ROME — The selection of the new pope starts this week, but the focus 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 closely guarded gathering of the cardinal electors to choose the new pope — and said the photo shared by Mr. Trump “wasn’t good.”
“I hope he didn’t have anything to do with it,” he told CBS News New York.
The New York State Catholic Conference wrote on social media, “There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us.”
Mr. Trump joked to reporters outside the White House last week that he would like to be pope.
“That would be my No. 1 choice,” he said Tuesday.
The president added he actually had no preference but referred to Dolan, saying, “I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good, so we’ll see what happens.”
Cardinals gathering for conclave in Vatican City
CBS News New York 
The discussion over the image comes as cardinals from around the world have descended on Vatican City to begin the process of electing a new pope on Wednesday.
But the subject seemed far from the minds of the faithful who greeted Cardinal Dolan like royalty Sunday at the Roman church that he was assigned to lead by Pope Benedict. The simple, one-room church was founded by Mexican refugees, and it sits outside Vatican City in Our Lady of Guadalupe.
New York City resident Kathleen Awn said she moved from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to that specific neighborhood in Italy, because of the community church led by Dolan.
“I respect him very much,” she said.
During the homily on Sunday, Dolan asked the congregation in Italian to pray for him and for all of the cardinals about to begin the conclave.
In just days, he’ll move into seclusion to help select the next pontiff. He said each cardinal speaks for eight to 10 minutes to introduce themselves, and they all need to speak honestly to gain each other’s trust.
“They just speak beautifully about their own dioceses, so we can get to know the church universal, and they speak about the challenges. They speak about the tremendous blessings of Papa Francesco,” Dolan said.
Dolan laughs off prospect of him becoming pope
This isn’t his first time among the cardinal electors choosing a new pope, and he said he feels more comfortable and seasoned.
When asked what kind of pope he is hoping for, Dolan replied, someone like Jesus.
“The first time Pope Francis spoke to us cardinals, he spoke so beautifully and humbly and simply,” he recalled. “I was sitting next to the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schonborn, and he had tears in his eyes. He said, ‘He speaks like Jesus.’ I said, ‘I think that’s the job description.'”
CBS News New York also asked about his chances of being chosen as pope, and he jokingly responded, “Didn’t I warn you what would happen after they legalized marijuana?”
One man referred to Dolan as the “cardinal of joy,” adding the church needs more joyfulness.
