Fake news spreading like wildfire over a diplomatic snub and a return to the papal apartments, whispers of upcoming foreign travel, and some challenging appointments to the Vatican’s ecumenical office: Pope Leo’s week has been eventful, even if not groundbreaking.
Let us start with the fake news, because in today’s world of social media and dopamine-driven addiction, nothing quite matches the appeal of spreading a rumour to generate online engagement. This week saw two such examples.
The first was a report that Pope Leo XIV had moved back into the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace, a claim apparently fuelled by a single photograph showing the lights on inside. The second was the assertion that Leo had cancelled a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron after a modern window in Notre Dame irritated the Pope. Cardinal Robert Sarah was dragged into the affair by some, while others suggested that a supposed feud between Paris and Rome meant Macron would soon remove the Archbishop of Paris in retaliation.
