Churchgoers agonize to WSJ over whether Trump deserves absolution

A Virginia church group's Sunday discussion turned into a raw debate over whether President Donald Trump deserves forgiveness — with one parishioner flatly declaring it isn't his job to grant it.

About a dozen members of Annandale United Methodist Church gathered in a chapel beside the sanctuary to wrestle with faith, the U.S. war in Iran, and Trump's recent feud with Pope Leo XIV, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The conversation came in the wake of Trump's AI-generated image appearing to depict himself as a Christ-like figure, which the president later deleted.

Jon Zimmermann, a 62-year-old financial-services professional who joined the church months ago, told the group Trump doesn't deserve forgiveness for dividing the country because the president hasn't sought it. Images of destruction in Iran and Gaza have left him furious, he said.

"It's not my job to forgive somebody," Zimmermann told the class, according to the Journal.

Other parishioners disagreed.

Meily Grigg, a 53-year-old special-education teacher, said it was their Christian duty to forgive the president and that she has prayed for him throughout his second term. “I’ve got my own problems. I’m not perfect,” Grigg said.

Pastor Jason Micheli, who counsels Trump administration officials and supporters, urged Christians not to be "naive or sentimental" and said leaders should be called out when they take the Lord's name in vain.

Zimmermann said while he hopes to forgive Trump someday, he simply isn't there yet.

Open political debate is rare inside American sanctuaries, with many churches either avoiding politics altogether or aligning squarely with one side, according to the Journal. Micheli, a father of two sons who recently joined the military, told the group he vehemently opposes the war in Iran but believes the Iranian government poses a real threat to global security.