White House defends Trump after archbishop calls prayer moment 'manipulated' ahead of midterms
"None of us bishops were unaware that our meeting was on the cusp of a national election. Yet in no way did any of us intend by our involvement to endorse any political party or any individual candidate," he said. "That said, in retrospect, I would have done well to be more mindful of Jesus’ admonition: ‘Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves’ (Matthew 10:16). I wish I had been more shrewd and less simple, like those who exploited our meeting for partisan political purposes."
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Denver Archbishop James Golka, who led the prayer, discussed his participation in an interview with the Denver Catholic. Golka acknowledged concerns about the video's political implications but emphasized that praying for elected officials remains a longstanding Catholic practice.
"I wasn’txa0sure what to do.xa0On one hand, it was a great opportunityxa0to raise important issuesxa0for the Church’s benefit," he said. "On the other hand, I knew people might be upset. Though Ixa0originally thought it would bexa0a private meeting, I knew that it could be sharedxa0and that some might use it for political purposes.
"But as I prayed about it, I thought that this is what Catholics do," he continued. "We pray for people. No matter whether we agree or disagree on anything, we always pray for our country and leaders."
The controversy comes as Catholic leaders continue to disagree with the Trump administration over some of its policies, particularly immigration. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sued the administration in February 2025 over the suspension of refugee resettlement funding.
Other prominent Catholic leaders have encouraged continued engagement with the administration. In a May interview with Fox News Digital, Bishop Robert Barron, a member of Trump's Religious Liberty Commission, cautioned against demonizing the president despite disagreements over immigration and other policies.
"What I don't want from the church is a kind of demonization of the Trump administration," he said.
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The Archdiocese of Milwaukee declined to comment further on the matter when reached by Fox News Digital.
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