The Bishop Mariann Edgar Buddeduring a service in the National Cathedral of Washington after taking possession of Donald Trumpclosed his sermon asking for mercy towards communities LGBTQI and migrants, which generated a controversy with the president of the United States.
Budde is 65 years old and is the first female spiritual leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.
According to the website of the diocese that he directs since 2011, the Bishop is a defender of causes such as “racial equality, the prevention of violence with firearms, immigration reform and full inclusion of people LGBTQ+”.
In addition, the United States Episcopal Church allows people “of all sexual genres and orientations” to serve as bishops, priests and deacons.
Budde, born in New Jersey and raised between Colorado and New York, studied history at the University of Rochester before serving as the rector of the Episcopal Church of St. John in Minneapolis for almost 20 years. She is a mother and grandmother.
Last Tuesday, with the president in the first seats of the Church with his family, he finished his sermon urging him “to have mercy on our country who is now afraid.”
He cited LGBTQ people and migrants, apparently in response to the president’s efforts to suppress illegal migration and dismantle federal protections for transgender people.
The Reverend later said in an interview with The New York Times that he did not seek to directly confront the president, but to invite him to reflect on the responsibility of a leader towards the people who live with fear.
“I wanted to remind us all of our neighbors,” he said.
This gesture has not been the first to capture attention.
In 2020, Budde harshly criticized Trump for using a Bible as a political symbol in front of the Church of St. John, after agents dispersed with tear gas in Lafayette square to protesters for racial justice, specifically the protests for the murder of George Floyd. In his article published in The New York Times, he declared himself “outraged” and “horrified.”
