McElroy, known for a pastoral approach to migrants and the LGBTQ+ community, will lead an archdiocese still bruised by a sexual abuse and mismanagement scandal.

Having led the San Diego diocese since 2015, McElroy, 70, has experience with immigration, both as a political issue and a reality in his diocesan churches.

In opening remarks as archbishop-elect of Washington, Cardinal Robert McElroy said he prays for the success of President-elect Donald Trump, while also acknowledging his concern for the potential plans for “indiscriminate,

ROME — Pope Francis on Monday named Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego as the archbishop of Washington, tapping one of his most progressively like-minded allies to head the Catholic Church in the U.S. capital at the start of Donald Trump ’s second administration.

Pope Francis’s appointment of Cardinal Robert McElroy as the highly visible prelate of the church in Washington is already being interpreted as a shot across the bow of the Trump administration, given the new archbishop’s outspoken views on immigrants’ rights.

The appointment of Robert W. McElroy is a signal of the pope’s priorities, two weeks before Donald J. Trump’s term begins.

Pope Francis on Monday named a Catholic cardinal who has criticized Donald Trump's political agenda as the new leader for the Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., days before Trump is set to be inaugurated as U.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the Catholic community in our nation's capital and for the confidence His Holiness has placed in me, but I have truly loved the last ten years I've spent as bishop of San Diego,

Pope Francis on Monday tapped cardinal Robert W. McElroy, the bishop of San Diego, as the next Roman Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C. Why it matters: McElroy, a vocal ally for migrants, women and LBGTQ people in the church,