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The following is a statement of Francis DeBernardo, Executive Director, New Ways Ministry, in response to news that Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego to be the new archbishop of Washington, DC. Read the full article here. New Ways Ministry is delighted that Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy as the next archbishop of Washington, DC. Cardinal McElroy, a brilliant theologian and astute political analyst, is the perfect person to lead this important archdiocese into the future. Of course, the most exciting feature about this appointment for New Ways Ministry is the cardinal’s strong positive statements regarding LGBTQ+ issues (see below). His particular angle in this area is one often overlooked by other church leaders: he constantly calls on members of the church to examine their negative attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people. He did so most recently in 2024 to refute church leaders who spoke negatively against the Vatican’s directive allowing for the blessing of people in same-gender relationships. He stated that opposition to such blessings reveals “an enduring animus among far too many toward LGBT persons.” Most importantly is that Cardinal McElroy has been appointed to the nation’s capital at a time when a new presidential administration and Congress have strongly indicated that legislation repealing civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ people are at the top of their agendas. We are confident that Cardinal McElroy can provide a strong Catholic voice affirming the human dignity of LGBTQ+ people and the need for laws that will protect them. New Ways Ministry is grateful to Cardinal Wilton Gregory for his leadership in Washington over the past half-decade. Cardinal Gregory, too, has shown great concern for the dignity and rights of LGBTQ+ people. His legacy as a prophetic leader will endure. A Brief Record of Cardinal McElroy’s Statements on LGBTQ+ Issues In a 2023 essay, McElroy objected to the “profound and visceral animus” towards LGBTQ+ people found in some parts of the church, describing this anti-LGBTQ+ reaction as a “demonic mystery of the human soul.” He also wrote that issues of gender and sexuality would very likely be discussed at the October assembly of the Synod, framing the topic as a “pre-eminently a pastoral question.” In 2018, McElroy publicly refuted the way gay priests were scapegoated for the clergy sexual abuse crisis, saying that such abuse was a matter of power, not sexual orientation. That same year, he supported Aaron Bianco, a gay pastoral worker in his diocese who was threatened with harm by traditionalist churchgoers because of being married to a man. In 2016, he was the first (and one of just a few) who offered condolences to the LGBTQ+ community after the Pulse nightclub mass shooting, saying the tragedy was “a call for us as Catholics to combat ever more vigorously the anti-gay prejudice which exists in our Catholic community and in our country.” That same year, McElroy supported Pope Francis’ apology to gay and lesbian people, and he called for greater affirmation and welcome for the LGBTQ+ community. (More available here.) --Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry, January 7, 2025  Comments are closed.
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