Why the Vatican is rebutting ‘fake news’ about an attempt to visit the pope

Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., has publicly defended a prominent Argentine left-wing activist over accusations that he attempted to gain unauthorized access to Pope Francis’ hospital room at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

In a March 6 letter, Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, expressed his gratitude to Juan Grabois, an Argentine political activist and a consultant to the dicastery, for his visit to Rome and for his “closeness to Pope Francis and your witness of the Gospel.”

The cardinal also pointedly dismissed “unfounded versions that have been circulated in some media about alleged inappropriate behavior at the hospital,” related to Grabois having allegedly tried to force entry into the pope’s room.

Grabois, who is known to have a good relationship with both Czerny’s dicastery and the pope personally, seemed an unlikely figure to try to sneak past papal security and into the pope’s hospital room— but with both Czerny and the Vatican’s media department at pains to deny rumors about the alleged incident, why are they taking the matter so seriously?

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