Dear Commons Community,

U.S. Cardinal Timothy Dolan said yesterday that President Donald Trump’s posting of an AI-generated photo showing himself as the pope “wasn’t good” but declined to say whether the White House should apologize to offended Catholics.

Dolan, the archbishop of New York, was asked about the post on the sidelines of a Mass he celebrated at a Rome church ahead Wednesday’s start of a conclave where he and other cardinals under the age of 80 will elect a successor to Pope Francis.

Trump, who is not a Catholic and does not attend church regularly, posted the image on his Truth Social platform late on Friday, less than a week after attending the funeral of Pope Francis, who died at 88 last month.

The White House then reposted it on its official X account.

“It wasn’t good,” Dolan said before the Mass in response to a reporter’s question, adding: “I hope he didn’t have anything to do with that.”

When a reporter asked if he was offended, Dolan said: “Well, you know, it wasn’t good.”

Asked after the Mass if the post should be taken down and if an apology from Trump or the White House was in order, Dolan said in Italian: “Who knows?” He declined to say anything more about it.

I am sorry Cardinal Dolan but you should show more leadership and call him out.  What Trump did was a disgrace and an insult to  Catholics and the Papacy.

Tony

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