Who Would Dare ? Trumps mockery of Pope

The posting of Trump as the Pope in all his robes shocked many. What was he thinking? In normal circumstances, it could be imagined as a prank from a young person attending a fancy dress party, but the person who represents his country mocking the leader of an institution as grand as the Roman Catholic Church is surely out of the question. A good number of people have looked down on the ways of the authoritarian style of the Roman Catholic church, but that is no reason for treating the head of that institution with such disrespect. Respect at that leadership level is the norm; anything less is regarded as mockery.

Jesus was mocked in his final hours by the soldiers in his prison and at the foot of the cross. It solicited the response from Jesus, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” The implication is that they would have had a different response if they had known. Little did they know they were mocking God, and if so, would have paid him due respect. Trump can claim he had no idea that it was on his personal message line, but that is unlikely, as he is the only one using it, and even if he knew nothing, he is responsible for what is printed on his system.

Whether you like the concept of the Pope or not, to mock the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic church as the iconic image of leadership is in extremely bad taste, in fact, insulting. An iconic image implies someone carrying the mantle of leadership far above the actual quality of the person who does the best he or she can to live up to that expected insurmountable mountain. The iconic meaning of the Pope holds this quality of status, the archetype of spirituality. Not just this specific person but the successive tradition of the numerous line of Popes down through history. To mock this icon is to mock all that he or she stands for. Trump has such an elevated perception of himself and a low understanding of Christianity that he probably pictured himself as worthy of meeting the requirements of the office himself. Omnipotent, perhaps, is not an exaggeration in line with his constant description of himself as the greatest ever president.

There was a mammoth backlash within the membership of the Roman Catholic church that indicated membership was horrified by his behaviour. People who had embraced the meaning of the Pontificate would be personally insulted. They would have felt mocked by the flippant tone of Trump's gesture. Pleading ignorance as if a light-hearted gesture would certainly have brought the response by Jesus, “Father, forgive him, for he knows not what he does”. He certainly displays profound ignorance.

What of the general population of humanity? Jesus said, "When you do it to one of these little ones you do it to me." For better or worse, the Pope is one such image of Jesus the Christ. There are many sacred images of Christ that apply across all humanity, many not recognized, but some are, different images for different people. The sacredness of life undergirds all creation. The Christ figure represents the totality of the sacredness of life. Even in jest to mock this sacredness is to mock the smallest individual, which is to mock Jesus the Christ.

Trump has normalised all behaviour, good and bad alike, as if one. When the Pope is mocked, all Christians and other international Spiritual leaders of different faith traditions, through to the smallest and most insignificant of believers, are mocked.