{
  "id": 16650476,
  "title": "Catholic bishops say White House prayer photo with Trump was used politically",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/26/catholic-bishops-say-white-house-prayer-photo-with-trump-was-used",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-26T20:02:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PBS NewsHour",
    "slug": "pbs-newshour",
    "url": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/catholic-bishops-say-white-house-prayer-photo-with-trump-was-used-politically"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Two Catholic bishops, Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob and Des Moines Archbishop William Joensen, have expressed regret over a White House meeting that resulted in a photo of them praying with President Donald Trump. The meeting, held on Thursday, was quickly publicized by the White House with photos and a video, without the participants' consent, just two weeks before the midterm elections. Grob said he felt \"a heavy sadness\" over the pain caused and the sanctity of prayer being manipulated. Joensen expressed regret for being \"exploited for partisan political purposes\" and pledged to be more prudent in the future. The White House did not respond to questions about consent for releasing the photos and video. The bishops were invited to discuss issues like immigration enforcement, religious worker visas, abortion, and federal tax credits for private education. Grob emphasized the meeting was not an endorsement of the president, his policies, or his party.",
  "summary": "Two Catholic bishops have expressed regret that they agreed to a White House meeting that produced a publicly distributed photo of them praying with President Donald Trump.",
  "key_points": [
    "Two Catholic bishops express regret over White House photo used politically",
    "Archbishop Jeffrey Grob felt sadness over prayer manipulation",
    "Archbishop William Joensen called exploitation for partisan purposes"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Guardian US",
        "title": "Catholic bishops accuse Trump White House of turning prayer into campaign photo op",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/26/catholic-bishops-accuse-trump-white-house-of-turning-prayer-into",
        "published": "2026-10-26T15:05:34.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}