Archbishop Jeffrey Grob did something every Catholic should be able to defend without a second thought. He prayed for the president of the United States. Then the left got angry, and he apologized for it.
On October 22, Grob was one of 12 bishops at a White House meeting arranged by the Heritage Foundation. After about 90 minutes with domestic policy staff, they were brought into the Oval Office. President Trump sat at his desk, the bishops stood behind him, and they prayed. The White House posted photos and a video.
That is the whole scandal.
In his public apology on October 25, Grob admits he knew exactly what he was walking into. The bishops were told, “there could be an opportunity to pray privately with the president.” He even explained why he said yes: “I pray for our elected officials on a daily basis, so it seemed appropriate to do so in person.”
That was the right answer. He should have stopped there.
Instead, he caved. Grob writes that people told him it was a “political event” before an election, and that some felt “wounded” by the president’s policies. That was all it took. A few days of angry messages, and the archbishop called his own prayer “manipulated,” insisting he never meant “to pose for a political photo opportunity to benefit the few,” and offering “sincere regret.”
A Catholic Church leader says he regrets praying. Let that sink in.
Grob’s one real complaint is that nobody asked before the camera rolled. Fine, but he should not have caved and issued a public apology to the angriest corner of his woke flock for the act of praying for the president.
And notice who gets an apology and who doesn’t. National Catholic Reporter notes Grob co-signed a statement this year with other Wisconsin bishops attacking the Trump administration on immigration. He has never apologized for that, and no one asked him to. In Grob’s archdiocese, criticizing the president is courage. Praying for him needs a confession.
This is what weakness looks like in a collar. Not malice, just a man who checks which way the wind is blowing before deciding what he believes. The left threw a tantrum, and he handed them the win. AP reports other bishops in the group regretted how the photos were used. Grob went further than any of them and apologized from the Caribbean beaches of the Dominican Republic.
Scripture is not vague about this. Paul told Timothy to offer prayers “for kings and all who are in authority.” No exceptions for presidents progressive Catholics don’t like.
Thousands of Catholics in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee pray for this president every week. On Saturday, their archbishop told them that being seen doing it is something to be sorry for.
He had a chance to show those families what conviction looks like. Instead, he showed them how fast he folds.
