Holy disrespect: Trump’s arrogance has Catholics steaming
Catholic cardinals are preparing to begin a conclave on May 7 to choose a successor to the late Pope Francis. But unfortunately for them—and for Catholics around the world—President Donald Trump has once again inserted himself into the conversation.
On May 2, both Trump and the official White House social media accounts shared an AI-generated picture depicting Trump as the pope.
“It’s sad both for the White House and for the president. I mean, he makes themselves ridiculous, right?” Cardinal Anders Arborelius, bishop of Stockholm, told the Washington Post.
Even closer to home, cardinals are not pleased with Trump’s move.
“You know, it wasn’t good,” New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan said.
And some are even demanding that Trump apologize for his insensitivity.
“This is deeply offensive to Catholics especially during this sacred time that we are still mourning the death of Pope Francis and praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the election of our new Pope. He owes an apology,” Thomas Paprocki, bishop of Springfield, Illinois, wrote on X.
But, of course, Trump doesn’t seem like he’ll be taking accountability any time soon.
“You don’t mean the Catholics. You mean the fake news media?” Trump said when asked about the image. “I had nothing to do with it. Somebody made up a picture of me dressed like the pope, and they put it out on the internet. That’s not me that did it.”
Trump’s computer-generated papal fantasy began earlier in the week when he told reporters that he would “like to be pope.”
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina voiced support for Trump’s supposed shot at becoming the next pope.
“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!” he wrote on X.
It remains unclear if Graham meant that figuratively or if he was invoking one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse from the Bible’s Book of Revelation. Either way, it was an interesting sentiment from a man who once called Trump a “religious bigot.”
Similarly, Republican Sen, Mike Lee of Utah, who is a Mormon, shared the fake image on X.
“What would Trump’s papal name be?” he inquired.
Even Vice President JD Vance joined in on the tasteless narcissism.
A supposed Catholic, Vance’s version of Catholicism seems to lean more eugenic and natalist than reverent. He mused on X that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, another Catholic with a penchant for moral inconsistency, could be the next pope.
“I think [Rubio] could take on a bit more. If only there was a job opening for a devout Catholic…” he wrote.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted by YouGov on Monday found that 71% of respondents think that Trump’s AI-generated photo as the pope is inappropriate. Only 12% of respondents said it’s appropriate, and 17% said they are unsure.
Trump’s spirituality has been, at best, laughable. But more often than not, it’s just plain unwelcome.