Pope Francis on Monday named Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, bishop of San Diego, to be the next Roman Catholic archbishop of Washington, moving one of his most vocal allies on immigration to one of the most prominent posts in the American church.

The move, announced in the Vatican’s daily bulletin, comes at a critical moment two weeks before President-elect Donald J. Trump is inaugurated and sends a signal about Pope Francis’ priorities. Many powerful American Catholics, including Vice-President-elect J.D. Vance, have aligned themselves with Trump’s efforts against immigration and abortion.

Cardinal McElroy, 70, is a longtime supporter of the pope’s pastoral agenda, and is known for regularly speaking out on the inclusion of migrants, women and LGBTQ people in the Catholic church and in the US.

He will succeed Cardinal Wilton Gregory, 77, the first African-American to be made a cardinal, a member of the church’s highest governing body.

In December, as Trump promised to crack down on immigration once again, Cardinal McElroy and 11 other bishops from California issued a statement in support of “our migrant brothers and sisters.”

“We want to assure you that we, and our mother, the Church, stand with you in these days of anxiety,” they wrote, promising “to advocate for your dignity and family unity.”

His presence in Washington will stand in contrast to that of Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019 and advanced a hardline anti-immigrant agenda on the campaign trail last year. Alongside Trump, Vance called for mass deportations, promised to end legal immigration programmes and spread baseless rumours that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing and eating pets.

Vance represents the traditionalist wing of the church, which has gained strength
in Republican circles as it pushes against the rise of secularism.

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.

As an undergraduate at Harvard University, he studied with Oscar Handlin, a prominent scholar who shifted public views about the role of immigration in American history.

New York Times News Service