A Washington Political Appointment You Might Have Missed

 

The Archdiocese of Washington (DC and environs) has always been one of this nation’s most prominent — for obvious reasons. It is smack dab in the middle of the center of political power in the USA. Unfortunately, one doesn’t look to the Archdiocese of Washington as a see that leads the nation in vocations or one that leads the nation in conversions.

The archdiocese has had a woeful run of archbishops, going back to the sexual predator Theodore McCarrick, to his replacement Donald Wuerl, to his replacement Wilton Gregory, and now to Robert Cardinal McElroy, formerly archbishop of San Diego. Gregory and McElroy are both appointments made by Pope Francis.

Stories are told that the papal nuncio for the USA, Christophe Cardinal Pierre, recommended to Francis that McElroy not be made archbishop, that it would be too political. Yet, with the election of Donald Trump as POTUS 47, Pope Francis appointed McElroy. McElroy is the perfect Francis sycophant: all-in on the evil of global warming, the fight for “rights” for the LGBTQ movement, disdain for traditional Catholics, and the rights of “migrants”. Like Francis, one wonders if McElroy is concerned at all with vocations or conversions. The photo in this tweet paints a picture:

And Francis doesn’t seem at all worried about the knowledge that McElroy had about McCarrick and the sexual abuse scandals surrounding him. Francis may shrug this off because he himself is surrounded by these scandals.

I think the main reason Francis appointed McElroy is because of Trump’s plan to deport the violent criminal illegals that have entered the USA. Pope Francis has denounced this as morally unjust and madness. And he has his liberal bishops all fired up as well. From the liberal National Catholic Reporter:

And of course, all the usual suspects fall in line on Trump’s dastardly plan to deport violent criminal illegals:

There is a lot of money involved with “migration”. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops received nearly 3 billion dollars from the federal government during the Biden administration for their support of “migration”:

Pope Francis seems to have a great dislike for the Church in the USA and he certainly has no admiration or positive view of Donald Trump. So he put his bagman in DC, Cardinal Robert McElroy, not to help revive the archdiocese or draw people to Catholicism but to be a thorn in the side of Trump. Another shameful act from this Pope.

Does anyone remember the pearl-clutching exhibited by these bishops over Biden’s support for abortion, so-called SSM, or his gushing over everything LGBTQ? The USCCB has proved itself once again to be useless.

This is a good article on deportation from a Catholic point of view.

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  1. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Pope Francis is anti American. 

    Is it fair for me to describe him as anti-Western civilization?

    • #1
  2. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    I would love to know why Benedict stepped down.

    • #2
  3. Doctor Robert Member
    Doctor Robert
    @DoctorRobert

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    I would love to know why Benedict stepped down.

    Doc, he was old, sick, and tired.  I would have stepped down too, had I been him.

    • #3
  4. Scott Wilmot Member
    Scott Wilmot
    @ScottWilmot

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    I would love to know why Benedict stepped down.

    He was forced out by the Lavender Mafia. He should have never resigned. It was like a father abandoning his family. He had an entire case of documents outlining the filth in the Vatican that he handed over to Francis. Those seem to have been memory-holed

    • #4
  5. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Once Francis is bought, he stays bought.

    Not my circus, not my monkeys.

    • #5
  6. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Scott Wilmot (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    I would love to know why Benedict stepped down.

    He was forced out by the Lavender Mafia. He should have never resigned. It was like a father abandoning his family. He had an entire case of documents outlining the filth in the Vatican that he handed over to Francis. Those seem to have been memory-holed

    Tragic.

    Benedict was a great man.

    • #6
  7. EODmom Coolidge
    EODmom
    @EODmom

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Pope Francis is anti American.

    Is it fair for me to describe him as anti-Western civilization?

    Mostly I say he’s not actually Christian. He’s primarily Marxist. I think. 

    • #7
  8. DonG (¡Afuera!) Coolidge
    DonG (¡Afuera!)
    @DonG

    Percival (View Comment):

    Once Francis is bought, he stays bought.

    Not my circus, not my monkeys.

    Lots of monkeys and big influential circus.  A circus that can import millions of illegal aliens and smile about.  Everyone is better off with a JPII like anti-communist at the head of the Church.

    • #8
  9. Scott Wilmot Member
    Scott Wilmot
    @ScottWilmot

    This is a good article contrasting McElroy and Trump on immigration.

    • #9
  10. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    DonG (¡Afuera!) (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Once Francis is bought, he stays bought.

    Not my circus, not my monkeys.

    Lots of monkeys and big influential circus. A circus that can import millions of illegal aliens and smile about. Everyone is better off with a JPII like anti-communist at the head of the Church.

    Hmm…  If they’re violating immigration law, can Homan get them locked up?

    • #10
  11. Columbo Member
    Columbo
    @Columbo

    • #11
  12. Scott Wilmot Member
    Scott Wilmot
    @ScottWilmot

    JD is quite good at dealing with the disingenuous legacy media.

