Donald Trump just canonized himself… via Photoshop.
Yep. The former president decided to bless his Truth Social followers with an AI-generated image of himself dressed as the Pope. Mitre, robe, scepter—the whole holy shebang. Only problem? He posted it right after the actual Pope Francis passed away. So… yeah. Let’s just say people weren’t exactly in a “let’s LOL at fake Pope Trump” kind of mood.
Cardinal Dolan: “Um… what in the incense-scented hell?”
New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan, usually more chill than a monk on mute, was not having it. When asked what he thought of the post, Dolan basically said, “Please tell me this man did not just do that.”
In more ecclesiastical terms, he told The Hill he “hoped Trump didn’t have anything to do with it,” which is fancy Catholic code for “delete this now, my dude.”
When pressed, he added, “Well, you know, it wasn’t good.” Which, from a cardinal, is like your grandma saying she’s “disappointed”—a spiritual burn of holy proportions.
Other Catholic Leaders: “We are not amused. We are incensed.”
Bishop Thomas Paprocki took a break from blessing things to suggest that maybe, just maybe, Trump should apologize for meme-ifying himself during a time of mourning. (The nerve!)
“This is deeply offensive to Catholics,” Paprocki said, adding that posting Pope cosplay pics while the Church is still mourning is basically the ecclesiastical version of yelling “YOLO” at a funeral.
Meanwhile, the New York State Catholic Conference chimed in like a choir of disappointed parents: “There is nothing clever or funny about this,” they said. In other words: no, not even the scepter. Not even the AI glow.
JD Vance Enters the Chat With the Classic “But War Is Worse” Defense
Enter Vice President JD Vance, a recent Catholic convert and part-time Twitter philosopher. When confronted with criticism of the post, Vance was like, “Look, posting a goofy Pope pic isn’t nearly as bad as, say, starting a war.” (Which… technically true. But also not exactly the defense you’d use in Catholic court.)
In response to old-school Republican Bill Kristol, Vance basically said, “Let the memes flow, bro. It’s not like he launched a crusade.”
This Ain’t the Vatican Filter
Trump posted an AI pic of himself as the Holy Father, and the actual church fathers were not feeling it. Meanwhile, JD Vance is over here defending the post like it’s a sacred meme scroll.
Moral of the story? Maybe don’t self-anoint yourself as the Pope of Social Media while the real Pope’s chair is still warm.
(Post 1 of 2): The Bible tells us, “Make no mistake: God is not mocked” (Galatians 6:7). The Pope is the Vicar of Christ. By publishing a picture of himself masquerading as the Pope, President Trump mocks God, the Catholic Church, and the Papacy….https://t.co/vVJix9H0K8
— Bishop Paprocki (@BishopPaprocki) May 3, 2025
Post 2/2:… 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.https://t.co/vVJix9H0K8
— Bishop Paprocki (@BishopPaprocki) May 3, 2025
There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. 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. https://t.co/ortxbkDlT5
— NYS Catholic Conference (@NYSCatholicConf) May 3, 2025
As a general rule, I'm fine with people telling jokes and not fine with people starting stupid wars that kill thousands of my countrymen. https://t.co/2WQPsofVIH
— JD Vance (@JDVance) May 3, 2025
