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Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez, retired archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico, is pictured in a screen shot from his video that was pulled by Facebook for spreading conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and Bill Gates. (CNS screenshot/YouTube)

Facebook removes video commentary by Mexican cardinal

January 15, 2021
By David Agren
Catholic News Service
Filed Under: Coronavirus, Feature, News, World News

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MONTERREY, Mexico (CNS) — Facebook removed a video commentary from Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez of Guadalajara, saying it spread false information about COVID-19.

Semanario Arquidiocesano Guadalajara — an information service operated by the Archdiocese of Guadalajara — posted a screenshot from the video on its Facebook page Jan. 13, along with the text, “Cardinal Juan Sandoval denounced the imposition of a new world order, hours later his video was censored.” It also posted the video on its regular website, along with a story on its removal.

The screenshot of the inaccessible video prominently announced, “False information,” and explained, “This publication repeats information about COVID-19, which independent fact checkers indicated is false.”

In the video — titled “Plot of a new world order” — Cardinal Sandoval started by saying, “This will go for a long time.”

He continued, “This pandemic won’t end in a month or two months, perhaps not this year, perhaps not in three, four, five, six years. That’s what these men want.”

The cardinal mentioned conspiratorially Microsoft founder and health philanthropist Bill Gates and alleged a U.S. laboratory had a strain of another virus ready. He then started speaking of one world government.

Cardinal Sandoval, 87, has detoured into conspiracies throughout the pandemic and publicly questioned health precautions such as closing businesses and canceling services. He has also minimized the impact of the illness and dispensed erroneous medical advice.

He is currently retired archbishop of Guadalajara — where he was leader for 17 years until his retirement in 2011. Father Antonio Gutiérrez Montaño, archdiocesan spokesman, said Cardinal Sandoval has no official responsibilities in the Archdiocese of Guadalajara and his opinions are his own.

“We’re not going to censor him or block him or anything like that,” Father Gutiérrez said. “He doesn’t speak in the name of the archdiocese. But the archdiocese is not going to censor him.”

The archdiocese reposted Cardinal Sandoval’s commentary to the website of its newspaper Semanario.

Throughout the pandemic, dioceses across Mexico have closed churches at times, celebrated Mass with limited occupancy and canceled pilgrimages and feast days, including the Dec. 12 feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at her namesake shrine.

Controversy over the cardinal’s comments came as parts of Mexico experienced a worsening of the pandemic, with hospital beds becoming scarce and daily death tolls regularly topping more than 1,000, in a country with very little testing.

COVID-19 has claimed the lives of clergy, too. Father Gutiérrez said 120 priests — roughly 10% of clergy in the archdiocese — had contracted COVID-19, and eight priests had died of the disease.

Bishop José María de la Torre Martín of Aguascalientes died of COVID-19 Dec. 14.

Also see

May 1 marks 5th anniversary of consecrating U.S. to Mary as COVID declared a pandemic

Dealing with pandemic PTSD

Dr. Robert Redfield warns against ‘scientific arrogance,’ calls for increased biosecurity

Celebrating the class of 2024

Catholic bishops reiterate moral permissibility of COVID vaccines as boosters become available

CELAM report portrays long-lasting crisis in Latin America after COVID-19 hit the region

Copyright © 2021 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

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David Agren

Catholic News Service is a leading agency for religious news. Its mission is to report fully, fairly and freely on the involvement of the church in the world today.

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