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(RNS) — Multiple Catholic bishops who were seen praying over President Donald Trump in a widely shared video last week now say they felt manipulated by White House officials, with one Iowa prelate citing Scripture to compare the experience to being sent as “sheep in the midst of wolves.”

A spokesperson for Archbishop Joseph Naumann, who retired in 2024 as head of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas and was seen in the Oct. 22 video, told RNS on Monday (Oct. 26), “The bishops were assured that no photographs would be made public. They came to have a discussion on important policy matters.”

The pushback comes in the wake of widespread criticism that emerged after the video was shared on social media by White House staff showing 12 Catholic bishops praying over Trump as he sat in the Oval Office.…