There are so many things to be said about the appointment of Cardinal McElroy to be the next Archbishop of Washington, DC that you could break those things down into different categories.
There is, first, the politics category. That is, politics seems to be the sole motivation for the appointment. According to the Pillar, Pope Francis initially resisted appointing McElroy but was persuaded to do so by Cardinal Cupich’s entirely political reasons for wanting McElroy in Washington.
How is that going to work out for the Church? Unsurprisingly, Catholic Culture’s own Phil Lawler had the best hot take:
Predictable consequences of the McElroy appointment to Washington: 1) He will be a prominent critic of the Trump administration. 2) He will be criticized himself in turn, because of his ties to “Uncle Ted” McCarrick. His criticism of the White House may or may not damage Trump. But the criticism of McElroy will undoubtedly damage the credibility of the Catholic hierarchy.
Exactly right. My impression is that the incoming Trump Administration is, if anything, greatly bemused by the Pope’s decision to send McElroy to Washington. If the Pope wanted a high-profile Trump critic to take on the Administration, he should have picked someone without McElroy’s baggage.
There is the pastoral category. That is, how will choosing the next shepherd of the Church in Washington, DC on purely political, not pastoral, grounds affect the flock in our nation’s capital? The Catholic Thing’s Robert Royal has some thoughts on that:
As is well known to people familiar with Washington, this is a rather traditional area for Catholicism…Pope Francis likes “making a mess” in various ways. And if one really had to predict, it’s likely he’s done so in ways beyond estimation here. The priests of Washington will not be very welcoming if the new boss tries to implement a policy he defined towards welcoming LGBTs [erasing the distinction between orientation and activity] and allowing them to receive the Eucharist.
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