Spanish
The election of Cardinal Robert Francis as the new pontiff of the Catholic Church, adopting the name Leo XIV, has sparked a wave of reactions worldwide. Not only because he is the first American pope in history, but also because of the suspicious synchronicity between his designation and the recent media movements led by the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
Last May 3, just a week after the funeral of Pope Francis, the White House released an image generated by artificial intelligence in which Trump appeared dressed in traditional papal attire. The image, also shared on the social media of the president himself, was accompanied by a message where he expressed that "he would like to be pope", a statement that, although apparently joking in tone, did not go unnoticed.
The gesture was interpreted by many as a provocation or a populist tactic, but today, with the election of a pope originating from his own country, the question that hovers in diplomatic, religious, and media circles is whether there was a deliberate strategy of manipulation of public opinion for geopolitical purposes.
Although the Conclave is designed to take place in strict confidentiality and free from external pressures, it is impossible to ignore the political and communicational context that has surrounded it. Can a political leader symbolically influence a spiritual event through image, narrative, and technology? The Trump-pope case is a contemporary experiment that tests the boundaries between the sacred and the media.
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The figure of the pope has historically been autonomous with respect to worldly powers, but in an era of artificial intelligence, social networks, and global disinformation campaigns, public perception can be shaped even before the facts occur. Trump knows this, and he has demonstrated it repeatedly during his career.
Furthermore, the fact that after three votes without consensus, the decision fell precisely on an American cardinal at a time when the United States seeks to reposition itself as the moral and spiritual leader of the West, further fuels speculation.
Of course, there is no concrete evidence that Trump intervened in the decision of the Conclave, but the coincidence of times, the symbolism of his message and the intentional use of the papal image generate legitimate doubts. In politics and religion, few things are casual.
The election of Leo XIV may represent a historic opportunity for the Catholic Church in its dialogue with new generations, but it also poses a greater challenge: to maintain its independence from the political powers that, in times of networks, know very well how to influence without needing to speak.
