We ask that Trump apologize for insulting the Catholic Church

Seal of the Ancient Order of Hibernians

Irish Famine Memorial in Boston

— Original work: Robert Shure Depiction: Phillip Capper

Statement by The Ancient Order of Hibernians, which based in New York.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians, the nation’s oldest and largest Irish Catholic lay organization, with chapters in all fifty states, has issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s public attack on His Holiness Pope Leo XIV and the posting of an AI-generated image depicting the President in the likeness of Christ:

People of good faith may disagree on matters of public policy. No Catholic should be asked to accept language that treats the Holy Father as though he were a partisan figure whose duty is to please the political expediency of the moment, or defer to a secular ruler. To Catholics, the Pope is the successor of Saint Peter; he does not hold his office at the pleasure of any leader of this world.

President Trump’s remarks went well beyond reasonable disagreement. 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.

President Trump amplified the offense of his remarks by posting an 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. To attack the Holy Father and then cast oneself in the role of Christ is not political commentary; it is sacrilege and a defamation of the faith of millions of Christians. 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.

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.

Founded to protect the Church and defend the faith, the Ancient Order of Hibernians speaks without hesitation when either is attacked. The Holy Father has both the right and the duty to speak on moral questions touching war, peace, justice, human dignity, and the conduct of nations. In doing so, he speaks as the successor of Peter, not as an instrument of any political faction. People may discuss and disagree on how those principles are applied in public life, but such disagreement should be civil and dignified.

The AOH calls on President Trump to withdraw these remarks, offer a sincere and unambiguous apology, and show the respect due to the papacy and to Catholics throughout the world. The Chair of Peter is not an instrument of politics, and no president of the United States should ever mistake it for one.