SCAM ALERT: But this time you’ll wish it’s true

It was a tough week for Ballarat abuse survivors who travelled to Rome to hear Cardinal George Pell give his testimony for the inquiry into child sex abuse.

After four days of hard-hitting questions and vague, often infuriating, answers survivors and their supporters were left emotionally drained.

That’s why when a scam about the Church hit the internet, many people were left not only laughing but wishing it was true.

A message was sent out on the ABC 23 Facebook page, a parody page of the real ABC 24 News page, saying Pope Francis had announced the Catholic Church was closing down for good.

In the message, the Pope apparently said “Look, we’ve had a good run but mostly it’s been pretty bad”.

“We’ve destroyed cultures, burned people at the stake… We’ve amassed obscene wealth, roasted people’s feet for no good reason,” the statement read.

“Even today, that miserable sociopath Pell is doing untold damage to people whose lives we already left in ruin. I mean seriously, it’s time to shut up shop.”

The fake post drew laugher and applause from many readers who lamented the fact that it wasn’t true.

Take a look at the hilarious post below and tell us what you think. Did it give you a giggle?

Did this post make you laugh? How would you react if the Catholic Church really was closing down?