US President Donald Trump has attracted criticism from some Catholics after posting AI-generated images of himself as a pope.
The photo, shared by the official White House social media account, comes as Catholics lament the death of Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21, prepare to choose the next Pope.
The New York State Catholic Congress accused Trump of laughing at his faith. This post comes days after he joked to the media: “I want to be Pope.”
Trump is not the first president accused of causing crimes in the Catholic faith. Former Catholic US President Joe Biden sparked anger a year ago when he created a sign of a cross at a pro-aboration access rally in Florida.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni refused to answer questions about Trump’s posts during a briefing with journalists on Saturday. The Vatican is preparing to host a Conclave starting Wednesday to select a successor to Francis.
Images posted by Trump on Friday night show him wearing a white cassock and pointed miter, traditionally worn by the bishop. He has a large cross around his neck, lifting his fingers, and has a stern look on his face.
The New York State Catholic Congress, representing the Bishop of New York, took the photo to X to criticize it.
“There’s nothing smart or interesting about this image,” the group wrote.
“We have just buried our beloved Pope Francis and Cardinals are about to enter a strict conclave to elect a new successor to St. Peter. Don’t laugh at us.”
Matteo Renzi, the former Italian prime minister on the left, also blows up the Trump post.
“This is an image that angers followers, humiliates the institutions, and shows that right-wing world leaders enjoy themselves around the clown,” wrote Lenzi in X in Italian.
However, the White House rejected the proposal that the Republican president was making fun of the Pope.
“President Trump flew to Italy, honored Pope Francis and attended the funeral. He was a solid champion for Catholics and religious freedom,” said spokesman Caroline Levitt.
The backlash continued on Sunday as New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan (who had been friendly with Trump for many years) told reporters that he disliked the image.
“It wasn’t good,” he said after attending the Mass in Rome. “I hope he had nothing to do with that.”
Switching to Italian, he called it “Brutta figura.” This is a phrase that means a bad or embarrassing impression.
Asked if the White House should overthrow the image and apologize, he refused to talk more about it, saying “who knows” again in Italian.
