BBC, The Pope and Abbas the “Angel of Peace”

The BBC reports that PA President Mahmoud Abbas has met the Pope to warn of the consequences of the US moving its embassy to Jerusalem.

The story also includes the following:

If calling Abbas “an angel of peace” sounds laughable, that’s because it isn’t accurate as HonestReporting told the media at the time.

Who also says who? The BBC in its own report from 2015:

The Vatican has clarified comments made by Pope Francis to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday.

 

Journalists from leading news agencies reported that the Pope called Mr Abbas “an angel of peace” when giving him a bronze medallion representing one.

 

But an Italian newspaper says he merely expressed hope that the president might one day become an angel of peace.

 

The Vatican’s spokesman said he did not hear the exact words, but that they had been meant as an “encouragement”.

 

Reports of the Pope’s remarks caused a storm on social media, with some Twitter users accusing the media of deliberately misquoting him.

Whoops. Looks like the BBC failed to look back at its own content.

We contacted the BBC asking for a correction.