Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy to succeed Cardinal Wilton Gregory as the Archbishop of Washington. A progressive voice in the American

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.

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.

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

Observers say progressive new archbishop of Washington is expected to speak out for immigrants, LGBTQ persons and the marginalized. "A very strong voice to counter the horrors," a college president predicts.

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.

Cardinal Walter McElroy of San Diego is named by Pope Francis to replace the retiring Cardinal Wilton Gregory leading the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.