USA: Bishops see themselves “manipulated” after prayer with Donald Trump

Some Catholic bishops regret meeting US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office just weeks before the midterms. The clergy said they did not agree to the recordings published by the White House showing them praying with Trump and that they felt exploited.

In a statement released Sunday titled "A Public Apology," Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob said he had received numerous questions and comments about Thursday's meeting, which he and 11 other bishops attended.

In it he explains that the bishops were greeted by Trump and then "asked to stand behind him and pray." A video was also recorded without her knowledge.

The bishops did not grant permission to publish the photo and video material: "I feel deep sadness, not only because of the suffering I have caused, but also because of the fact that something so sacred to a group of religious leaders - the prayer to our Heavenly Father - was manipulated in this way."

Bishop William Joensen from Des Moines also criticized himself. He addressed the faithful of his diocese via his diocese's website: "I wish I had been wiser and less naive, like those who exploited our meeting for party political purposes."

The church representatives were invited by the White House Office of Faith Affairs, Joensen's statement said. The official content of the bishops' discussions with the president should therefore be topics such as migration and social policy, reproductive medicine or support for educational institutions.

The bishops were aware of the sensitive timing of the meeting so shortly before the midterm elections: "But none of us had the remotest intention of supporting a political party or an individual candidate through our participation," wrote Joensen.

He prayed that he would act more prudently and wisely in the future, even as he remained open to dialogue with political leaders at all levels.

Asked whether the White House had sought the bishop's consent to release the photos and video, the press office declined to respond to the Associated Press. Instead, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers responded: "There has never been a better president for Catholic Americans than President Trump, and his impressive record proves it."

Overall, members of the US Bishops' Conference hold different views on Trump and his administration's policies. For example, Minnesota-based Bishop Robert Barron agreed to serve on Trump's Commission on Religious Freedom, which consisted almost entirely of conservative Christians. Other bishops, however, vehemently condemned aspects of Trump's hard line on immigration enforcement, saying it contradicts Catholic teaching.