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United States President Donald Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated image of himself dressed as pope as the mourning of Pope Francis continues and just days before the conclave to elect his successor is set to begin. Trump’s action drew rebukes from a group representing Catholic bishops in New York and among Italians. The image, shared Friday night on Trump’s Truth Social site and later reposted by the White House on its official X account, raised eyebrows on social media and at the Vatican, which is still in the period of nine days of official mourning following Francis’ death on April 21. Catholic cardinals have been celebrating daily Masses in his memory and are due to open the conclave to elect his successor on Wednesday.The death of a pope and election of another is a matter of utmost solemnity for Catholics, for whom the pope is Christ’s vicar on Earth. That is all the more true in Italy, where the papacy is held in high esteem even by nonreligious Italians. Story continues below advertisement if ( typeof( gn_monetize ) !== 'undefined' && typeof( gn_monetize.Ads ) !== 'undefined' && gn_monetize.Ads.initialRequestMade() ) { // Ads script has been loaded, create the ad. gn_monetize.Ads.create( {"sizes":"[300,250]","biddable":true,"id":"gpt-ad-300250-10","lazy":false,"targeting":{"pos":10,"slotid":"gpt-ad-300250-10"},"companion":false} ); } else { // if Ads script not yet loaded, queue up ad data for initialization. var gnAdSettings = gnAdSettings || {}; gnAdSettings.ads = gnAdSettings.ads || []; gnAdSettings.ads.push( {"sizes":"[300,250]","biddable":true,"id":"gpt-ad-300250-10","lazy":false,"targeting":{"pos":10,"slotid":"gpt-ad-300250-10"},"companion":false} ); } The image featuring Trump in a white cassock and pointed miter, or bishop’s hat, was the topic of several questions during the Vatican’s daily conclave briefing Saturday. Italian and Spanish news reports lamented its poor taste and said it was offensive, given that the period of official mourning is still underway.Left-leaning former Premier Matteo Renzi said the image was shameful. “This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the right-wing world enjoys clowning around,” Renzi wrote on X. “Meanwhile, the U.S. economy risks recession and the dollar loses value. The sovereignists are doing damage, everywhere.” 2:23 Conclave to elect new pope to start on May 7 as cardinals meet in Vatican City The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, declined to comment. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. In the United States, the New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the bishops of the state in working with government, accused Trump of mockery. Story continues below advertisement if ( typeof( gn_monetize ) !== 'undefined' && typeof( gn_monetize.Ads ) !== 'undefined' && gn_monetize.Ads.initialRequestMade() ) { // Ads script has been loaded, create the ad. gn_monetize.Ads.create( {"sizes":"[300,250]","biddable":true,"id":"gpt-ad-300250-11","lazy":true,"targeting":{"pos":11,"slotid":"gpt-ad-300250-11"},"companion":false} ); } else { // if Ads script not yet loaded, queue up ad data for initialization. var gnAdSettings = gnAdSettings || {}; gnAdSettings.ads = gnAdSettings.ads || []; gnAdSettings.ads.push( {"sizes":"[300,250]","biddable":true,"id":"gpt-ad-300250-11","lazy":true,"targeting":{"pos":11,"slotid":"gpt-ad-300250-11"},"companion":false} ); } “There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President,” they wrote. “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.”Italy’s left-leaning La Repubblica also featured the image on its homepage Saturday with a commentary accusing Trump of “pathological megalomania.”The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the backlash to the image or why the president had shared the image. More on World More videos Prince Harry wants to reconcile with Royal Family, says he’s ‘forgiven’ them Deadly crash near Yellowstone highlights risks on scenic routes Wisconsin governor responds to Trump border czar’s ‘chilling’ arrest threat Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wins 2nd term Lethbridge’s Filipino community honours lives lost in Vancouver festival tragedy Greta Thunberg vows fight will continue after Gaza aid ship attacked by drones near Malta Prince Harry loses legal battle with UK government over police protection Iconic chimney installed on roof of Sistine Chapel as conclave prepares to elect a new Pope But Jack Posobiec, a prominent far-right influencer and Trump ally who recently participated in a Catholic prayer event in March at Trump’s Florida resort, defended the president.“I’m Catholic. We’ve all been making jokes about the upcoming Pope selection all week. It’s called a sense of humor,” he wrote on X.The episode comes after Trump joked last week about his interest in the vacancy. “I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice,” the thrice married president, who is not Catholic, told reporters.Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, piled on.