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The Conversation
The Conversation
Joanne M. Pierce, Professor Emerita of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

In asking Trump to show mercy, Bishop Budde continues a long tradition of Christian leaders ‘speaking truth to power’

Bishop Mariann Budde leads the national prayer service attended by President Donald Trump at the National Cathedral in Washington on Jan. 21, 2025. AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s sermon on Jan. 21, 2025, in which she appealed to President Donald Trump to have mercy toward groups frightened by his position on immigrants and LGBTQ+ people – especially children – drew reactions from both sides of the aisle.

In a post on his social networking site, Truth Social, Trump called her comments “nasty in tone” and remarked that she “brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way.”

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