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Holy See concerned over fake news reports about Pope, his itinerary — Vatican source

"Such unverified and unconfirmed pieces of news are detrimental," the source noted

VATICAN CITY, March 21. /TASS/. The latest fake news reports in certain media outlets about Pope Francis are cause for serious concern among papal authorities in Vatican City.

The Vatican does not rule out that the release of such information that is "not true to the facts" is aimed at discrediting and undermining public efforts by the pontiff, including toward promoting peacemaking and greater international understanding, a source inside Vatican City told TASS.

"Such unverified and unconfirmed pieces of news are detrimental," the source noted.

The latest example was the publication in the France-based Intelligence Online website about a trip allegedly being prepared by Pope Francis to visit Moscow as part of his mediation efforts toward reaching a settlement in the Ukraine conflict. Both the purported plans for the trip and the specific details spelled out in the article, including, for example, June as the intended timeframe for the trip, are simply not true, the Holy See source told TASS.

Another source in the Vatican noted that any papal visit is a difficult undertaking even from a purely technical viewpoint. The pontiff has consistently said he is prepared to travel to Ukraine and to Russia if the parties so desire and if it would be useful, but only if both capitals are included in the itinerary. "It is almost impossible even from the logical standpoint," the source noted. Furthermore, it is known that 87-year-old Pope Francis is not feeling well himself. Thus far, late August or September has been indicated as the earliest possible timeframe for planning any potential papal trips.

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