Moments after stating that he has no present plans to meet with President Donald Trump, emphasizing what he stressed is the intrinsically pastoral and not political role of the Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Robert McElroy revealed that he recently held a “lengthy” call with former President Joe Biden.
“I’m going to Washington as the Archbishop of Washington, which is a pastoral role,” McElroy said. “That is, my role is the leadership of the Catholic community of Washington and all that brings with it,” he said, noting that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the Church’s primary government liaison.
Yet moments later, McElroy said that he “had a lengthy call with President Biden the other day.” He didn’t reveal what was discussed on the call, other than saying that Biden asked about Pope Francis’s health and said he has been praying for the pontiff.
Some may see the contrast between spurning Trump while chatting casually with Biden as consistent with McElroy’s reputation, seen as a close ally of Pope Francis and one of the nation’s more progressive prelates.
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