US Catholic Bishops Regret Meeting With Trump After Prayer Photos Raise Political Endorsement Concerns | Sahara Reporters

Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob, one of the bishops pictured, said he had understood the meeting to be private and not intended as “a political photo opportunity”.

Two Catholic bishops in the United States have expressed regret over their meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House after photographs and videos of them praying with him sparked concerns about possible political endorsement.

Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob, one of the bishops pictured, said he had understood the meeting to be private and not intended as “a political photo opportunity”.

The meeting, held on October 22, showed a group of bishops gathered around Trump at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

In a statement posted online, Bishop William Joensen of Des Moines, Iowa, said White House Faith Office officials arranged the meeting to discuss issues 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 released by Margo Martin, a special assistant to the president and communications adviser who frequently shares behind-the-scenes footage of Trump on social media.

Grob said the bishops were ushered into the Oval Office to pray with Trump after about 90 minutes of meetings with officials.

He said the photographs and videos subsequently generated concern among members of his congregation.

“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 had authorised the public distribution or posting of photographs or videos from the meeting.

When contacted by the BBC, the White House did not directly address questions about the meeting or the bishops’ subsequent comments.

“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.

According to the Pew Research Center, approval of Trump’s performance has declined among major religious groups in the United States.

A survey conducted in October found that 30 per cent of US Catholics approved of Trump’s job performance, down from 47 per cent when he returned to the White House in 2025.

The survey also found that 42 per cent of Catholics preferred Democratic candidates in their local House of Representatives races, while 39 per cent favoured Republicans.

The findings come ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.

Trump’s second term has been marked by tensions with Pope Leo XIV over immigration enforcement, as the administration intensifies efforts to remove people believed to be living in the US illegally.

Nine days before the bishops’ meeting at the White House, Bishop Brendon Cahill and Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, issued a joint statement calling for “Christian compassion and wisdom in the immigration debate”.

They said the immigration crackdown had 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 criticised the Trump administration’s plan to livestream a military execution, which was later abandoned.

Trump’s administration includes prominent Catholics, including Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, both of whom have visited the Vatican during his second term.

Meanwhile, Robert Barron, a bishop from Minnesota, and former New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan agreed last year to serve on Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission.