The term of the new Washington cardinal will overlap that of the second Trump administration

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — With his appointment as Washington’s new archbishop on Jan. 6, Cardinal Robert W. McElroy’s tenure in the nation’s capital will begin shortly after President-elect Donald begins his second term in the White House Trump, which could create tension between the two men during their time in the nation’s capital over immigration and a host of other issues.

Cardinal McElroy will be installed at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington on March 11 at 2 p.m., according to the Archdiocese of Washington. Trump is expected to begin his second term in the White House on January 20.

Pope Francis appointed Cardinal McElroy, bishop of San Diego since 2015, to the post after accepting the resignation of its current occupant, Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, the Vatican announced on January 6. The territory of the Archdiocese of Washington includes the nation’s capital and as such, it is an influential position in the Catholic Church in the United States

The cardinal’s appointment, which comes just two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration in Washington, places the prelate in a relationship that could see points of tension between Trump’s agenda and Catholic social teaching on issues such as mass. deportations and federal executions, for example.

In his comments during a virtual news conference amid a snowstorm in the nation’s capital, and on the same day that congressional lawmakers gathered to certify the 2024 election results, Cardinal McElroy said : “All of us as Americans should hope and pray that our nation’s government succeeds in helping to improve our society, our culture, our lives, and our nation as a whole, and that is my prayer.

In response to a question about how he planned to handle possible areas of tension in his dealings with Trump and his second administration, Cardinal McElroy said: “In terms of what question I would see arising in terms of life of the Church that could This contrasts with some of the priorities that the president-elect has talked about, I would say one of the most important, of course, is immigration.

“The Catholic Church teaches that a country has the right to control its borders, and our nation’s desire to do so is a legitimate effort,” he said. “At the same time, we are called to always have a sense of the dignity of each human person, and therefore the plans, which we have spoken about at certain levels, of a massive, broader expulsion, without discrimination, across the country , would be something new. this would be incompatible with Catholic doctrine. We will therefore have to see what emerges in the administration.”

Richard Wood, a sociologist and president of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California, told OSV News that the Catholic Church “has a long history of engaging in constructive dialogue with all kinds of government leaders, even amid tensions over particular issues. and the contradictions between Christian truths about the human person and a dominant worldview.

“I would ensure that he is open to converging viewpoints where common ground with the Catholic faith is possible, but also fully willing to raise a prophetic voice when the new administration acts against the common good such that Christianity understands him,” Wood said of Cardinal McElroy. . “It’s anyone’s guess what this will look like on the new administration’s side. »

Experts in political science and moral theology who spoke with OSV News offered both praise and criticism of Cardinal McElroy’s appointment to the position. But all identified immigration issues as a possible point of tension between Cardinal McElroy and Trump.

John Carr, founder of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, told OSV News that in considering this appointment, it is “important to keep the pastoral and political aspects together.”

“Cardinal McElroy brings the heart of a pastor to the church in Washington,” Carr said. “He also brings unique knowledge and skills to the intersection of Catholic social teaching and public life in the nation’s capital.”

Carr said Cardinal McElroy, who holds a doctorate in moral theology and political science, is also “a scholar and author of the works of John Courtney Murray,” a Jesuit theologian known for his influential thoughts on the relationship between Church and State. The cardinal “will offer a faithful Catholic voice in difficult times,” Carr added.

“Cardinal McElroy will be principled but not ideological, committed but not partisan, courteous but not silent,” Carr said. “He will defend the poor and vulnerable, the unborn and the undocumented, the common good and the care of creation when human life and dignity are threatened or neglected. »

Kenneth Craycraft, professor of moral theology at Mount St. Mary Seminary and Divinity School in Cincinnati and author of “Citizens Yet Strangers: Living Authentically Catholic in a Divided America,” called the appointment “regrettable.”

“I don’t think Cardinal McElroy is a good representation of Catholic theology, particularly Catholic moral theology,” Craycraft said.

Craycraft argued that “my feeling about Cardinal McElroy is that he is very willful and unsubtle, which means he will have no qualms about being openly in conflict with President Trump.”

“Now, in many, many cases, he would have to be in open conflict with President Trump,” Craycraft said, citing immigration and capital punishment as possible points of tension between them, but expressing concern that the cardinal would represent not adequately the Church’s views on abortion. or LGBT issues.

“I do not believe he is an effective voice for defending, promoting and advancing authentic Catholic moral teaching in all its aspects,” he said.

But John White, a professor of politics at the Catholic University of America in Washington, told OSV News that the nomination of a cardinal with a “deep interest in public policy at this time is extremely well suited to Washington and sends truly a statement.” .”

“It’s just a fascinating nomination because it comes at a time where these issues of social justice and public policy are really going to emerge quite quickly,” White said.

White says he sees potential for “significant pushback” from Cardinal McElroy in the event Trump seeks to carry out mass deportations.

The appointment, he argued, also shows that Pope Francis is “trying to put his stamp on the Catholic Church in the United States, which has been a significant source of opposition against him.”

“All these things kind of converge there,” White said. “You know, opportunity meets opportunity, if you will. “This is an opportunity to not only address what Trump might do, but also to give this role to a very energetic person who has thought deeply about these issues.”

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