Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob apologized for joining a White House prayer with President Donald Trump, saying its public release caused distress and risked making a private meeting look political before midterms.
The Independent reported that Grob’s Sunday statement followed the White House’s circulation of photographs and video from the meeting. Grob said participants had expected a private discussion and had been told there could be an opportunity to pray with Trump. He said the images and video were released without the bishops’ consent. He later heard from people concerned the meeting could be mistaken for an election event, as well as from people who said Trump’s policies had hurt them or their families. Grob said the gathering was not intended as an endorsement of Trump, his policies or his party.
Bishop William Joensen of Des Moines, Iowa, also issued a statement expressing regret. He wrote that the gathering had been used for partisan political purposes but did not identify who he believed was responsible. Joensen said he wished he had approached the meeting with greater caution and hoped to exercise more judgment in future engagement with political leaders. He said he remained open to engaging with and praying for officials.
Grob and Joensen said the invitation came in September and listed immigration enforcement, religious worker visas, abortion and federal tax credits for private education as possible subjects. The meeting took place Oct. 22, with Grob and 11 other bishops attending. Grob noted that the publicity came less than two weeks before a national election.
The Independent reported that the White House press office did not answer its question about whether it had received the bishops’ consent before releasing the images and video. White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers instead praised Trump’s record with Catholic Americans.
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) spokesperson Chieko Noguchi told EWTN News that the conference had not organized the gathering and was not affiliated with it, as EconoTimes previously reported in its account of Denver Archbishop James R. Golka’s prayer.
