Ex-cultist here. Specifically, fundamentalist Christian in the US.

So what we're seeing here is a division between in-groups and out-groups, and drawing that circle closer as a means of guarding against valid criticism. Consider; the standard response of most cults when they are under attack is to double down on its assertions that it is telling the truth. Most cults are built with a persecution complex as key part of exploiting their believers.

This tactic triggers their emotional response to rally to the defense of their cause, because "We're under attack! We're being hunted! The Worst Thing Possible is going to happen, and it is THIS PERSECUTOR'S fault!" This also forces a false choice in members who are doubting the leadership, forcing them to either cut all social ties and side with the enemy (they are trained to see this as a fate worse than death) or rehearse their dogma and rally without question.

You wanna hear something that’ll absolutely destroy whatever little faith in humanity you may have left?

I once knew a guy who knew for a fact that Southern Baptist was the only true Christian religion. His reasoning? And he was absolutely dead serious when he said this and for him is was 100% a mic drop moment:

“Because his name was John the Baptist, not John the Catholic!”

This was something his aunt had said to him years ago, which I guess underscored its infallibility. He was by far the dumbest person I had ever met, and I’ve met a lot of dumb people.

When I was a teenager in the '90s, my mom's church did a six-week series of lessons on Wednesday nights about how the Catholic church only pretends to be Christian, followed by another series of lessons about how the Pope meets all of the criteria to be the Antichrist.

As Jesus said, "Love your neighbor, but only if he believes in me in exactly the same way you do."

Wait, there was a secret John Paul the 3rd??? No wonder they thought he was evil!!!

Kinda like chimps, they're funny at the zoo, but give them machine guns

Dear Leader Daddy Dumpy can never be wrong! EVER!

Putin?

Each?

A friend of mine studied theology and said (when I remarked something similar) that that's a very Protestant perspective.

Catholicism has had a long history of people disagreeing with the pope. There have been antipopes, wars between Catholics and the Papal State, theological factions where the Pope is just one participant, etc. . Papal infallibility is a very recent doctrine, and it only applies when he is speaking ex cathedra, which is rarely. Many Catholics don't adhere to it, and many only consider it a matter of worldly convenience against schisms.

That said, there are no AI generated images of Trump wearing Papal vestments or overseeing the holy mass. Trump is not presented as an anti-Pope, but as an anti-Christ.

I’m sorry, but this is BS.

The Church is run by people and people are fallible.

Bishops sign their names with an upside down cross to remind themselves that they are sinners who make mistakes.

A shocking number of saints are people martyred for standing up to the Church when it had become corrupt.

It’s a Catholic’s duty to stand for what is right.

Well, technically the Pope is only infallible with respect to cathedral matters:

The definition of the doctrine of papal infallibility was promulgated on July 18, 1870, in the dogmatic constitution Pastor aeternus (Latin: “Eternal Shepherd”) of the First Vatican Council. This document states the conditions under which a pope may be said to have spoken infallibly, or ex cathedra (“from his chair” as supreme teacher). It is a prerequisite that the pope intend to demand irrevocable assent from the entire church in some aspect of faith or morals.

That's not really true at all though. The pope isn't always right, without exception. He's only infallible on matters of faith or morals, and on doctrine which is stated as being the view of the church and which invokes his supreme authority. Popes are capable of being wrong, making mistakes, or sinning.

It is a lot more nuanced then that, but for many catholics that is how it is.