Two of the Catholic bishops who stood behind President Trump and prayed over him in the Oval Office on October 22 now say the visit was a mistake. Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob published a statement on Sunday under the title "A Public Apology," and Des Moines Bishop William Joensen issued his own statement the same day, both arguing that a private moment of prayer was turned into political publicity without their consent.
Grob's account is specific. The bishops were invited in mid-September, through a meeting arranged by the Heritage Foundation, for a private discussion on immigration enforcement, religious worker visas and human dignity. After about 90 minutes with White House staff, the group was ushered into the Oval Office, where Trump greeted them and handed out commemorative tokens. They were then directed to stand behind him and pray. Photos were taken — and, Grob says, a video was recorded without the group knowing. In his words, permission for the public distribution or posting of either was not given by the bishops. The White House posted the material soon after, and it spread widely less than two weeks before the November 3 midterms.
Grob says the visit was in no way an endorsement of the president, his policies or his party, that he went with reservations, and that he wishes he had heeded them; he apologised for any damage his taking part has done. Joensen, whose agenda for the meeting also covered abortion and federal tax credits for private schooling, made the same point from Iowa: the bishops intended no endorsement, and the administration used the gathering for partisan purposes. Not every bishop at the prayer agrees with the apology — Denver Archbishop James Golka, who led the prayer itself, has defended taking part, saying Catholics pray for their leaders whatever their disagreements, while also denying the meeting was an endorsement.
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