Washington-Days before the cardinals meet for the papal conclave to select the next head of the Catholic Church, President Donald Trump published an image generated by AI that represents himself as Pope.
The image, published on Friday and amplified by the White House, did not sit well with a group of Catholics, who resorted to social networks during the weekend to condemn the representation.
“There is nothing intelligent or fun in this image, Mr. President,” said the Catholic Conference of the State of New York, which represents bishops in the State who work in public policy initiatives.
“We have just built our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to choose a new successor of St. Peter,” the publication continued, referring to the first Pope. “Don’t make fun of us.”
The image, which seems to have been generated by artificial intelligence, represents the president in Catholic Blanca, similar to what Francis and their predecessors used. In the image, the president also carried a large cross necklace and sat in a chair with golden accents.
Trump published the image in Truth Social on Friday night, and the White House amplified the publication in X shortly after.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan from New York, who was appointed member of the White House Religious Freedom Commission on Thursday, told Anne Thompson of NBC News that the image “was not good.” Dolan added in Italian that the image caused a bad impression.
Dolan will be among the more than 100 cardinals who are gathering in the Vatican from May 7 to choose a new Pope.
Former Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, a Trump critic, said in an X post that the image published by the president “offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of global law enjoys being a clown,” according to an interpretation of Google Translate.
The White House did not immediately respond to a comment request on Sunday afternoon.
But Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, intervened in the controversy. He responded to a Bill Kristol post, the editor in general of Bulwark and the director of Defense of Democracy, who labeled Vance and asked if he was “well with this lack of respect and mockery of the Holy Father.”
“As a general rule, I am fine with the people who say jokes and are not right with people who begin stupid wars that kill thousands of my compatriots,” Vance replied.
Associated Press also reported that the White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, responded to criticism, saying: “President Trump flew to Italy to present his respect for Pope Francis and attend his funeral, and has been a firm champion of Catholics and religious freedom.”
Francis died on April 21, a stroke, coma and “cardiocirculatory collapse,” according to the death certificate issued by the Vatican. He was 88 years old.
