5 Bishops issue apology, clarifications on Trump meeting

Five bishops have issued apologies or statements to clarify their intentions following a meeting with President Donald Trump on October 22. The bishops seek to distance themselves from political interpretations of the gathering, which included a photograph of them praying over the president in the Oval Office.

The meeting was intended as a conversation regarding issues affecting Catholic voters. Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee stated that the bishops were invited to discuss matters of importance to the Church and the people, specifically human dignity, religious worker visas, and immigration enforcement.

The private discussion was followed by an invitation to pray with the president. Evangelical pastor Paula White-Cain, a senior advisor to the White House Faith Office, was also present. While some reports suggested Mario Enzler of the Heritage Foundation organized the meeting, the Heritage Foundation stated that was not the case.