Sacrilegious sketch?: The Pope, Trump mural causing a stir

Francis and Trump are due to meet at the Vatican on May 24 while the president is on a tour of Saudi Arabia, Israel, Italy and Belgium.

Mural of saintly pope kissing devilish Trump appears in Rome (credit: REUTERS)
A life-size mural depicting Pope Francis with a saintly halo kissing US President Donald Trump sprouting devil's horns appeared on a wall near the Vatican on Thursday, less than two weeks before they are due to meet.
The mural, which was painted on paper and pasted on to the wall during the night, was the latest work by street artists depicting the pope to appear in Rome in recent months.
This one shows Francis, wearing a simple crucifix around his neck, embracing Trump, who wears a gold watch and sports a pistol in a holster. The pope's halo is the same bright yellow color as Trump's hair. The two are locked in a mouth-to-mouth kiss.
The caption written on the sash of the pope's cassock reads "The Good Forgives the Evil." It is signed "TVBoy," who is believed to be Italian street artist Salvatore Benintende.
The mural was pasted on a wall on a street named "Way of the Bank of Holy Spirit" across the Tiber River from the Vatican.
Francis and Trump are due to meet at the Vatican on May 24 while the president is on a tour Saudi Arabia, Israel, Italy and Belgium.