Catholic bishops regret Trump meeting, saying they were used for ‘political purposes’

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Two Catholic bishops have expressed regret over attending a meeting with 10 other prelates and President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, saying they were “exploited” and “manipulated.”

Photos and video of 12 clergy members praying over the president were released on Thursday, less than two weeks before the midterm elections. The images show the clergy members praying around Trump, who has his head bowed as he is seated at the Oval Office desk.

Now, one bishop in the meeting said he felt they were manipulated and apologized for “inadvertently” participating in a political event so close to an election. Another said the meeting was “exploited” for “partisan political purposes” and expressed regret for attending.

The image released by the White House starkly contrasted with how careful Pope Leo XIV has been to avoid taking sides in politics — the first American pope has insisted that bishops avoid any political partisanship. However, he has addressed policy issues more broadly, speaking out against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the war in Iran, in addition to calling for tighter regulation of artificial intelligence.

The pope’s decision not to visit the United States in 2026 was also in large part due to the midterms, as papal visits traditionally do not take place during election cycles.

from Margo Martin/White House

One of the attendees, Archbishop of Milwaukee Jeffrey Grob, said afterward that the meeting had been manipulated, that he was unaware their meeting was being recorded and that the bishops did not give permissions for the public distribution of the footage and images.

“To begin, the meeting was in no way an endorsement of the president, his policies, or his party,” Grob said in a statement.

But he explained that after images were released he “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.”

The archbishop went on: “I did not go [to the meeting] 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.”

Another bishop, William Joensen of Des Moines, said he felt the meeting had been “exploited” for “partisan political purposes” and that he wished he’d done things differently. “I wish I had been more shrewd and less simple,” he said. “I pray I am more prudent and wise going forward, even as I remain resolute in my openness to engaging and praying for political leaders at all levels.”

The meeting was attended by Trump’s longtime faith adviser, Paula White-Cain. Trump said after: “It was a great meeting. Well, they prayed. They mostly prayed. It was actually a very nice meeting. They’re great.”

Trump has attracted support from Catholics during his past campaigns, although recent polls show that has dropped since his return to office .

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers did not respond to a question about whether the clergy members had cleared the use of their images, instead sending a statement that said: “There has never been a greater president for Catholic Americans than President Trump.” She cited “expanded religious rights,” his pardoning of anti-abortion activists, his work against providing gender-identity care for children and his protection of parents’ rights.

While the president had a public clash with the pope earlier this year, Trump has been less critical of him lately — frequently talking about how the pontiff’s eldest brother, Louis, is a MAGA supporter. When the pope was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, Trump said he wanted to see him “get well.”

“It’s big stuff anytime you have cancer, but the prognosis seems to be good,” the president said, going on to call Leo’s brother “a friend of mine.”

Following release of the footage of the bishops and the president praying, one church source joked to CNN that it was the White House doing “trick or treat early!”

CNN’s Molly English contributed to this report.

Samuel Corum/Getty Images

两位天主教主教对与另外 10 位主教和唐纳德·特朗普总统在椭圆形办公室会面表示遗憾，称他们受到了“利用”和“操纵”。

周四，距离中期选举不到两周之际，12名神职人员为总统祈祷的照片和视频被公布。画面显示，神职人员围绕着低着头坐在椭圆形办公室办公桌前的特朗普祈祷。

一位与会主教表示，他感到他们受到了操纵，并为“无意中”参与了临近选举的政治活动而道歉。另一位主教则表示，这次会议被“利用”达到“党派政治目的”，并对出席会议表示遗憾。

白宫发布的这张照片与教宗利奥十四世在政治上谨慎避免选边站队的做法形成了鲜明对比——这位首位美国教宗一直坚持主教们应避免任何政治党派立场。然而，他也在更广泛的政策问题上发表过看法，例如公开反对特朗普政府的移民政策和伊朗战争，并呼吁加强对人工智能的监管。

教皇决定不在 2026 年访问美国，很大程度上也是因为中期选举，因为教皇的访问传统上不会在选举周期进行。

来自玛戈·马丁/白宫

与会者之一，密尔沃基大主教杰弗里·格罗布事后表示，这次会议被人操纵了，他不知道他们的会议被录音，而且主教们也没有允许公开传播这些录像和图像。

格罗布在一份声明中表示：“首先，这次会面绝不代表对总统、他的政策或他的政党表示支持。”

但他解释说，照片发布后，“我很快就收到了一些信息，表达了严重的担忧，认为我可能在全国大选前不到两周的时间里，无意中参与了一场政治活动。”

大主教接着说：“我并非毫无顾虑地参加了这次会议。我真希望我当时听取了他们的意见。请相信，我已经听到了这些担忧，也明白我的行为是如何造成这些担忧的，我为我的行为造成的任何损害深表歉意。”

另一位主教，得梅因教区的威廉·乔恩森表示，他感觉这次会议被“利用”达到了“党派政治目的”，并希望自己当时能采取不同的做法。“我希望自己当时更精明一些，而不是那么天真，”他说。“我祈祷自己今后能更加谨慎明智，同时我仍然会坚定地与各级政治领袖交流，并为他们祈祷。”

特朗普的长期宗教顾问宝拉·怀特-凯恩也出席了此次会面。会后，特朗普表示：“这是一次很棒的会面。嗯，他们祈祷了。他们大部分时间都在祈祷。这真是一次非常愉快的会面。他们很棒。”

特朗普在过去的竞选活动中曾获得天主教徒的支持，但最近的民调显示，自他重返总统职位以来，天主教徒的支持率有所下降。

白宫发言人泰勒·罗杰斯没有回应有关神职人员是否同意使用其肖像的问题，而是发表了一份声明，称：“对美国天主教徒而言，没有哪位总统比特朗普更伟大。”她列举了特朗普“扩大宗教权利”、赦免反堕胎活动人士、反对为儿童提供性别认同治疗以及保护父母权利等政绩。

尽管总统今年早些时候曾与教皇公开发生冲突，但特朗普近来对教皇的批评有所减少——他经常谈到教皇的哥哥路易是“让美国再次伟大”（MAGA）运动的支持者。当教皇最近被诊断出肺癌时，特朗普表示希望看到他“康复”。

“患上癌症总是件大事，但预后似乎不错，”总统说道，并称利奥的哥哥是“我的朋友”。

在主教和总统祈祷的视频发布后，一位教会人士向 CNN 开玩笑说，这是白宫提前“玩‘不给糖就捣蛋’的游戏！”

CNN的莫莉·英格利希对本报道亦有贡献。