(RNS) — Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy, currently bishop of San Diego, to lead the Archdiocese of Washington to replace Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the U.S.’s first Black Catholic cardinal, whose resignation has been accepted by the pope two years past the traditional retirement age of 75.
The appointment came just as Washington prepares for a new president who has made immigration a key theme of his campaign, just as Francis has focused on migrant rights during his papacy. Having led the border diocese of San Diego since 2015, McElroy, 70, has experience with the immigration, both as a political issue and a reality in his diocesan churches.
At a press conference in Washington following the announcement, McElroy said of Trump’s immigration policy, “having a wider, indiscriminate, massive deportation across the country would be something that would be incompatible with Catholic doctrine.”
In December McElroy joined other bishops in the California Catholic Conference in releasing a statement called the U.S. immigration system “broken.”
McElroy has been a strong ally of the pope on several other of Francis’ key issues, particularly the environment and the applications of the theological concept of synodality, which emphasizes dialogue over hierarchical processes in the church.
As he addressed his new archdiocese for the first time, McElroy mentioned synodality immediately after offering his first messages of thanks. “We are called to proclaim that everyone is welcomed on this journey, embraced in Christ’s love, called to conversion and change in our lives, and to reconciliation with God and one another,” he said.
The cardinal has also emerged as a national leader on implementing Francis’ vision for environmental justice and stewardship, announcing a year ago that the San Diego diocese would be the first in the country to divest from fossil fuels.
At Monday’s press conference, McElroy did not directly answer RNS’ question whether the Archdiocese of Washington would also work to divest from fossil fuels. As a smiling Gregory looked on, McElroy said that in his time in San Diego he had learned from the Archdiocese of Washington’s environmental work and emphasized that his own environmental work was centered on the concerns of young people.
Despite McElroy’s frequent alignment with Francis, some U.S. conservative pundits and bishops have labeled him a radical, particularly after he released an opinion piece in America, a magazine of the Jesuit order, calling for “radical inclusion” in the church, arguing that excluding Catholics from Communion if they do not follow church teaching on sexual relations, including LGBTQ Catholics and divorced and remarried people, should change.
The piece prompted public backlash from several fellow U.S. bishops, including Lincoln, Nebraska, Bishop James Conley, Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila. Kansas City, Kansas, Archbishop Joseph Naumann and Springfield, Illinois, Bishop Thomas Paprocki.
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