ROME — The selection of the new pope starts this week, however the concentrate on Sunday was on President Trump and an AI-generated image he posted on social media of himself dressed as a pope.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the archbishop of New York, is in Rome for the conclave — the intently guarded gathering of the cardinal electors to decide on the brand new pope — and mentioned the picture shared by Mr. Trump “wasn’t good.”
“I hope he did not have something to do with it,” he instructed CBS Information New York.
The New York State Catholic Convention wrote on social media, “There may be nothing intelligent or humorous about this picture, Mr. President. We simply buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a brand new successor of St. Peter. Don’t mock us.”
Mr. Trump joked to reporters outdoors the White Home final week that he want to be pope.
“That will be my No. 1 alternative,” he mentioned Tuesday.
The president added he really had no choice however referred to Dolan, saying, “I have to say, we now have a cardinal that occurs to be out of a spot referred to as New York who’s excellent, so we’ll see what occurs.”
Cardinals gathering for conclave in Vatican Metropolis
CBS Information New York 
The dialogue over the picture comes as cardinals from world wide have descended on Vatican Metropolis to begin the process of electing a new pope on Wednesday.
However the topic appeared removed from the minds of the trustworthy who greeted Cardinal Dolan like royalty Sunday on the Roman church that he was assigned to guide by Pope Benedict. The easy, one-room church was based by Mexican refugees, and it sits outdoors Vatican Metropolis in Our Woman of Guadalupe.
New York Metropolis resident Kathleen Awn mentioned she moved from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to that particular neighborhood in Italy, due to the group church led by Dolan.
“I respect him very a lot,” she mentioned.
In the course of the homily on Sunday, Dolan requested the congregation in Italian to hope for him and for all the cardinals about to start the conclave.
In simply days, he’ll transfer into seclusion to assist choose the following pontiff. He mentioned every cardinal speaks for eight to 10 minutes to introduce themselves, they usually all want to talk actually to achieve one another’s belief.
“They only communicate superbly about their very own dioceses, so we will get to know the church common, they usually communicate concerning the challenges. They communicate concerning the great blessings of Papa Francesco,” Dolan mentioned.
Dolan laughs off prospect of him turning into pope
This is not his first time among the many cardinal electors selecting a brand new pope, and he mentioned he feels extra snug and seasoned.
When requested what sort of pope he’s hoping for, Dolan replied, somebody like Jesus.
“The primary time Pope Francis spoke to us cardinals, he spoke so superbly and humbly and easily,” he recalled. “I used to be sitting subsequent to the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schonborn, and he had tears in his eyes. He mentioned, ‘He speaks like Jesus.’ I mentioned, ‘I feel that is the job description.'”
CBS Information New York additionally requested about his probabilities of being chosen as pope, and he jokingly responded, “Did not I warn you what would occur after they legalized marijuana?”
One man referred to Dolan because the “cardinal of pleasure,” including the church wants extra joyfulness.
