Milwaukee Catholic Archbishop Jeffrey Grob issued a statement regarding Donald Trump‘s prayer in the Oval Office. In it, he stated that the occasion was used to aid him in the upcoming midterms. The President invited a group of archbishops to the White House, where they prayed with him. The video, later posted by his administration on X (formerly Twitter), immediately drew public backlash.
Jeffrey Grob says the bishops never intended a political endorsement
Catholic Archbishop Jeffrey Grob recently issued a public apology. He said he and the other bishops involved in the October 22 prayer never intended it as a political endorsement.
He alleged that Trump’s administration used material related to the prayer for political advertising before the midterms “without the consent of the participants”.
Grob wrote, “To begin, the meeting was in no way an endorsement of the president, his policies, or his party. In mid-September, I was invited to join a group of a dozen bishops to discuss matters of importance to the Church and our people, including immigration enforcement, religious worker visas, and human dignity.” He said he and the bishops did not intend to hurt people’s feelings or disappoint them.
The Archbishop said he and the bishops spent 90 minutes discussing the matters with White House staffers on the day of the meeting. Afterward, they were sent to the Oval Office, where they stood behind him and prayed with Trump. Several photos from the meeting were posted online, along with the video. Grob added, “Permission for the public distribution or posting of either the video or photos was not given by the bishops.”
Following this apology, according to a report by Fox News, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers released a statement. Rogers expressed that Trump is the best President for Catholic Americans, listing out the actions he has taken for them.
