Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the US remarked that President Donald Trump’s posting of an AI-generated image depicting him as the pope “wasn’t good,” but he refrained from commenting on whether the White House should apologize to offended Catholics.
The archbishop of New York, Cardinal Dolan addressed the post during a mass at a church in Rome ahead of the conclave starting Wednesday, where he and other cardinals under 80 will elect a successor to Pope Francis.
Mr. Trump, who is not Catholic and does not regularly attend church, shared the image on his Truth Social platform on Friday, just days after attending the funeral of Pope Francis, who passed away at 88 last month.
The White House subsequently shared it on its official X account.
pic.twitter.com/x2HrR939tn
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 3, 2025
When asked by a reporter if he was offended, Cardinal Dolan responded: “Well, you know, it wasn’t good.”
Switching to Italian, he referred to it as a “brutta figura,” a term describing an embarrassing or unfavorable action.
After the Mass, when asked if the post should be removed and whether an apology from Mr. Trump or the White House was warranted, Cardinal Dolan replied in Italian: “Who knows?” He chose not to elaborate further.
‘Do not mock us’
Last week, Mr. Trump humorously told reporters that he would like to be the next pope, suggesting that Cardinal Dolan could be a suitable choice: “I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good, so we’ll see what happens.”
Cardinal Dolan, elevated to cardinal status by Pope Benedict in 2012, is viewed as a conservative and provided one of the invocations at Mr. Trump’s inauguration in January.
The AI image shared on Friday presents a serious-looking Donald Trump seated in an elaborate chair, clad in white papal garments and a headdress, his right forefinger raised.
The irreverent image sparked immediate backlash on social media, with the Catholic bishops of New York state clearly expressing their discontent on X.
“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President,” they stated.
“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.”
The image made headlines in numerous Italian newspapers on Sunday, with many condemning it or voicing outrage, while some right-wing publications suggested it should be taken lightly as a joke.
In St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, reactions from pilgrims and tourists were mixed.
“Did he really post it? He posted that? It’s kind of ridiculous but yeah, okay,” said Marcella Peixoto from Brazil.
John Smith, an American from California, commented: “I think he’s a funny guy, I think he’s trying to be funny and comedy is being lost in the world. I think everyone needs to lighten up and smile like you’re smiling right now.”
