The appointment of Cardinal Robert McElroy to be the new archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., is the clearest sign that Pope Francis intends to needle the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
It is hard to think of another American Catholic bishop more liberal than McElroy, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump dating back to his first term in office. The cardinal has also been harshly critical of the more conservative elements of the Catholic Church in the United States and has derided Trump for his desire to curtail illegal immigration.
Pope Francis’s decision to appoint McElroy to replace the 77-year-old Cardinal Wilton Gregory is, more than anything, a clear message to Trump. Faced with the opportunity to appoint a long-term replacement who could lead the diocese for the better part of two decades, the pope opted for a short-term appointment that will almost perfectly match Trump’s term in office.
According to the Pillar, a Catholic news outlet, McElroy was initially ruled out of the running for the position because he was seen as too polarizing at a time that the Vatican was hoping to forge closer ties with the Trump administration as it seeks to end the war in Ukraine. However, when Trump appointed CatholicVote President Brian Burch as ambassador to the Holy See, the pope reconsidered his initial objection.
This is what makes McElroy such an unusual choice. At the age of 70, he is already among the American Catholic Church’s senior leaders. He will turn 71 years old in February, meaning it will be only four years until he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 75, the same length of Trump’s term in office. While the pope can opt not to accept the resignation for up to five more years, the length of his tenure will still be significantly shorter than most other bishops, especially those who lead dioceses in major metropolitan cities.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, will reach the mandatory retirement age next month after having led the archdiocese for 16 years. Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley served as the archbishop of Boston for 21 years until his 2024 retirement at the age of 80. Cardinal Blase Cupich, who was reportedly instrumental in the pope’s decision to appoint McElroy, has served as the archbishop of Chicago since 2014.
McElroy also brings enormous baggage to Washington, D.C. In 2016, he dismissed concerns that then-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of the nation’s capital, engaged in sexual abuse. Two years later, the extent of McCarrick’s abuse was exposed, and he was stripped of his position as a cardinal and laicized. McCarrick would later face criminal charges for his abuse.
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By ignoring this history and concerns, far from being a legacy-defining appointment that will last far beyond his lifetime, Pope Francis has selected McElroy to lead the Catholic church in Washington, D.C., for as long as Trump is in office. It is an appointment designed to foil the man that the people of the U.S. have chosen to lead them for the next four years.
It is a political appointment as much as it is an ecclesiastical appointment.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
