The bishop asked President Trump publicly to “have mercy,” electrifying some liberal churchgoers in an era dominated by conservative versions of Christianity.

If you know what people are thinking about when they’re coming into church on Sunday morning, it’s very important to acknowledge that,” Budde says.

Rev. Mariann Budde the Episcopal Bishop of Washington defended a plea for mercy she made to President Donald Trump on behalf of immigrants and others during an inaugural prayer service a day before.

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde isn’t afraid to speak truth to power. Unlike almost everyone else in President Donald Trump’s orbit these days. And she has no plans to apologize for asking Trump to show mercy on the people he has terrorized in his first days back in power.

The Virginia Theological Seminary released a statement Friday in support of alumna Bishop Mariann Budde after she received conservative pushback for comments this week during the National Cathedral’s inaugural prayer service for President Trump.

Like every woman who offends President Trump, Mariann Edgar Budde, so-called Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart. “In the name of our God,” she said,

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde drew President Trump’s ire Wednesday morning after she used a National Catheral prayer service to issue a call for mercy against members of the LGBTQ and immigrant communities.