WARNING! Beware FAKE Pope Francis quotes

Please be careful when quoting the Holy Father.

Popular quotes attributed to Pope Francis are fake, says a Vatican spokesperson. A viral quotation suggests Pope Francis wants to unify Christianity and Islam into one religion.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- A fake quote attributed to Pope Francis is making the rounds on the internet and has become so popular that the Vatican has addressed it.

According to a viral meme, Pope Francis said "Jesus Christ, Mohammed, Jehovah, Allah. These are all names employed to describe an entity that is distinctly the same across the world. For centuries, blood has been needlessly shed because of the desire to segregate our faiths."

The problem is that Pope Francis has not said any such thing. A shorter version of the quote says, "We can accomplish miraculous things in the world by merging our faiths, and the time for such a movement is now." This quote is also fake.

The quotes are not new, having first circulated in 2015, possibly in a story allegedly from the site "National Report," but they have recently gone viral, and many Catholics are sharing them. However, Vatican spokesperson Greg Burke told the Associated Press the quotes are fake, or more specifically "invented." Pope Francis has never said any such thing.

Misrepresentation of Pope Francis' statements is a common problem. Pope Francis is popular, even with non-Catholics, which makes him a target for people who want to co-opt him to advance their own agendas. Media outlets, politicians, and activist organizations have all attempted to co-opt Pope Francis to advance their own ends. Others seek to do evil by seeking to discredit the Pope and to turn people against him.

When quoting the Pope, or sharing memes about him, it is important to check the accuracy of what he actually said. As Christ's vicar on Earth, his words are important and must be treated with respect. When the Pope speaks, people listen. We should all do our part to ensure what we repeat is accurate.