Catholic bishops apologize after getting ‘caught’ praying with Trump – they thought they could hide it

THE DAILY BS: HOW MUCH CAN YOU HANDLE?

SPARE ME THE BS (I’ve got things to do).

Two Catholic bishops publicly expressed regret Sunday after the White House released footage of them praying with President Trump.
Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob says the October 22 gathering was supposed to be private and was publicized without participants’ permission.
The bishops maintain that praying with the president was not an endorsement of Trump or his policies, while the White House defended its relationship with Catholic Americans.

LAY IT ON ME (I’ve got time).

Apparently, praying for the president has become another activity requiring a political damage-control operation.

Two Catholic bishops issued public statements Sunday expressing regret over their participation in an October 22 gathering at the White House after the administration released photographs and video of them praying with President Donald Trump.

Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob went so far as to title his statement “A Public Apology.”

The extraordinary episode began with an invitation to a dozen Catholic bishops to visit the White House for what they understood would be private discussions about matters affecting the Church.

The agenda reportedly included immigration enforcement, visas for religious workers, abortion policy, human dignity and education.

Those are certainly matters Catholic leaders have reason to discuss with an administration.

And according to Grob, the meeting included approximately 90 minutes of discussion with White House staff and advisers.

Then the bishops were ushered into the Oval Office.

Trump greeted the group, presented commemorative items, and the bishops were directed to stand behind him and pray.

Photographs were taken. A video was also recorded.

Then those images became public.

That’s when a private religious moment suddenly became a political controversy.

Grob says the bishops did not authorize the public distribution of the photographs or video.

“The meeting was in no way an endorsement of the president, his policies, or his party,” the archbishop wrote.

He said participants understood the gathering to be a private discussion, with the possibility of praying privately with Trump.

Grob explained that he prays regularly for elected officials and considered it appropriate to pray for the president in person.

That seems like a rather ordinary religious practice.

But after the White House shared the footage, Grob began receiving messages from Catholics who believed the prayer gathering created the appearance of political support just days before the midterm elections.

Others told him they had been hurt by policies pursued by the administration, particularly involving immigration.

Grob responded with an unusually emotional statement. “I feel a heavy sadness, not only over the pain I caused, but also for the fact that something so sacred to a group of religious leaders, prayer to our Heavenly Father, would be manipulated in that way.” He said the bishops had come in good faith to discuss matters affecting their communities, not to participate in what he characterized as a political photo opportunity. “We should never have been put in that position by the White House,” he wrote. He concluded by apologizing for any damage his participation had caused.

Des Moines Bishop William Joensen also expressed regret. Joensen argued that the gathering had been exploited for partisan political purposes and emphasized the importance of being able to challenge administration policies inconsistent with Catholic teachings.

The White House, meanwhile, wasn’t offering an apology. Asked about the bishops’ concerns, spokeswoman Taylor Rogers defended the president’s record with Catholic Americans. “There has never been a greater president for Catholic Americans than President Trump, and his strong record proves it,” she said.

Not every bishop who attended the meeting responded in the same way.

Denver Archbishop James Golka defended the decision to pray with the president, explaining that Catholics pray for political leaders regardless of whether they agree with their policies.

So the dispute isn’t simply over whether religious leaders should meet the president.

It’s about the line between private prayer, public witness and election-season publicity.

Presidents have met religious leaders for generations. Some meetings are private, some are public and many involve prayer.

But this particular gathering has produced an unusual aftermath: Catholic bishops publicly apologizing for appearing in footage of themselves praying in the Oval Office.