Different social media accounts related to the Diocese of Irapuato in the Mexican state of Guanajuato were hacked and inappropriate content was posted on the accounts.
“We want to inform you that in recent days, six Facebook accounts related to the Diocese of Irapuato and Our Lady of Solitude Parish have been hacked. We condemn this attack on our social media,” wrote Father Efrén Silva Plasencia, spokesman for the diocese, in a statement posted on Facebook Sept. 16.
The hacked pages were: Diocese of Irapuato Cathedral, Cathedral of Irapuato Altar Servers, Diocese of Irapuato Pastoral Ministry for Liturgy, María Goretti Academy, Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Solitude, and St. Michael the Archangel Parish-San Miguelito.
Father Plasencia explained that “an attempt was made to restore them, but it wasn’t possible. In recent days inappropriate content has been uploaded to some of these pages.”
The bishop of Irapuato, Enrique Díaz Díaz, said at his Sunday Zoom press conference posted on Facebook that they have not yet found the person responsible for the attack or the motive for the hacking.
“These pages are related to the diocese, but they are not those of the diocese. So I have no idea where this could come from or if it is from someone who could cause us harm. Apparently yes, because by uploading such explicit, lurid content, it does become suspicious, but I wouldn’t know from whom,” he said.
While the pages of the Diocese of Irapuato Cathedral and María Goretti Academy remain active and also continue to share inappropriate content, the accounts of the Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Solitude and St. Michael the Archangel-San Miguelito were taken down from Facebook after several complaints.
The accounts of Cathedral de Irapuato Altar Servers and Diocese of Irapuato Pastoral Ministry for Liturgy have already been restored.
Given the impossibility of restoring some of the accounts, the diocese urged followers and users to “help by reporting these pages to Facebook so that said platform can deactivate them.”