AAP FACTCHECK – The Pope has sensationally declared Lucifer as God of the Catholic Church, social media users are claiming.
The claim is false. It is based on a misinterpretation of a single line in a hymn, confusing the Latin for “Morning Star” with “Lucifer” as one of the Devil’s proper names.
The bizarre declaration is made in an Instagram post featuring a video screenshot. A text overlay reads: “This ceremony was held to induct two former Popes into sainthood, but there was another annoucement [sic] made. A decleration [sic] to the world…”
Text beneath the screenshot reads: “Pope Francis Declares That Lucifer Is The God Of The Catholic Church.”
The screenshot is from a short YouTube video titled “Pope Francis Declares Lucifer As God”, with the frame in the post visible 11 seconds in.
Overlaid text (0:06) explains the ceremony took place on April 27, 2014, in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
This is the date John XXIII and John Paul II were declared saints.
The video making the claim includes neither Pope Francis nor his words, while the ceremony shown is not a part of the canonisation ceremony in question (which was held outdoors, in St Peter’s Square), instead taking place inside what appears to be St Peter’s Basilica.
Additionally, the words in the YouTube claim do not appear in a full program of the canonisation mass.
The inaccurate video shows a mass in which a hymn is sung in Latin, with both the Latin and the English translation shown in a text overlay (0:28).
These Latin words actually come from the Exsultet, or Easter Proclamation (page 5), which is a standard hymn for the Easter Vigil.
The Latin “Flammas eius Lucifer matutinus inveniat” is translated as “His Flame dawning His own creation …”.
The next line reads “ille, inquam, Lucifer, qui nescit Christus Filius tuus” … translated as “May I say O’Lucifer, who knows no setting … Christ, your son”.
“Did you catch that?” more overlaid text reads (01:18), to haunting background music: “Lucifer was declared God.”
The words are from the final verse, which is usually translated into English as “May this flame be found still burning by the Morning Star; the one Morning Star who never sets, Christ your son …”.
“Morning star” is an English translation of the Latin word “lucifer”.
The Church of England has an alternative, though similar, translation of the Exsultet.
Dr Michael Barbezat, an expert in the history of Christianity and medieval European religious history, told AAP FactCheck a medieval Latin prayer describing Christ as the light bringer was perfectly normal, and the Exsultet did not proclaim Lucifer as God.
“The Exsultet is literally a blessing for a candle, a form of light,” he says.
“The prayer requests that this light be found still burning by the True Light (Christ) that will never go out.”
Dr Barbezat says the confusion around the Latin “lucifer” occurred because “the Morning Star” can be used to refer to Christ but has also been used to refer to Satan.
“In the medieval Latin tradition, it is not one of Satan’s ‘proper names’,” he says. “The word itself can be interpreted to refer to different things according to context.”
The Morning (and Evening) Star – lucifer in Latin – Dr Barbezat explains, is literally the planet Venus, shining brightly at night preceding the rising of the morning sun, hence “the light bringer”.
It is found in this sense in the New Testament passage, 2 Peter 1:19, where it is traditionally understood as referring to Christ, Dr Barbezat says.
However, in the Old Testament passage of Isaiah 14:12, lucifer has been traditionally understood to refer to Satan, although in the context it is literally addressing the King of Babylon.
A related claim has previously been fact-checked by Lead Stories.
The Verdict
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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