Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, a critic of President-elect Trump, was named the new archbishop of Washington on Monday.
Pope Francis named McElroy, who is the bishop of San Diego, to replace Cardinal Wilton Gregory in Washington, Catholic Standard reported. McElroy, a San Francisco native, is known as a progressive in the Catholic Church and his diocese of San Diego includes California’s border with Mexico.
The pope’s move to put McElroy, who is a vocal supporter of migrants, at the top post in Washington comes just weeks before Trump is sworn in for a second term on Jan. 20. Meanwhile, President Biden is set to travel to Rome later this week to meet with the pope.
McElroy opposed Trump’s immigration agenda during his first four years in the White House, saying at the time that Catholics “simply can’t stand by and watch” while immigrants get deported, according to Reuters. McElroy joined other California bishops last month to issue a statement supporting migrants after Trump was elected on a platform focused on cracking down on immigration.
He has also been welcoming towards LGBTQ Catholics and supportive of women as deacons in the church.
Gregory, who has a close relationship with Biden while serving as archbishop, was required by Church law to submit his resignation after he turned 75-years-old in 2022.
Gregory supported Biden, only the second Catholic president in U.S. history, while conservative Catholic bishops mulled whether they should prevent him from receiving communion over his pro-reproductive rights stance.
