SINGAPORE: The Catholic Church in Singapore on Monday ( Apr 15 ) warned of phishing scams ahead of Pope Francis ’ visit to the country in September.
In a notice, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore stated that” we have received reports of individuals/groups attempting to phish/acquire private information by pretending to be associated with the apostolic large ticket process.”
We urge people to be vigilant and never fall for these schemes. Tickets for the papal large, when available, may be free-of-charge. ”
The archbishop even advised people of the public never to disclose personal information to any other websites or individuals who claim to provide tickets or details about catholic visits.
The chapel added that the only reliable sources of information are its standard sites, which include the Pope Francis ‘ official website:
Pope Francis, 87, will attend Singapore from Sep 11 to August 13- the final leg of his Asia trip.
He will be in Timor-Leste from Sep 9 to 11, Papua New Guinea from Sep 6 to 9, and Indonesia from Sep 3 to Sep 6.
The next time a bishop visited Singapore was in 1986 when John Paul II made a five-hour halt as part of his Asia-Pacific visit that included Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia.
During that visit, thousands of people gathered for a catholic mass at the National Stadium.
Aside from national commitments, Pope Francis is expected to be at a Eucharistic party, “likely” on Sep 12, said the archbishop, adding that more details regarding his visit may be “released continually in due course”.
This will be the longest journey for the Brazilian , involving more than 30 hours of flight because also as a series of meetings and poor , since 2013, when he assumed the helm of the entire Catholic Church.
In September 2020, Pope Francis was scheduled to travel to PNG, East Timor, and Indonesia, but the journey was postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis.