Pope appoints Trump critic as Washington archbishop

Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy, known for his progressive views and criticism of Donald Trump, as the next archbishop of Washington, DC, two weeks before the President-elect assumes office.

The Vatican announced Cardinal McElroy’s appointment on Monday (Jan 6) on the fourth anniversary of the January 6 Capitol attack. As archbishop, he will oversee more than 600,000 Catholics in the capital region, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Cardinal McElroy, 70, who has served as bishop of San Diego for nearly a decade and was elevated to cardinal by the Pope in 2022, is one of America’s most progressive Catholic leaders. He has been a consistent ally to Pope Francis, advocating for migrants’ rights, climate action, and greater inclusion of women and LGBT people in the church.

He will succeed Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the first Black American cardinal, who is stepping down at age 77, two years past the standard retirement age for bishops.

During a Monday news conference, Cardinal McElroy directly addressed the incoming administration’s immigration policies. “A wider indiscriminate massive deportation would be incompatible with Catholic teachings,” he stated.

Pro-immigrant cardinal

As bishop of the San Diego diocese, along the border with Mexico, Cardinal McElroy has a history of standing with immigrants, who represent a significant constituency for the Catholic church both globally and in the US, says the New York Times.

His appointment as archbishop of Washington, DC, comes at a time of complex relations between the Vatican and the US political leadership. While Pope Francis has maintained a friendly relationship with Catholic President Biden, who is scheduled to meet with the pontiff at the Vatican this week, tensions with Trump have been evident. The Pope previously criticised Trump’s border wall plans as “not Christian” and made pointed remarks during last year’s election about choosing the “lesser evil” between candidates.

Cardinal McElroy’s outspoken positions on social issues have often reflected Pope Francis’ vision for the church. In 2023, following the Vatican’s decision to allow blessings for same-sex couples, McElroy wrote, “It is a demonic mystery of the human soul why so many men and women have a profound and visceral animus toward members of the LGBT communities.”

His views are in sharp contrast to those of prominent Catholics in Trump’s administration. Vice President-elect JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, advanced a hard-line anti-immigrant agenda on the campaign trail last year.

Trump’s nominee for ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, is the longtime president of the conservative, non-profit political advocacy group, CatholicVote.