At least two Catholic bishops have apologized for appearing to endorse President Donald Trump during an Oval Office meeting they claim was manipulated by the White House.
A dozen Catholic bishops visited the White House Thursday, Oct. 22, and were photographed gathered around Trump in the Oval Office, just as previous groups of evangelical pastors have done.
When a still photo and some video of the event were released by the White House, a firestorm of criticism arose from faithful Catholics. While evangelical Christians remain Trump’s largest single source of support, Catholic clergy and laity are much more divided. Even Pope Leo has sharply criticized the administration on multiple counts.
Jeffrey Grob
Jeffrey Grob, archbishop of Milwaukee, issued a “A Public Apology” in which he said the private gathering was “publicized by the administration without the consent of the participants.”
He added: “My intention was never to cause confusion, anger or disappointment among the people entrusted to my care. … To begin, the meeting was in no way an endorsement of the president, his policies or his party.”
What he thought was happening, he said, was a private gathering to talk with the president about “matters of importance to the church and our people, including immigration enforcement, religious worker visas, and human dignity.”
“We were then directed to stand behind him and pray.”
However, after a 90-minute meeting with White House domestic policy staff and advisers, “we were eventually ushered into the Oval Office. The president greeted us, took a seat at his desk and presented us with commemorative tokens. We were then directed to stand behind him and pray. After which several photos were taken and we were ushered out. Unbeknownst to the group of bishops a video was also taken. But permission for the public distribution or posting of either the video or photos was not given by the bishops.”
James Golka, archbishop of Denver, told a similar story.
James Golka
Months ago, he said, a group of Catholic bishops was invited to meet with Trump administration officials at the White House to discuss topics of concern to Catholics. The meeting was organized by the White House Faith Office, not by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, he said.
By other accounts, the meeting was organized by the Heritage Foundation, the far-right advocacy group that created Project 2025. Specifically, the organizer is reported to be Mario Enzler, an advancement officer and senior adviser to the president of the Heritage Foundation,
Golka told the Denver Catholic he considered the invitation a genuine opening for dialogue on issue such as immigration, religious freedom and visas for religious workers.
“I wasn’t sure what to do,” he said. “On one hand, it was a great opportunity to raise important issues for the church’s benefit. On the other hand, I knew people might be upset. Though I originally thought it would be a private meeting, I knew that it could be shared and that some might use it for political purposes. But as I prayed about it, I thought that this is what Catholics do. We pray for people. No matter whether we agree or disagree on anything, we always pray for our country and leaders.”
Just before the Oct. 22 meeting, Golka was asked to lead the prayer with the president in the Oval Office. In that prayer, he expressed gratitude for “our beautiful nation” and asked the Holy Spirit “to surround our country to protect us against any influence of evil.”
Amid criticism for appearing at the White House with a president whose policies and person contradict the moral teachings of the Catholic Church, Golka said: “I was able to say what the church teaches, and I would say the same to a president of either party. As Catholics, we’re called to share our faith in season and out of season and to witness to the dignity of every human person.”
Although many Catholics saw his prayer as an endorsement of the president and his policies, that was not his intent, he said. “The bishops of the United States teach that the church cannot champion any candidate or party. I hold to that. However you vote, you ultimately belong to Jesus who loves you infinitely more than you can imagine.”
From Milwaukee, Grob apologized profusely: “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. We came in good faith to try to work for the betterment of our fellow human beings, to ease their suffering, to build up the common good, and to pray with a president, not to pose for a political photo opportunity to benefit the few. We should never have been put in that position by the White House. I did not go without reservations. I wish I had heeded them. Please know that I have heard these concerns, understand how I caused them, and I apologize for any damage my actions have done.”
In addition to Grob and Golka, other bishops present included retired Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann and Bishops Edward Burns of Dallas, Michael Barber of Oakland, Thomas Hennen of Baker, William Joensen of Des Moines, Steven Raica of Birmingham, James Wall of Gallup, Scott Bullock of Rapid City, Francis Kalabat of the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle, and Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon.
Paula White-Cain, the prosperity-gospel televangelist who runs the White House Faith Office, stood behind the president’s chair as the bishops prayed.
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