Pope Francis names progressive-leaning cardinal to lead Washington archdiocese
Pope Francis taps one of the most outspoken and progressive-leaning U.S. Catholic leaders to Washington, D.C., as tensions are likely to rise between some Catholics and the new Trump administration.
- Cardinal Robert McElroy named Washington, D.C. archbishop following Archdiocese of Washington head Cardinal Wilton Gregory's resignation Monday.
- McElroy is among the most progressive-leaning and outspoken voices within the U.S. Catholic Church, especially on immigration.
- Following Trump's election, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in statement and and 35-plus U.S. Catholic leaders in additional statements have expressed support for immigrants.
- McElroy’s appointment could lead to tension with the incoming Trump administration on issues such as immigration.
A leading U.S. Catholic voice for immigrant rights and an outspoken proponent of other progressive-leaning causes will become the new archbishop in the nation's capital as tensions are likely to rise between President-elect Donald Trump’s administration and some Catholics.
Cardinal Robert McElroy will succeed Cardinal Wilton Gregory as the archbishop of Washington, Pope Francis announced Monday after Gregory notified church leadership of his resignation and intention to retire.
McElroy’s appointment comes at a time of heightened conflict between moderate and progressive U.S. Catholics and an increasingly politicized traditionalist faction, which has deepened its alliance with Republicans and Trump. Immigration and the support for migrants by Catholic-affiliated organizations is already becoming a central issue in the dispute, especially with McElroy and other Catholic leaders expressing concern about Trump’s plans for mass deportations.
"Having a wider, indiscriminate, massive deportation across the country would be something that would be incompatible with Catholic doctrine," McElroy said in a virtual news conference Monday on his appointment, according to Religion News Service. McElroy has served as the San Diego bishop since 2015.
Early into Trump’s first term in 2017, McElroy said, “We must disrupt those who would seek to send troops into our streets to deport the undocumented,” according to National Catholic Reporter.
More recently, McElroy and California’s 11 other Catholic bishops co-signed a letter on Dec. 12 showing support for migrants. They were among more than 30 U.S. bishops signing similar statements − including in Arizona, Tennessee and Kentucky, New Mexico, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas − along with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which issued a collective statement to show solidarity with immigrants after Trump’s election.
The appointment “is a bold move,” Massimo Faggioli, Villanova University theologian, told Reuters. Faggioli, a close observer of current ideological and political disputes in the Catholic Church, said McElroy’s prospective leadership is "a statement to the halls of power in D.C. and boardrooms in America.”
Catholics are expected to comprise the largest known religious affiliation among Trump’s Cabinet. The most well known is Vice President-elect JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019. Other Trump picks who are Catholic are Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Linda McMahon as education secretary, Sean Duffy as transportation secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer as labor secretary, and Brian Burch as Vatican ambassador, according to Politico and Religion News Service. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services Secretary, isn’t a practicing Catholic but is famously part of the nation’s most well-known family of Catholic Democrats.
Vance’s leadership and the nomination of Burch, president of the political advocacy group CatholicVote, symbolizes a likely elevated status for an emergent Catholic right that supports more right-wing positions on social issues, such as women’s rights and LGBTQ rights, and other disputes like immigration.
In fact, Burch’s organization sued the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security in February 2022 over President Joe Biden’s border policies, accusing the federal agencies of conspiring with Catholic Charities and other organizations to incentivize a surge in illegal immigration. Burch’s nomination to Vatican ambassador is significant because of his reputation as an antagonist toward the Vatican.
In contrast, McElroy is seen as a key ally of Francis among U.S. Catholic leaders. As part of that, the incoming Washington archbishop has expressed a softened stance toward LGBTQ Catholics and support for women's ordination as deacons.
Contributing: Reuters