For Saturday Night Live‘s first “Weekend Update” since Pope Leo XIV was elected, co-anchor Michael Che did not hesitate to go to some dark places.
“President Trump says Catholics loved an image he posted of him dressed as the Pope last week,” Che said. “But I just find it hard to believe that anyone in the Catholic Church would be into something so juvenile.”
He made a knowing smirk as he delivered the line, making it pretty clear he was referring to the multiple child sexual abuse scandals within the Catholic Church, spanning several decades.
As the joke garnered both gasps and applause, the camera cut back to co-anchor Colin Jost, staring wide-eyed in mock-horror.
Earlier in the segment, Jost got his own Pope-related jokes in, although they were aimed more at the right-wing pundits who’ve complained about Pope Leo in recent days.
“Conservatives are already complaining that this Pope is too woke,” Jost said. “How woke can a 69-year-old man from Chicago be woke? It’s not like he came out and was like, ‘Hey, I’m Pope Leo XIV, he/him.’”
Jost added, “The reality is there are no ‘woke’ Catholics. If you’re a woke Catholic, you’re just not Catholic anymore.”
Jost also joked about the Pope Leo XIV news, “This pick was actually a welcome surprise for me, because when I heard the Pope was a super religious guy from Chicago in a funny robe, I was worried it was Kanye.”
The “Weekend Update” material came after a cold open that was also filled with Pope-related mayhem.
Donald Trump, played once again by James Austin Johnson, joked about how, “We have an American Pope: Chicago-style, no ketchup.”
“But we like Pope Leo, we hope he does what we want,” Trump said. ”That’s what you want the Pope to do: what you want, right? Otherwise I’ll have to send J.D. back to do his thing.”
“Remember last time, J.D. met the Pope?” asked Trump, referencing the joke rumor that Vance killed Pope Francis during his meeting with him the day before his passing.
“[Vance] has got the Midas touch, but for bad things,” Trumped joked. “He meets the Pope? Dead. Goes to India? War. Rejoins my campaign? Trump wins. It’s really incredible. Bad things happen in threes.”
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