Catholic Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez said on Facebook recently that the COVID vaccine contains a microchip with the “mark of the beast” on it. His lie was flagged but there’s no indication the 87-year-old Sandoval plans to apologize.
Sandoval was archbishop of Guadalajara for 17 years before retiring in 2011. He continued to espouse conservative viewpoints afterward, holding a “nationwide exorcism” after Mexico legalized same-sex marriage in 2015.
He’s also been spreading bogus COVID information throughout the pandemic, according to the National Catholic Reporter.
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Guadalajara said Sandoval is speaking only for himself since he has no active role within the Church… but stick around for the last line in this excerpt:
“We’re not going to censor him or block him or anything like that,” [spokesperson Fr. Antonio Gutiérrez Montaño] said. “He doesn’t speak in the name of the archdiocese. But the archdiocese is not going to censor him.”
The archdiocese reposted Sandoval’s commentary to the website of its newspaper Semanario.
He doesn’t speak for the Church… but the Church will absolutely help him disseminate lies. Mexico, like so many other nations, is struggling to deal with COVID. Irresponsible statements like these from Church officials, past or present, only make the problem worse.
(Thanks to Richard for the link)
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