Donald Trump’s decision to post a social media image of himself in the role of Jesus Christ healing the sick is “an act of sacrilege” that has defamed the faith of millions of Christians, the influential Irish-American Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) has declared.
In its strongest-ever criticism of the US president, the conservative Catholic organisation said that Trump’s vocal attacks upon Pope Leo over the latter’s views of the US-Iran conflict have “gone well beyond reasonable disagreement.”
“When a president mocks the Vicar of Christ and then cloaks himself in Christ’s image, he has left the realm of politics entirely. He has committed an act of desecration against a faith held sacred by over a billion souls,” it continued.
“To call the Holy Father ”weak," to suggest that his election was engineered as a political response to an American president, and to speak of the papacy as though it should be aligned with a secular agenda is an insult not only to Pope Leo, but to the dignity and independence of the Catholic Church,” it said.
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Constitutionally, the conservative Irish-American Catholic organisation cannot support election candidates and did not support Trump in the last US presidential election, but a significant percentage of Irish-America did back him, despite being seen for a century or more as having strong Democratic leanings.
[ Trump attacks Pope Leo as being ‘weak on crime, terrible for foreign policy’Opens in new window ]
The pope has been seen as an increasingly vocal critic of Trump, especially over the US attacks upon Iran, where he has warned of the dangers of “a catastrophic escalation”, saying “the spiral of violence” should be halted before it “becomes an irreparable abyss”.
However, the AOH, which has a large delegation in Ireland this week, said that for Catholics the pope is “the successor of Saint Peter” and “does not hold his office at the pleasure of any leader of this world nor couch his remarks to please any secular leader”.
Trump had “amplified” the offence caused by his criticisms of the pope by posting a social media image “presenting himself in unmistakably quasi-religious terms, as a radiant healer laying hands on the afflicted in the style of classical depictions of Christ”, it said.
“Americans do not worship presidents. Our Constitution prohibits religious test acts and the establishment of a state religion. Americans do not bend the knee to political messianism from any quarter. American Catholics have always faithfully followed Christ’s teaching to render unto Caesar what is justly Caesar’s, while reserving that which belongs to God alone,” it went on.
Demanding an apology for the Truth Social depiction of himself in the role of Christ and for his criticisms of the pope, the AOH called on Trump to “offer a sincere and unambiguous apology, and show the respect due to the papacy and to Catholics”.
Trump has already deleted the post with the AI image depicting him as Jesus, saying that he had thought “it was me as a doctor” – though his explanation has cut little ice with previously-supportive, and influential conservative quarters in the United States.
[ Pope Leo vows to continue Iran war critiques after Trump attacksOpens in new window ]
