MILWAUKEE — Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee apologized Sunday for joining 11 other bishops in praying over President Donald Trump at the White House, in a public letter in which Grob said the administration released video of the prayer without the bishops’ consent.
The letter, titled “A Public Apology” and shared on the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s website and on Facebook, was the first apology from any of the 12 bishops who stood around Trump in the Oval Office on Oct. 22.
Grob said the meeting was “in no way an endorsement of the president, his policies, or his party.”
“I did not go without reservations. I wish I had heeded them.”
His intention, Grob wrote, was never to cause confusion, anger or disappointment among the people in his care. He said he felt a heavy sadness over the pain he caused, and over prayer being turned into something else once the White House publicized it.
“I feel a heavy sadness, not only over the pain I caused, but also for the fact that something so sacred to a group of religious leaders, prayer to our Heavenly Father, would be manipulated in that way,” Grob wrote.
Grob said he and the other bishops should never have been put in that position by the White House, especially ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
“Please know that I have heard these concerns, understand how I caused them, and I apologize for any damage my actions have done,” Grob wrote. He said the bishops came in good faith, “not to pose for a political photo opportunity.”
He was invited in mid-September, he wrote, to join a group of bishops for a discussion of matters important to the Church, including immigration. The Oct. 22 gathering was the second of two meetings arranged by the Heritage Foundation, according to the letter. Grob said he was not invited to the first, in June.
The bishops were told the meeting would be a private discussion, Grob wrote. Several Catholic members of the Cabinet might appear, they were told, and there could be a chance to pray privately with Trump.
“I took some time to weigh the decision and ultimately felt that, if I had the opportunity to offer my voice in a way that might improve the lives of God’s children, I ought to take it,” Grob wrote. “I pray for our elected officials on a daily basis, so it seemed appropriate to do so in person.”
Before the Oval Office, the bishops spent 90 minutes with White House staff and advisers raising immigration enforcement, religious worker visas and human dignity, Grob wrote.
Trump then greeted them in the Oval Office and gave them commemorative tokens, according to the letter. The bishops were directed to stand behind him and pray, photos were taken, and they were then ushered out, Grob wrote. A video was also taken without the group’s knowledge, and permission for the public distribution or posting of the video or photos was not given by the bishops, Grob wrote.
Grob wrote the letter from the Dominican Republic, where he is visiting La Sagrada Familia, Milwaukee’s sharing parish there, with a group of pilgrims.
Have something to promote?
Bring your business, services or event to our readers.
