Catholic Bishops and the President: What everyone is missing in the controversial photo

 

Catholic Bishops pray for President Trump WITH Paula White

This past week 12 Catholic Bishops met, so they thought, privately with President Trump to discuss issues of relevance to the Catholic Church.  That this was scheduled to happen days before a major election could have been a warning sign that all was not right, but several of the bishops have since spoken-up to say that they didn't give permission to have the photo of them praying for the President published, as indeed it was.  {Bishops lament White House meeting that produced photo with Trump, say session was "manipulated" and "exploited" - cbsnews.com}

The public apology by Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Cob {A Public Apology - Archbishop Jeffrey Grob Oct 25, 2026} has led to potentially healthy conversations about the mixing of religion and politics, a topic that I have often spoken and written about given its massive historical track record of harming the reputation of the Church and witness of the Gospel.  I could reiterate those points here, but others are doing so and I've done so before.

What caught my eye was not the apology, nor the news articles discussing whether or not it was right or fair to make the meeting public for the sake of politics, but the photo itself.  Take a close look at the photo above, it reveals something far more significant than religious leaders potentially compromising themselves with a politician: Religious leaders compromising themselves with a known heretic.  This isn't a case of a Baptist calling a Methodist a heretic, or even a Protestant calling a Catholic a heretic.  No, what we are talking about here is a full-blown, clear and repeated, denial of the Gospel by replacing it with the monstrous Prosperity Gospel in ways that exploit the poor and vulnerable and great enrich the "faith leader" in question.  The terms heretic, false teacher, and charlatan are well earned and entirely deserved here.

The woman standing over President Trump's left shoulder with her hand upon him while the Bishop prays is Paul White.  For those who don't know who Paul White is, she's been the subject of numerous non-flattering posts previously: Sermon Video: Don't Mess with God - Jude 5-11 , Paula White: Charlatan, Heretic, and White House employee - terrifying in any administration , Sermon Video: God's Word, not our word - 1 Corinthians 14:36-40 , Paula White:The Prosperity Gospel, Celebrity, and Politics - A trifecta of Gospel compromise.  Don't take my word for it, you don't need to, just watch clips of Paula White speaking, find any objective article about her beliefs and practices.

The point is very simple: IF the bishops thought it was in the best interest of the Church to meet with and pray over the President, AND if the bishops thought it was in the best interest of the Catholic Church to meet with and pray over the President, AND if the bishops thought it was in their own best interest furthering their discipleship and developing their character to meet with and pray over the President, they still should have refused, absolutely refused to pray alongside with Paul White.  It should have been a deal-breaker, a bridge way too far.

2 Peter 2:1-3 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Galatians 1:8-10 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! 10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people?

Some will decide, with good principled reasons, that the bishops should not have attended this meeting based upon the harm it could cause to the Church, the Catholic Church, or their own discipleship.  Some will decide, with good principled reasons, that the potential benefits outweigh the risks.  Let us have that conversation with wisdom and civility and with our eyes open.

What nobody who professes the true historic, catholic, and apostolic faith of Jesus' followers can say without self-compromise and falsehood, is that Paul White is a representative of the Gospel.  To be photographed alongside Paula White is to lend your own legitimacy to her.  To lend your legitimacy to Paul White is to lend it to the Prosperity Gospel.  To lend it to the Prosperity Gospel is to damage the true Gospel that saves the Lost.

These Catholic Bishops are far from alone in this folly.  Prominent Evangelical leaders have also embraced this charlatan and heretic in order to gain access to political power.  

Paula White (in white) with "faith leaders" 2/7/25

Paula White next to Pastor Jeffress (1st Baptist of Dallas)

Paula White (in red) praying alongside other "faith leaders" 

If you compromise the Gospel for the sake of political power, what good are you?  If an unapologetic charlatan teachings a false Gospel isn't too much for you, what will be?

The most damning controversy in the photo is the presence of Paula White.