Pope’s pick for Washington archbishop to trigger collision with Trump
4 Min Read
Pope Francis' liberal pick for Washington, D.C. archbishop contrasts with Trump’s conservative choice of Brian Burc as ambassador to the Vatican.
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Pope Francis delivers his speech as he presides over an Epiphany mass in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, on January 6, 2025. (AP)
When Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton attempted to shut down a Catholic charity offering shelter and assistance to undocumented migrants at the border, San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy publicly opposed the effort.
“The state of Texas is using governmental pressure to curtail the work of the Church in one of its most fundamental obligations: to feed the hungry, to shelter the homeless, and to provide drink to the thirsty,” McElroy said in a statement at the time.
“No government can morally tell us to abandon or limit this mission," he added.
While figures like Mark Zuckerberg embraced policies to align with the incoming Trump administration, Pope Francis chose a distinct path by appointing Robert McElroy, a Harvard and Stanford graduate, as archbishop of Washington D.C.
This move placed McElroy in one of the most influential roles within the US Catholic Church.
Read next: Trump vows to penalize future administrations over illegal migration
This came after Donald Trump announced his appointment of Brian Burch, a right-wing political activist and critic of Pope Francis, to the position of US ambassador to the Vatican. Burch, who leads the conservative advocacy group CatholicVote, had been credited by Trump with securing more Catholic votes for him than any other presidential candidate.
Both supporters and critics of Pope Francis agree that the appointments set the stage for potential conflict between the Vatican and Trump’s Washington, especially at a time when right-wing and far-right Catholics—such as Leonard Leo and Steve Bannon—hold considerable sway in the US capital.
“McElroy is incredibly polished intellectually. He is a thinker. He is a quiet man and he can say the strongest things against a certain kind of immigration policy with a soft voice. He’s courageous,” said Massimo Faggioli, professor of theology and religious studies, who noted that McElvoy was one of closest officials to Francis in North America.
'Pope's collision course'
Steve Bannon, the Christian nationalist Trump advisor, who is also Catholic, said Francis’ choice of McElroy showed he was on a “collision course” with the incoming White House over one of Trump’s main agenda items.
“The whole process of deportations will begin when President Trump takes his hand off the King James Bible,” Bannon told The Guardian. “Immediately you are going to have the Vatican, through their cardinal, trying to confront this."
Bannon, who resides in Washington D.C., suggested that the Catholic Church and its charities could face DOJ investigations for aiding what he and other MAGA leaders call an "invasion" of undocumented immigrants. He predicted this could lead to the church’s bankruptcy and called McElroy "a player, not some shrinking violet."
Additionally, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has claimed that Satan is "controlling the church" and echoed right-wing accusations that Catholic charities profit from US government contracts to assist migrants.
McElroy stated last Monday that "a wider, indiscriminate, massive deportation across the country would be incompatible with Catholic doctrine."
However, it remains uncertain whether Trump’s DOJ or judges would hold Catholic charity groups liable for assisting undocumented immigrants. Texas Attorney General Paxton's attempt to shut down El Paso-based Annunciation House has been rejected by lower courts, but the case will be heard by the state’s Supreme Court today.
Moreover, Vatican observers are now speculating whether Pope Francis has another strategic move in mind for another high-profile archdiocese: this time in Trump’s home state of New York, where Cardinal Timothy Dolan, an ally of Trump who has praised the president-elect for "taking his Christian faith seriously," will reach retirement age in February.
According to reports, if Francis intends to make a bold move, the US could soon see another cardinal aligned with the Argentine pontiff appointed to the Big Apple.
