Says Pope Francis said, "You cannot call yourself ‘Catholic’ and vote Democrat. It is a grave sin, one for which there is no redemption."
Stand up for the facts!
Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.
I would like to contribute
No evidence Pope Francis said Catholics who vote Democrat are committing “a grave sin.”
President Donald Trump recently said that any Jews who vote for Democrats show "either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty." Did Pope Francis say something similar about Catholics?
That’s what an Aug. 26 Facebook post alleges, attributing this quote to the head of the Catholic Church: "You cannot call yourself ‘Catholic’ and vote Democrat. It is a grave sin, one for which there is no redemption."
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Searching for the quote online we found no results. We also didn’t discover any evidence that Pope Francis has condemned Americans who vote for Democrats.
Featured Fact-check
There are about 51 million Catholic adults in the United States, and today they’re evenly split between the Republican and Democratic parties, Pew Research Center reported in January. White Catholics are more likely to vote Republican, and Hispanic Catholics "overwhelmingly back Democrats."
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
Republican and Democratic Catholics both used to admire Pope Francis, according to Pew, but he’s become an increasingly polarizing figure in the church. Democrats and Democratic-leaning Catholics view him more favorably than Republicans and Republican-leaning Catholics. Republican Catholics are much more likely than Democratic Catholics to say he’s "too liberal" and "naive." Most Catholic Democrats say he’s doing an excellent or good job of spreading the Catholic faith.
We rate this Facebook post False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Aug. 26, 2019
Associated Press, "Trump: Any Jew voting Democratic is uninformed or disloyal," Aug. 21, 2019
Religion News Service, "Pope Francis: God redeemed everyone, ‘not just Catholics,’" May 22, 2013
Pew Research Center, "Like Americans overall, U.S. Catholics are sharply divided by party," Jan. 24, 2019
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Ciara O'Rourke
No evidence Pope Francis said Catholics who vote Democrat are committing “a grave sin.”
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.