Pope Francis targeted by 'fake news' amid rising tensions with conservative Catholics

Pontiff has caused unease among traditional Catholics with his liberal declarations

Pope Francis has been criticised by conservative elements of the Catholic Church (Getty)

Pope Francis has become a target of a fake news page, amid rising tensions with conservative Catholics.

The liberal pontiff was the feature of a mock up version of the Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

The headline read: “He answered!”

In the story it accompanies, the Pope answers requests for requests for clarification on a series of issues by saying both yes and no.

The spoof story is believed be a reference to the Pope’s lack of reply to four cardinals who asked him to further explain his position on inviting divorced and remarried Catholics to communion, an issue which has been particularly contentious.

The move was without precedence in the Church and caused considerable controversy.

Unlike the fake news which came to prominence during the US election - which deliberately poses as real and is spread as far and wide as possible via the internet - the news page is more easily recognisable as a spoof and is written in a humorous style.

It has also reportedly been circulating through emails and Whatsapp, and is thought to have initially been sent to a few cardinals..

It is suspected to have been made up by conservative opponents to the Pope, whose liberal declarations, such speaking sympathetically on LGBT rights and abortion, have caused some unease in the Catholic Church.

The editor-in-chief of the real L'Osservatore Romano, Giovanni Maria Vian, thanked whoever was responsible for the free publicity.

"We were only sad because the layout wasn't as nice as ours," Mr Vian told The Associated Press. He added that it clearly wasn't a professional job because the Latin wasn’t correct.

The page emerged soon after anonymous posters criticising the Pope were billed around Rome. Unlike the mock news page, they struck a more serious tone: They asked Francis "Where is your mercy?" and referred to some stances he's taken against conservatives or traditional Catholics.

The posters featuring a sour-faced pope cited Francis' recent "decapitation" of the Knights of Malta religious order, as well as the cardinals he had "ignored" in refusing to clarify the divorce-remarriage question.