The White House meeting and the bishops’ meeting

Key Points:

• A group of U.S. bishops met at the White House on October 22, expecting to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, but were surprised by a meeting with President Trump that included a public prayer, which sparked controversy among Catholics.
• The prayer, led by Archbishop James Golka, was nonpartisan and intended to pray for the country and its leaders, but the event was perceived by some as an implicit endorsement of Trump’s GOP ahead of midterm elections, leading to divided opinions within the Catholic community.
• Invitations to the meeting reportedly came from Mario Enzler, a Heritage Foundation official, raising concerns about politicization; some bishops felt manipulated into a political photo opportunity, while others defended their participation as a pastoral duty to pray for leaders regardless of politics.
• The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) did not officially organize or endorse the meeting, and it is expected the issue will be discussed privately at the upcoming USCCB plenary session, with possible questions about the propriety of attendance and internal coordination.
• The meeting highlights ongoing tensions within the U.S. Catholic hierarchy about how to engage with different presidential administrations, and the apostolic nuncio Archbishop Gabriele Caccia is expected to address the bishops on the matter, potentially conveying Pope Leo XIV’s perspective.