On the day Congress certified Donald Trump's 2024 presidential election, Pope Francis named Cardinal Robert W. McElroy a cardinal.New Archbishop of Washington DC. It was a historic and well-timed appointment.
During the Biden administration, there was an unusual closeness between the president and the pope. In one of his final acts, Joe Biden awarded Pope Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom, honoring him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.people's pope” in him quotationBiden praised the pope as a “loving pastor” whose “mission to serve the poor never ceases.”
But the friendship between Washington and the Vatican is about to face a difficult test.
President Donald Trump has named Brian Birch, an outspoken critic of Pope Francis, as the new U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. Birch, a Catholic activist, criticized the Pope's treatment of his critics and criticized the Pope'sprogressive catholic cheerleading”
The selection of Robert W. McElroy as the new archbishop of Washington, D.C., highlights Pope Francis' intentions.phone“Everyone is invited. Everyone is in.” For Cardinal McElroy, “everyone” means “everyone is in.”radical inclusion” Homosexuals, divorced and remarried Catholics, and likewise in the life of the Catholic ChurchSupport for the inclusion of women in Diacontate.
Cardinal McElroy's emphasis on these issues sets him apart from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and their call for abortion to be “abortion.”outstanding priority” said Catholic leaders. McElroy I asked a questionWhy aren't other issues such as racism, poverty, immigration, and climate change given more attention?
Catholics arenever be afraid to tell the truthCardinal McElroy summed up his approach to these and other issues:see, judge, act”
But Mr. McElroy's appointment goes far beyond Pope Francis' goal of realigning the Catholic Church in the United States more closely with the goals of the papacy. With Donald Trump back in power, McElroy and Trump are on the verge of clashing over immigration, the environment and foreign policy.
Massimo Fagioli, a Catholic theologian at Villanova University, sayMr. McElroy’s appointment is “ [current] American political situation. ”
At the press conference announcing his appointment, McElroy said: calledIt plans “more widespread, indiscriminate and mass deportations” of illegal immigrants “incompatible with Catholic doctrine.”
This is not a new position for McElroy, whose Diocese of San Diego borders Mexico. in 2016speechMcElroy called Donald Trump's deportation plan for illegal immigrants “an act of injustice that defames the nation's honor in the same way as the gradual dispossession of Native Americans and the internment of Japanese people.” denounced.
After that, criticism of Trump became even more intense.
In 2017, McElroy intense speechHe urged community organizers to “disrupt those who want to send troops into our streets to deport illegal immigrants,” and “represent Muslim men, women, and children as children of God.” “Confound those who train us to see it as a source of fear rather than as a source of fear.” “To confuse those who want to take away our health care” and “to confuse those who want to take even food stamps and nutritional assistance out of our children's mouths.”
McElroy's outspoken statements have drawn criticism from some quarters.
Thomas Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield, Illinois, is a conservative politically and theologically.criticizedMr. McElroy's approach to homosexuals and divorced and remarried Catholics suggests that his views border on heretical.
Luigi Cassarini of the Messa in Latino (Latin Mass) said that McElroy's choice was “terrible schedule” and “It feels like childish revenge.” In response to President Trump's nomination of Brian Birch as U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.
But Cardinal McElroy is uniquely qualified to lead the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. he I have a Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University. And as a political scientist and Catholic leader, McElroy spoke out on what he called “the issue.”There is a deep disease in the soul of American political life.,” states“Our political society is poisoned by tribalism, sapping our energy as a people and endangering our democracy.”
According to McElroyAs partisanship ceases to be a political category and becomes a form of personal identity, “citizens become increasingly trapped within silos of partisan media and culture, and anger towards partisan media and culture is encouraged. , will have a serious negative impact on families, friendships, and civic life.'' ”
This is a fundamental rethinking of the role of political parties in American society. he is take over leadershipMcElroy, who will be installed as diocese of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., on March 11, 2025, will not only be a powerful advocate for justice, but also an advocate for how Catholics live up to the responsibilities imposed by their relationships with one another and the obligations of citizenship. He will become a leader who will fundamentally change whether we should reconsider.
Let's start with Catholic members of Congress.
recentpew researchThere were 150 Catholics in the 119th Congress, 83 of whom identified as Democrats and 67 as Republicans. In his 1989 book,“Exploring American Public Theology” McElroy wrote that the political institutions of American life were “increasingly alienated from their spiritual roots.” He is now in a unique position to reconnect with new Congressional voters.
Cardinal McElroy's appointment makes clear that the Vatican's voice will be heard loud and clear in Washington. Trump would be wise to listen.
john kenneth white Professor Emeritus of The Catholic University of America. His latest book is titled “Grand Old Unraveling: The Republican Party, Donald Trump, and the Rise of Authoritarianism.”
