By NICOLE WINFIELD and JILL COLVIN
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump posted a man-made intelligence-generated picture of himself dressed as pope because the mourning of Pope Francis continues and simply days earlier than the conclave to elect his successor is ready to start. Trump’s motion drew rebukes from a bunch representing Catholic bishops in New York and amongst Italians.
The picture, shared Friday night time on Trump’s Fact Social website and later reposted by the White Home on its official X account, raised eyebrows on social media and on the Vatican, which continues to be within the interval of 9 days of official mourning following Francis’ demise on April 21. Catholic cardinals have been celebrating each day Plenty in his reminiscence and are as a result of open the conclave to elect his successor on Wednesday.
The demise of a pope and election of one other is a matter of utmost solemnity for Catholics, for whom the pope is Christ’s vicar on Earth. That’s all of the extra true in Italy, the place the papacy is held in excessive esteem even by nonreligious Italians.
Left-leaning former Premier Matteo Renzi stated the picture was shameful. “This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the right-wing world enjoys clowning around,” Renzi wrote on X. “Meanwhile, the U.S. economy risks recession and the dollar loses value. The sovereignists are doing damage, everywhere.”
The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, declined to remark.
In america, the New York State Catholic Convention, which represents the bishops of the state in working with authorities, accused Trump of mockery.
“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President,” they wrote. “We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us.”
Italy’s left-leaning La Repubblica additionally featured the picture on its homepage Saturday with a commentary accusing Trump of “pathological megalomania.”
Requested to reply to the criticism, White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that, “President Trump flew to Italy to pay his respects for Pope Francis and attend his funeral, and he has been a staunch champion for Catholics and religious liberty.”
Jack Posobiec, a outstanding far-right influencer and Trump ally who lately participated in a Catholic prayer occasion in March at Trump’s Florida resort, additionally defended the president.
“I’m Catholic. We’ve all been making jokes about the upcoming Pope selection all week. It’s called a sense of humor,” he wrote on X.
The episode comes after Trump joked final week about his curiosity within the emptiness. “I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice,” the thrice married president, who shouldn’t be Catholic, advised reporters.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a detailed Trump ally, piled on.
“I was excited to hear that President Trump is open to the idea of being the next Pope. This would truly be a dark horse candidate, but I would ask the papal conclave and Catholic faithful to keep an open mind about this possibility!” Graham, R-S.C., wrote on X. “The first Pope-U.S. President combination has many upsides. Watching for white smoke…. Trump MMXXVIII!”
Vice President JD Vance, who’s Catholic and was one of many final overseas officers to satisfy with Francis earlier than the pope died, additionally joked about Secretary of State Marco Rubio changing into pope, suggesting Rubio might add it to the lengthy listing of titles he holds, together with nationwide safety adviser and appearing archivist.
Past floating himself for the job, Trump additionally has put in a plug for Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York.
“I have no preference. I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out a place called New York who’s very good. So we’ll see what happens,” he stated.
Dolan, 75, is one in every of 10 U.S. cardinals who can be voting within the conclave, however Trump’s pitch might need price Dolan assist.
The explanation conclaves are held in secrecy, with cardinals sequestered for the period, is to stop outdoors secular powers from influencing their alternative, as occurred in centuries previous.
There’s an outdated saying about campaigning for the job of pope or of being promoted excessively, particularly by outsiders: Should you “enter a conclave as pope, you leave as a cardinal.”
Whereas Trump attended Francis’ funeral, he and Vance have clashed with U.S. bishops basically and Francis specifically over the administration’s arduous line stance on immigration and its efforts to deport migrants en masse. Proper earlier than he was hospitalized in February for pneumonia, Francis issued a robust rebuke of the administration’s mass deportation plans and Vance’s theological justification of it.
Over 12 years as pope, Francis tried to remake the U.S. Catholic hierarchy extra in his picture, elevating pastors who prioritized social justice and migration points over tradition warriors who have been extra favored by his extra doctrinaire predecessors St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI. A brand new pope who’s extra conservative might reverse that effort.
Trump has nominated as his ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch, whose Catholicvote.org has been aggressively protecting the pre-conclave days on the Vatican. It was one of many essential disseminators in English-speaking media of a report, flatly and formally denied by the Vatican, that Cardinal Pietro Parolin had had a well being scare this previous week that required medical consideration.
Parolin was the secretary of state beneath Francis and is seen as a number one contender to be pope. He’s additionally the primary architect of the Vatican’s China coverage and its controversial 2018 take care of Beijing over bishop nominations — a deal that the was sharply criticized by the primary Trump administration.
___ Winfield reported from Vatican Metropolis.
Initially Printed: Might 3, 2025 at 1:38 PM EDT
