Commentary: This is the prayer Catholic bishops should have offered to Trump

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Set us as preferred Jesus said a lot about prayer in the New Testament.Pray for those who hate you.

Pray privately, not publicly “as the hypocrites are,” and “use not vain repetitions.” Pray to not enter into temptation.Pray in humility.He sure as hell didn’t say anything about praying while serving as a tyrant’s photo op, as a dozen Catholic bishops did last week in the Oval Office.They stood around President Trump as he sat with his eyes closed and tiny hands clasped, a prayer stance about as convincing as when he holds a Bible.

Denver Archbishop James Golka then laid his hand on Trump’s shoulder, thanked God for “the gift of this office and presidency” and asked the Holy Spirit to protect the U.S.“against any influence of evil.”Too late!This campaign season contains all sorts of scenarios screaming for holy intervention.

We should pray extra hard to these saints for the next two months.A majority of Catholic voters chose Trump in 2024, but polls show that many of my brethren now regret that decision and want to repent.The backlash against the bishops was furious enough that four of them have since either apologized or insisted that they weren’t endorsing anyone.One of the four, Bishop William Joensen of Des Moines, said he wished he had remembered Jesus’ warning to the apostles that “I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.

Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”That’s great advice for voters in this election, Catholic or not.We can deliver a historic rebuke to a president who needs a rebuttal on the level of Saul of Tarsus.

And part of that is praying for Trump’s soul — after all, in three of the four Gospels, Jesus proclaims that he was sent to heal the sick, not the healthy.And who’s more ill right now than President Cheesecake Factory?But we can’t fo...