Two Catholic bishops who bowed their heads with Donald Trump in the Oval Office now say they regret it, accusing the White House of turning a private prayer into a campaign photo op ahead of next week’s US election.
Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee and Bishop William Joensen of Des Moines, who were among 12 bishops who met with administration officials last Thursday, issued separate statements of regret over the weekend.
The fallout stems from the White House quickly posting video and photos of the prayer on social media, captioned with archbishops and Catholic bishops praying with the US president, less than two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.
Archbishop Grob issued a statement titled A Public Apology, in which he said he felt “deep sadness” at the pain caused by the images and had heard from alarmed people that he had unwittingly joined a political event on the eve of a national vote.
Others, he said, were hurt because of the effects of Trump’s policies on their families. “We should never have been placed in this position by the White House,” Grob wrote, adding that he had reservations and “would have liked to take them into account.”
Bishop Joensen wrote that “many things related to this current administration” were “clearly at odds with our Catholic faith.”
He said none of the bishops were unaware that the meeting was close to an election, but insisted none had intended to support any party or candidate. “I wish I had been more astute and less straightforward, like those who exploited our meeting for partisan political purposes.”
Grob said the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank behind the right-wing Project 2025 for the second Trump administration, organized the meeting. The bishops, he explained, were informed that it would be a private discussion on immigration measures, visas for religious workers and human dignity, with the opportunity to pray privately with the president.
After 90 minutes with domestic policy staff, they were led into the Oval Office, handed commemorative tokens and, Grob detailed, ordered to stand behind Trump’s desk and pray. No one told them a video was being recorded, he said, and they never agreed to it being released.
Joensen said officials linked to the White House Faith Office invited him and the agenda also covered incentives for fertility treatments, abortion-inducing drugs and tax credits for private schools.
Archbishop James Golka of Denver, another participant, told his archdiocese’s publication that he understood why many viewed the video as an endorsement, but that was “never my intention.” “I am heartbroken that people are being hurt and that there are people intentionally taking advantage of this moment to sow disunity,” he said.
Bishop Scott Bullock of Rapid City told the National Catholic Reporter that a representative from the Heritage Foundation invited him and that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops was “not ignoring” the meeting. He did not say who among the leaders knew about it.
Trump spent his second term merging Christian prayers with the machinery of government, creating a White House Office of Faith by executive order in February 2025 and, that same month, a Justice Department-led task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias” in federal agencies.
The president came under fire in April for posting an AI-generated image on his Truth Social platform depicting him as a Jesus-like figure. He later deleted the post and claimed it was “meant to be me, as a doctor, making people better.”
At the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, held Christian church services (which, according to the Associated Press, were led only by evangelicals) and prayed in March for “crushing violence” against “those who deserve no mercy” in the Iran war.
And when Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde urged him during his inauguration prayer to show mercy to migrants and LGBTQ+ people, Trump demanded that she and her church apologize, which she in turn rejected.
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, urged Catholics to put faith over politics before voting. The bishops are scheduled to hold their annual fall assembly in Baltimore in November, about two weeks after the election.
“We are, as always, a pilgrim people,” Grob wrote. “And that includes bishops.” He ended his apology with “sincere regrets”.
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