippino in Rome, urged the public to be cautious about such misinformation.
"Please be cautious about spreading false reports regarding Pope Francis' [supposed] death," Gaston said, as reported by the news service of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines.
He also warned that some misleading posts had misused the Vatican News logo to deceive people.
Gaston said that the Vatican News website remains the most reliable source for updates on the 88-year-old Pope's health as he continues treatment for pneumonia.
Chan, in his statement, also expressed his prayers for Pope Francis' speedy recovery, recognizing the Pope's strong connection with Cebuano Catholics through his humility, advocacy for the poor and commitment to interfaith dialogue.
