In late October, a prayer that was meant to be quiet became a public image: Catholic bishops gathered around the president at the Resolute Desk, and some of them later wished they had stayed away. The episode sits inside a longer, uneasy relationship between a church that cares deeply about migrants and families and a government pressing hard on immigration, with the faithful themselves now recalibrating their trust. What it will mean is still unsettled, and the coming midterm vote will show whether a regret voiced by a few men of the cloth can reach the pews.
Two US Catholic bishops apologise after images of Oval Office prayer with Trump spark political backlash
Some congregants said they felt wounded by how the president's policies have harmed them or their families, and bishops cited family separation and loss of due process.
"More shrewd and less simple" — a bishop's regret over an Oval Office prayer
Mark
Why did a prayer in the Oval Office turn into an apology?
Mimi
Because the pictures went public. Archbishop Grob says he thought the meeting was private, and that nobody agreed to photos or video being posted.
Luke
That's his account, and Bishop Joensen's is similar. The White House hasn't answered the question of consent. It only said Trump has a strong record with Catholics.
Mark
Who released the footage?
Mimi
Margo Martin, a special assistant to the president and communications adviser. She often posts behind-the-scenes material of Trump.
Luke
Worth noting that the bishops' complaint is about distribution, and we only have their word on what was agreed beforehand.
Mark
What was the meeting supposed to be about?
Mimi
Joensen says the White House Faith Office arranged it to discuss immigration, visas for international clergy and exploitation of vulnerable poor people.
Mark
And the timing matters?
Mimi
Grob pointed to it himself: less than two weeks before the 3 November midterms. Some congregants wrote to say they felt wounded by policies that had harmed them or their families.
Luke
The Pew numbers show Catholic approval of Trump at 30%, down from 47%. But that doesn't tell us the photos caused anything, and we can't say how it will translate into votes.
Mimi
Right. It's context, not a result. The church itself is not unified either, with Barron and Dolan serving on the Religious Liberty Commission.
Der Puls
- A private prayer in the Oval Office was turned into a public image within days, and two bishops are now saying they wish they had not been there.
- Congregants are writing in with wounds of their own, describing families broken and due process lost under the very policies their leaders were pictured beside.
- The White House has sidestepped the bishops' concerns, answering with praise for its own record rather than addressing the question of consent.
- Catholic approval of the president has collapsed from 47% to 30%, and the church's leaders are now trying to repair trust before the 3 November vote.
- The outcome hangs on whether an apology can win back voters before Congress is decided.
In late October, a prayer that was meant to be quiet became a public image: Catholic bishops gathered around the president at the Resolute Desk, and some of them later wished they had stayed away. The episode sits inside a longer, uneasy relationship between a church that cares deeply about migrants and families and a government pressing hard on immigration, with the faithful themselves now recalibrating their trust. What it will mean is still unsettled, and the coming midterm vote will show whether a regret voiced by a few men of the cloth can reach the pews.
On 22 October, a group of Catholic bishops prayed with President Trump at the Resolute Desk. Within days, photos and video of the moment were circulating online, and two of the bishops were publicly saying they regretted being there. Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee said he understood the gathering to be private, not a photo opportunity, and that no one had agreed to the images being released. The video was shared by Margo Martin, a White House communications adviser who often posts behind-the-scenes images.
Bishop William Joensen of Des Moines said the meeting, arranged by the White House Faith Office, covered immigration, visas for international clergy and the exploitation of vulnerable poor people. He insisted no one meant to endorse a party or candidate, and admitted he wished he had been more guarded.
Grob said the reaction brought messages of serious concern from people who felt wounded by how the president's policies had harmed them or their families. The backlash comes amid a strained relationship between Trump and Pope Leo XIV, and as some US bishops have criticised a crackdown that they say has sown fear and fractured families. The White House did not address the bishops' comments directly, instead praising Trump as the greatest president for Catholic Americans.
The stakes are concrete. Pew finds Trump's approval among Catholics has fallen to 30%, down from 47% at his 2025 return. With the midterms on 3 November, it remains to be seen whether two bishops' regret will move the voters who once favoured him.
On 22 October, a group of Catholic bishops stood around President Donald Trump at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office and prayed. Photos and video of the moment soon appeared online, and within days two of the bishops in the pictures were publicly saying they wished they had never been there.
Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee said he had understood the gathering to be private, not a political photo opportunity. By his account, the religious leaders first spent 90 minutes in meetings with officials and were then brought into the Oval Office to pray with the president. Grob said none of the participants gave permission for video or photos to be distributed or posted. The video was released by Margo Martin, a special assistant to the president and communications adviser who often shares behind-the-scenes images of Trump on social media.
Bishop William Joensen of Des Moines, Iowa, said in a statement posted online that officials from the White House Faith Office had arranged the meeting. The agenda, he said, included immigration, visas for international clergy and the exploitation of vulnerable poor people. He insisted that no one involved intended to endorse any political party or candidate. He added that he wished he had been more shrewd and less simple, like those who exploited the meeting for partisan purposes.
Grob described the reaction that followed. He said he began receiving messages of serious concern over the possibility that he had inadvertently taken part in a political event less than two weeks before a national election. Some people told him they felt wounded because of the ways they or their families had been harmed by the president's policies.
The backlash lands against a strained backdrop. Trump and Pope Leo XIV have a contentious relationship, and some US bishops have criticised the administration's immigration stance as it has moved aggressively to remove people believed to be in the country illegally. Nine days before the Oval Office meeting, Bishop Brendon Cahill and Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, issued a statement urging Christian compassion and wisdom in the immigration debate. They said the crackdown had sown fear, fractured families, deprived people of due process and vilified neighbours. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops also recently condemned administration plans to livestream a military execution, plans that were later scrapped.
The church's ties to the administration are not uniformly adversarial. Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are both Catholics who have visited the Vatican during Trump's second term. Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota agreed last year to serve on the president's Religious Liberty Commission, as did former New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan.
When the BBC asked the White House about the meeting and the bishops' comments, it did not address them directly. Spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said instead that there has never been a greater president for Catholic Americans than Trump, and that his strong record proves it.
The numbers are part of why the images matter. A Pew study found Trump won 55% of Catholic voters in 2024. In a Pew survey this month, only 30% of US Catholics approved of his job performance, down from 47% when he returned to the White House in 2025. Pew found approval slipping among all major religious groups. In the same survey, 42% of Catholics preferred the Democrats in their local House races, against 39% who favoured Republicans.
Those figures could matter on 3 November, when the midterm elections will decide control of Congress. Whether an apology from two bishops moves any of those voters is not something the polling yet answers.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
In no way did any of us intend by our involvement to endorse any political party or any individual candidate.— Bishop William Joensen of Des Moines, Iowa
He had believed the meeting was private and not a political photo opportunity.— Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee (paraphrased)
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