The Catholic Conference of New York State has issued a statement after US President, Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed as the Pope.
TheNewsGuru reports that post, which humorously depicted Trump in papal attire, garnered more than 12,000 reactions, with the White House’s official 𝕏 account reposting the image.
The image which was posted on his platform, Truth Social, on Saturday morning comes on the heels of the death of Pope Francis Bergoglio, who passed away on April 21, 2025, following a prolonged illness.
Under the rules of the Catholic Church, only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote in the papal election, with 135 electors expected to participate from a pool of over 252 cardinals.
In response, the Catholic Conference via the microblogging platform, X on Sunday morning condemned the action of the American president, noting that there was nothing funny about the image.
The post reads: “There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr President. We just buried our beloved Pope Franics and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St Peter. Do not mock us.”