“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!” Graham, R-S.C., wrote on X. “The first Pope-U.S. President combination has many upsides. Watching for white smoke…. Trump MMXXVIII!” Story continues below advertisement if ( typeof( gn_monetize ) !== 'undefined' && typeof( gn_monetize.Ads ) !== 'undefined' && gn_monetize.Ads.initialRequestMade() ) { // Ads script has been loaded, create the ad. gn_monetize.Ads.create( {"sizes":"[300,250]","biddable":true,"id":"gpt-ad-300250-12","lazy":true,"targeting":{"pos":12,"slotid":"gpt-ad-300250-12"},"companion":false} ); } else { // if Ads script not yet loaded, queue up ad data for initialization. var gnAdSettings = gnAdSettings || {}; gnAdSettings.ads = gnAdSettings.ads || []; gnAdSettings.ads.push( {"sizes":"[300,250]","biddable":true,"id":"gpt-ad-300250-12","lazy":true,"targeting":{"pos":12,"slotid":"gpt-ad-300250-12"},"companion":false} ); } Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic and was one of the last foreign officials to meet with Francis before the pope died, also joked about Secretary of State Marco Rubio becoming pope, suggesting Rubio could add it to the long list of titles he holds, including national security adviser and acting archivist. Trending Now Prince Harry wants to reconcile with Royal Family, says he’s ‘forgiven’ them Man who kept angry crowd back from suspect at Lapu Lapu festival says it was right to do 4:42 Pope Francis’ impact on the Catholic Church Beyond floating himself for the job, Trump also has put in a plug for Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York.“I have no preference. I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out a place called New York who’s very good. So we’ll see what happens,” he said.Dolan, 75, is one of 10 U.S. cardinals who will be voting in the conclave, but Trump’s pitch might have cost Dolan support.The reason conclaves are held in secrecy, with cardinals sequestered for the duration, is to prevent outside secular powers from influencing their choice, as occurred in centuries past. Story continues below advertisement if ( typeof( gn_monetize ) !== 'undefined' && typeof( gn_monetize.Ads ) !== 'undefined' && gn_monetize.Ads.initialRequestMade() ) { // Ads script has been loaded, create the ad. gn_monetize.Ads.create( {"sizes":"[300,250]","biddable":true,"id":"gpt-ad-300250-13","lazy":true,"targeting":{"pos":13,"slotid":"gpt-ad-300250-13"},"companion":false} ); } else { // if Ads script not yet loaded, queue up ad data for initialization. var gnAdSettings = gnAdSettings || {}; gnAdSettings.ads = gnAdSettings.ads || []; gnAdSettings.ads.push( {"sizes":"[300,250]","biddable":true,"id":"gpt-ad-300250-13","lazy":true,"targeting":{"pos":13,"slotid":"gpt-ad-300250-13"},"companion":false} ); } There is an old saying about campaigning for the job of pope or of being promoted excessively, especially by outsiders: If you “enter a conclave as pope, you leave as a cardinal.”While Trump attended Francis’ funeral, he and Vance have clashed with U.S. bishops in general and Francis in particular over the administration’s hard line stance on immigration and its efforts to deport migrants en masse. Right before he was hospitalized in February for pneumonia, Francis issued a strong rebuke of the administration’s mass deportation plans and Vance’s theological justification of it.Over 12 years as pope, Francis tried to remake the U.S. Catholic hierarchy more in his image, elevating pastors who prioritized social justice and migration issues over culture warriors who were more favored by his more doctrinaire predecessors St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI. A new pope who is more conservative could reverse that effort.Trump has nominated as his ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch, whose Catholicvote.org has been aggressively covering the pre-conclave days at the Vatican. It was one of the main disseminators in English-speaking media of a report, flatly and officially denied by the Vatican, that Cardinal Pietro Parolin had had a health scare this past week that required medical attention.Parolin was the secretary of state under Francis and is seen as a leading contender to be pope. He is also the main architect of the Vatican’s China policy and its controversial 2018 deal with Beijing over bishop nominations — a deal that the was sharply criticized by the first Trump administration. Advertisement if ( typeof( gn_monetize ) !== 'undefined' && typeof( gn_monetize.Ads ) !== 'undefined' && gn_monetize.Ads.initialRequestMade() ) { // Ads script has been loaded, create the ad. gn_monetize.Ads.create( {"sizes":"[300,250]","biddable":true,"id":"gpt-ad-300250-14","lazy":true,"targeting":{"pos":14,"slotid":"gpt-ad-300250-14"},"companion":false} ); } else { // if Ads script not yet loaded, queue up ad data for initialization. var gnAdSettings = gnAdSettings || {}; gnAdSettings.ads = gnAdSettings.ads || []; gnAdSettings.ads.push( {"sizes":"[300,250]","biddable":true,"id":"gpt-ad-300250-14","lazy":true,"targeting":{"pos":14,"slotid":"gpt-ad-300250-14"},"companion":false} ); }