My dear brothers and sisters in Christ: 

The headline of my column in the May 12, 2024 issue of Catholic Times published almost exactly one year ago read, “President Biden mocks our Catholic faith.” I made that criticism of President Biden after he demonstrated his support for the sin abortion by making the sign of the cross during a pro-abortion rally in Tampa, Florida. Afterwards some people asked me why I had not made similar criticisms of Donald Trump. I answered that I was not aware of Mr. Trump saying or doing anything to mock our Catholic faith, but if he ever did, I would criticize him too.

Well, after President Trump recently posted on his Truth Social account an artificially generated photo of himself depicted as the Pope, which was then shared by official White House social media accounts, I now say, “President Trump mocks our Catholic faith.” 

The following statement was then posted on my social media accounts: “The Bible tells us, ‘Make no mistake: God is not mocked’ (Galatians 6:7). The Pope is the Vicar of Christ. By publishing a picture of himself masquerading as the Pope, President Trump mocks God, the Catholic Church, and the Papacy. This is deeply offensive to Catholics especially during this sacred time that we are still mourning the death of Pope Francis and praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the election of our new Pope. President Trump owes an apology to Catholics and all people of good will.”

Some people have defended this photo saying it was just a joke. Prior to posting the fake photo, President Trump joked that he would “like to be pope.” The dictionary defines mockery as “a subject of laughter or derision.” To mock someone or something is to seek laughter through ridicule. The idea of Donald Trump as Pope is ridiculous for a number of reasons, starting with the fact that he is not even Catholic. 

What makes this photo particularly offensive is its timing and context. If this were done at some other time in a joking fashion, it might get a laugh or two and then be forgotten. But the fake photo of Donald Trump as Pope was posted during a sensitive time of mourning over the recent death of Pope Francis while Catholics are praying for the wisdom of Holy Spirit to guide the College of Cardinals in making the crucial decision of electing our next Pope.

In this regard, much has been written recently about the qualities needed in the next Pope. A number of such articles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, more commonly seen as the source of news about economic and financial matters, but also the source of thought-provoking opinion pieces.

In one such article entitled, “What the Church Needs in the Next Pope,” Archbishop Charles Chaput, the Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia, wrote, “The central questions Catholics finally face are these: Do we really believe in Jesus Christ? Do we have an appetite for the daily presence of God? Do we believe that the church speaks a saving truth when it teaches in Christ’s name, and if so, do we submit ourselves to that truth or look for loopholes and plausible excuses? Everything turns on the answers, because if our faith truly grounds and organizes our lives, then the flaws in others, even within the church and its pope, won’t shake us. The church will regain its purity and focus because we will regain ours. … We need clear teaching; we need unambiguous truth preached to us with joy and confidence; and then we need to act on it.”

George Weigel, the biographer of Pope St. John Paul II, in his essay entitled, “The High Stakes in Choosing the Next Pope,” wrote that “the bottom line of this conclave is the great question that has roiled the Catholic Church since the late 18^th century: Should Catholicism accommodate itself to the modern world, as liberal Protestantism has done and German Catholicism is now trying to do? Or should the Church seek to convert the contemporary world, thereby giving modernity’s aspirations to freedom, equality and solidarity a firm foundation in the truths that biblical religion has taught for millennia? That is the issue for the conclave ahead.” 

While recommendations such as these are helpful, we could say that the most important criterion for the selection of a Pope was given by Jesus Himself in the Gospel passage for the Third Sunday of Easter (John 21:1-19), when Jesus asked Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Peter responds after being asked the third time if he loves Jesus, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus then says to Peter, the first Pope, “Feed my sheep.” 

We pray that our new Pope is one who loves Jesus more than anyone else, and who will feed the flock by teaching all of us how to love Jesus more.

May God give us this grace. Amen.