While the United States Congress certified the election results on Monday to give definitive victory to president-elect Donald Trump In the November elections, a short distance from the Capitol, under the dome of St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, the Catholic Church moved its chips and announced the appointment of Cardinal Robert McElroy to lead the archdiocese of the American capital.
In the middle of a winter storm The apostolic nuncio of the United States, Christophe Pierre, read Pope Francis’ order to transfer from San Diego, California, to Washington a member of the College of Cardinals, elevated to the cardinal under his papacy, and recognized for his high academic credentials achieved in prestigious universities in the USA, and an active voice of the Church on the west coast.
In his years as bishop, McElroy showed open positions against the policies of the first administration of President Donald Trump, who assumes a new mandate on January 20, as well as advocating for changes in the Church to make it more inclusive.
Massimo Faggioli, a theologian and church historian at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, believes that the Vatican has made the decision to use McElroy’s leadership as a counterweight to the eventual policies that the administration would take incoming President Trump, especially on issues such as immigration.
“It is very important (…) I think the Vatican wants this type of Church leader to be the archbishop of Washington now that Trump is about to take office, threatening to fulfill his promises on the deportation of immigrants,” said the expert cited by the National Catholic Reporter.
Faggioli considers that this appointment for the archdiocese of Washington is undoubtedly “the most important” of Francis’ papacy, which would show that the leadership of the Catholic Church would be placing a strong piece in the political capital of the United States and of attention to the entire world.
He adds that “a more cautious Vatican” would have opted for another shortlist to lead one of the most important and diverse archdioceses in the country.
“Many of us thought that he was too progressive to be archbishop of Washington, D.C., and that appointing him to the nation’s capital was going to be too bold a statement, too strong, because he is much more progressive than the center [Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Estados Unidos] regarding gay rights, the mission of the Church, immigrants, almost any topic,” Faggioli noted.
The auxiliary bishop of Washington, the Salvadoran Evelio Menjivar, considers that there is “enthusiasm” about the news of the arrival of the new leader and that they are ready to work on the big issues with the communities.
“Cardinal McElroy is widely recognized for his inclusive pastoral approaches, his bold advocacy for immigrants, and his support of Pope Francis’ vision for the renewal of the Church. Cardinal McElroy brings to Washington his extensive experience of serving a multicultural church as it is in San Diego, and I look forward to working with him,” says Menjivar.
Life and work of Cardinal McElroy
Robert W. McElroy, 70 years old, was born in San Francisco, California, and was educated in parochial schools, so from his childhood he maintained a constant doctrinal formation, in high school he did a study prior to the priesthood.
However, when the time came to decide on the seminary, he opted for secular humanistic training; This is how he arrived in 1972 at the prestigious Harvard Universitywhere he studied History, obtained his three-year bachelor’s degree, and completed postgraduate studies at the Stanford University and in 1976 he obtained a master’s degree in United States History.
The archdiocese of Washington describes McElroy in the profile of its new leader as a “scholar of American history, political science, and moral theology,” since in 1989 he obtained a doctorate in Political Science, also at Stanford.
He was ordained in 1980 in San Francisco, while he pursued higher education at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy, where he obtained his degree in theology. At the same time, he continued humanistic and doctrinal studies in other academic centers on the west coast of the United States.
Pope Benedict VI found merit in the religious and promoted him in 2010 as auxiliary bishop of San Francisco, five years later he was transferred to San Diego as bishop.
During Francis’ papacy, Bishop McElroy’s file moved to the Vatican’s first consideration which elevated him to the rank of cardinal in May 2022 in a ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, as a member of the College of Cardinals he is an elector for a next papal conclave.
His career has been developed in California where his positions gained national prominence by openly opposing the orders of President Donald Trump, as a voice of criticism of presidential power. But he has also pointed out other controversial issues within the Church.
Upon his arrival in Washington
The cardinal will arrive in Washington in March, as confirmed to VOA the press office of the archdiocese of Washington and an inauguration ceremony is planned at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in the northeast of the capital.
During the virtual press conference to announce his appointment as head of Washington, Cardinal McElroy said that his pastoral commitment is in the tenets of the Church and its role in the “earthly pilgrimage” and towards the “unity of society” under the commandments of the “justice of God”.
“It is especially concerned about the unborn, the poor, the marginalized and the dispossessed,” as the path of continuous renewal that “allows the Church to be more participatory and missionary so that it can walk with every man and woman, radiating the light of Christ,” he said.
And he added that this light radiates in the struggles of civil rights movements that coincide with the postulates of the Catholic faith.
Upon his arrival in Washington, he said he is ready to learn from the vibrant and diverse communities that make up the archdiocese of Washington, which includes the District of Columbia and five counties in the state of Maryland, while also having jurisdiction over the prestigious study centers University of Georgetown and American University.
Regarding immigrants, the cardinal said that he is pleased to arrive in a region of the country characterized by the diversity of groups and origins “which is so fundamental for the entire life of this local church, and in the ministries to the multitude of people who seek and find the presence of god in this place, from Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and South America; Europe, Asia and Africa.”
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