The Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan joined the growing number of Catholics condemning Donald Trump’s AI-generated photo of himself dressed as the pope.
Asked about the photo by reporters in Rome, Dolan, who was appointed by Trump to serve on a newly created presidential commission on religious liberty, said “I hope he [Trump] didn’t have anything to do with that.”
Pressed on whether he was “offended” by the post, Dolan did not give a straight answer, he paused and replied, “It wasn’t good.”
On Friday evening, Trump posted an AI-photo of himself in a white cassock and a Mitre hat with a large gold cross around his neck. The official White House Twitter account later reposted the image.
The post comes during Novemdiales, the nine-day period of official mourning observed by the Catholic Church following the death of Pope Francis.
It was also days before cardinals are set to begin conclave on May 7 to elect the next pope.
Several Catholics called the post offensive and disrespectful and at least one U.S. bishop said Trump needs to apologize.
Asked about the backlash to the post, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Associated Press, “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.”
Catholics do not agree.
A Pew Research Center survey conducted between April 7–13 shows 43 percent of Catholics say Trump is doing a poor job while 38 percent said he was doing a good job.
