Catholic bishops apologise for 'exploited' Trump meeting
Two bishops in images that show them praying with Trump have said they believed the meeting was private.
Catholic bishops apologise for 'exploited' Trump meeting
Two Catholic bishops in the US have said they regret meeting President Donald Trump at the White House, after photos of them praying with him were released and led many to question whether they were making a political statement.
Images and video from the 22 October meeting show a group of bishops gathered around Trump at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.
Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob, one of those shown, said he had thought the meeting was private and not "a political photo opportunity".
Trump and Pope Leo XIV have a strained relationship, and some US bishops have criticised the administration's immigration policies. Still, Trump has generally had the backing of Catholic voters.
In a statement posted online, Bishop William Joensen of Des Moines, Iowa, said the meeting had been organised by officials from the White House Faith Office to discuss matters including immigration, visas for international clergy and the "exploitation of vulnerable poor persons".
"In no way did any of us intend by our involvement to endorse any political party or any individual candidate," Joensen said.
"I wish I had been more shrewd and less simple, like those who exploited our meeting for partisan political purposes," he added.
A video of the meeting was posted by Margo Martin, a special assistant to the president and communications adviser who often shares behind-the-scenes images of Trump on social media.
Archbishop Grob said that after 90 minutes of meetings with officials, the religious leaders were brought into the Oval Office to pray with Trump.
Grob said the images later caused concern among some of his congregants.
"I soon began receiving messages of serious concern over the possibility that I had inadvertently participated in a political event less than two weeks before a national election," he wrote.
"I also heard from some who felt wounded because of the ways they or their family have been harmed by the president's policies," he added.
Grob said none of the participants in the meeting had given permission for the public release or posting of video or photos from the event.
When asked for comment by the BBC, the White House did not directly answer questions about the meeting or the bishops' later remarks.
"There has never been a greater president for Catholic Americans than President Trump, and his strong record proves it," White House Spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement.
According to Pew Research Center, which studies religion in the US, views of Trump's performance have declined across all major religious groups. In a survey this month, 30% of all US Catholics said they approved of his job performance, down from 47% when he returned to the White House in 2025.
That could influence the 3 November midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress. In the survey, more Catholics, 42%, said they preferred the Democrats in their local House of Representatives races, while slightly fewer, 39%, backed Republicans.
During his second term, Trump has had a tense relationship with the head of the Catholic church, Pope Leo, as he has moved aggressively to remove people believed to be in the US illegally.
Nine days before the Oval Office meeting with the bishops, Bishop Brendon Cahill and Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, issued a statement calling for "Christian compassion and wisdom in the immigration debate".
They said the immigration crackdown has resulted in the "sowing of fear, the fracturing of families, the deprivation of due process, and the vilification of our neighbors."
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops also recently condemned the Trump administration's plans to livestream a military execution, which were later dropped.
Both Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are Catholics who have visited the Vatican during Trump's second term.
A Midwestern member of the bishops' conference, Robert Barron of Minnesota, agreed last year to serve on the president's Religious Liberty Commission, as did former New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan.