Pope Appointed Divisive Cardinal As Roadblock To Trump

Pope Francis’ decision to appoint a liberal cardinal to the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. was reportedly done in response to the person President-elect Donald Trump selected as Vatican ambassador.

The Pope on Monday announced his appointment of Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump’s immigration stance and who has also advocated for the “radical inclusion” of women and “LGBT” people in the Church. The decision was apparently made to counter to Trump’s selection of Brian Burch, the president of the advocacy organization CatholicVote and a supporter of the president-elect’s immigration and pro-life policies, The Pillar reported.

Several members of the Church leadership had reportedly signed off on Jefferson City’s Bishop Sean McKnight to replace the outgoing Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, who had reached the age of retirement in 2022, but the Pope reversed the decision upon hearing the news of Burch’s nomination, sources told The Pillar. McElroy had previously been ruled out as an option to fill the position due to fears he would be seen as a “provocative” choice due to his conflicting politics with Trump.

“It was considered settled [in favor of McKnight], ready to make the call, and then it suddenly wasn’t,” an unnamed source told the outlet.

The Vatican apparently perceived Trump’s decision as “aggressive” and “undiplomatic” and decided to respond in kind, The Pillar said. (Read more from “Pope Appointed Divisive Cardinal As Roadblock To Trump” HERE)