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Bishop who confronted Trump led ceremony honoring Matthew Shepard

gina van hoof via Matthew Shepard Foundation; Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Matthew Shepard; Rev. Mariann Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, leads a group of local religious leaders from many faiths in prayer during a vigil to protest gun violence in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, in the Bishop's Garden at the National Cathedral on October 3, 2017, in Washington, D.C.

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde and out Bishop V. Gene Robinson presided over a Washington National Cathedral ceremony honoring the hate-crime victim and the interment of his ashes there in 2018.

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The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, the Washington, D.C., Episcopal bishop who called out Donald Trump this week, helped preside over a service honoring gay hate-crime victim Matthew Shepard and the interment of his ashes at the Washington National Cathedral in 2018.

In an inaugural prayer service at the cathedral Tuesday, she directly addressed Trump, who was sitting in a pew. “In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” she said. “There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives.” She also urged compassion for immigrants, adding, “The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, gurdwaras, and temples.”

Trump later called her remarks “nasty” and said she should apologize, which she has no intention of doing. “I am not going to apologize for asking for mercy for others,” she told Time this week.

Trump supporters have criticized her as well. “I’ve had people wish me dead,” she told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Wednesday. “I’m not sure they’ve threatened to kill me, but they seemed to be pleased if I met my eternal destiny sooner rather than later.” Budde has also received much support, however.

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Budde has a history of supporting the LGBTQ+ community, and her denomination is an inclusive one. In 2018, she and the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the first out gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, held a public service October 26 at the National Cathedral honoring Shepard, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming who was killed in an antigay attack in October 1998 and became a national symbol of hate crimes. His ashes were then interred in a private service.

His family considered scattering his ashes around Wyoming, but they decided they wanted a place to visit. They feared desecration, however, as they had witnessed the presence of protesters from the hateful Westboro Baptist Church at Matthew’s funeral. They chose the National Cathedral as an appropriate space. “It’s a place where there’s an actual chance for others to sit and reflect about Matthew, and about themselves, and about their friends,” his father, Dennis Shepard, told The New York Times in 2018.

Matthew Shepard’s death “was a wound on our nation,” Budde told the Times. “We are doing our part to bring light out of that darkness and healing to those who have been so often hurt, and sometimes hurt in the name of the church.”

“There will be young people from all across the country, having tours here and being educated here,” Budde added in a 2018 interview with NPR. “When they pass by, they will see a plaque in his honor. They will see that this is a church that has learned from the example of violence that we need to stand and be counted as among those who work for justice and the full embrace of all God’s children.”

In her recent conversation with Time, Budde said she doesn’t feel personally threatened despite the death wishes. “The real people who are in danger are those who are fearful of being deported,” she said. “The real people who are in danger are the young people who feel they cannot be themselves and be safe and who are prone to all kinds of both external attacks and suicidal responses to them. So I think we should keep our eyes on the people who are really vulnerable in our society.”

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