The White House defended President Donald Trump on Monday following Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob’s public apology for his involvement in an Oval Office prayer session with the president.
Archbishop Grob said that the administration had leveraged the religious event for political advantage just before the midterm elections.
Archbishop issues ‘A Public Apology’
On Sunday, Grob released a statement entitled ‘A Public Apology’, in which he contended that the White House had distributed pictures and video footage of the Thursday prayer service without seeking authorization from the 12 bishops who participated. He alleged that the administration had exploited a sacred occasion for political purposes.
The archbishop mentioned getting messages from Catholics who were worried the prayer seemed like a political endorsement.
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“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,” he said.
The archbishop said that he had been contacted by Catholic constituents who expressed concern that the prayer event appeared to represent a political endorsement. Grob acknowledged his initial hesitation regarding his attendance and offered an apology for the concern his participation had generated.
“We came in good faith to try to work for the betterment of our fellow human beings, to ease their suffering, to build up the common good, and to pray with a president, not to pose for a political photo opportunity to benefit the few.”
White House reacts to archbishop’s public apology
A White House spokeswoman, Taylor Rogers, issued a statement to Fox News Digital in which she defended the Trump administration’s stance on religious liberty and matters of concern to Catholic communities, responding to the archbishop’s public apology.
“There has never been a greater president for Catholic Americans than President Trump, and his strong record proves it: he stopped the weaponization of the federal government against Christians, proudly defended and expanded our religious rights, pardoned pro-life activists, stopped the chemical mutilation of our nation’s children, and protected parents’ rights,” she said.
According to Grob, the Heritage Foundation facilitated the meeting, which was designed to discuss immigration policy enforcement, visa provisions for religious workers, and additional matters important to the Catholic Church.
Following a ninety-minute dialogue involving White House officials responsible for domestic policy and senior advisors, the ecclesiastical delegation proceeded to the Oval Office, where Trump distributed commemorative medallions before the group engaged in prayer together.