    • #12
  13. Scott Wilmot Member
    Scott Wilmot
    @ScottWilmot

    Samuel Gregg has a good X thread on this issue of immigration and the USCCB (what are the odds that it embeds correctly and is viewable?):

    https://twitter.com/drsamuelgregg/status/1883600599541055742?

    I’ll copy and paste #’s 4-7:

    4/ Some bishops focus almost exclusively on what Catholicism sees as the (highly-qualified) right to migrate, and said little about what the Church ALSO teaches re. the state’s right to maintain secure borders. Recent efforts to correct this imbalance sound very pro-forma.

    5/ Few bishops have said much about the effects of illegal immigration on US citizens or the serious rule of law problems associated with the Biden Administration’s enabling of illegal immigration. This is scandalous.

    6/ Most bishops are careful in commenting on immigration. But a few – who are as politically left-wing as they are theologically liberal (and were associated with the defrocked ex-cardinal Theodore #McCarrick) – see this as a wedge against the @realDonaldTrump Administration. (Me here – hence the appointment of McElroy)

    7/ So: what is the solution to this mess? The solution is for the bishops 1) to start articulating clearly the Church’s FULL teaching on immigration and 2) not allow themselves be steamrolled into political confrontations by a minority of activist bishops and their lay enablers.

     

    • #13
  14. Steven Seward Member
    Steven Seward
    @StevenSeward

    Doesn’t Vatican City exercise strict control over its own borders to keep out illegal aliens?

    • #14
  15. Scott Wilmot Member
    Scott Wilmot
    @ScottWilmot

    I’ve seen a few priests and others posting this video. After defunding Planned Parenthood Trump needs to defund the USCCB.

    https://twitter.com/amymek/status/1883761767618379788?

    • #15
  16. Scott Wilmot Member
    Scott Wilmot
    @ScottWilmot

    Steven Seward (View Comment):

    Doesn’t Vatican City exercise strict control over its own borders to keep out illegal aliens?

    Yes, and horror of horrors, they have a wall.

    • #16
  17. Scott Wilmot Member
    Scott Wilmot
    @ScottWilmot

    And of course all the usual suspects must come out and gaslight and give their worthless 2 cents. Jesuit Fr. James Martin is one of the worst – he’s another Francis sycophant who is all gay all the time.

    • #17
  18. Scott Wilmot Member
    Scott Wilmot
    @ScottWilmot

    The bishops of Texas issue a letter decrying the policies of President Trump. They are so disingenuous on how the frame and present this issue (see comment #13).

    Do better, bishops.

    https://twitter.com/txcatholic/status/1883003660126584993?

    Here is how one parishioner responded:

    https://twitter.com/kyleseraphin/status/1883525149414015020?

    Unfortunately, Francis has appointed Vasquez to replace DiNardo as archbishop of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston, one of the largest in the USA.

    • #18
  19. Scott Wilmot Member
    Scott Wilmot
    @ScottWilmot

    The Left are trying hard to make McElroy a “moral counter example” to the Trump administration. It will be fun to watch this play out. I wonder how McElroy will serve as a moral counter example to all the Catholic pro-abortion, pro-LGBTQ, and pro-SSM politicians. (Hint – he won’t say a thing to them)

    • #19
  20. Scott Wilmot Member
    Scott Wilmot
    @ScottWilmot

    More on McElroy, McCarrick, and the appointment in Washington.

    McElroy’s appointment to Washington is a seriously misguided political move.

    This appointment has suddenly acquired political significance that eclipses accompanying pastoral and spiritual considerations.

    Pope Francis’ promotion of Cardinal McElroy poses a profound challenge for the Catholic community in Washington and beyond. By failing to hold McCarrick accountable, McElroy has contributed to a deeper erosion of trust in the Church’s ability to address abuse. This is no small matter.

    It corrosively undermines the place and contribution of the entire Catholic Church—not only in the eyes of the new political regime but also across the United States and beyond.

    • #20
  21. Full Size Tabby Member
    Full Size Tabby
    @FullSizeTabby

    So, do laws matter or not?

    Why do we have laws if we pick and choose whether to follow or to enforce those laws?

    If we’re going to ignore the law, then repeal the law. 

    If you favor ignoring the immigration laws, then be prepared to accept that you are facilitating the importation of slaves, of crime, of harmful drugs. 

    This from the same people that say we should have more laws governing other aspects of daily life, such as the acquisition, possession, and storage of firearms. Do we get to choose which of those laws we follow or ignore?

    • #21
  22. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    So, do laws matter or not?

    Why do we have laws if we pick and choose whether to follow or to enforce those laws?

    If we’re going to ignore the law, then repeal the law. 

    Amen.

    This sort of thing is terrifying to me.

    Because if someone can simply decide which laws should be enforced in certain cases, then that person becomes a king.

    • #22
  23. Full Size Tabby Member
    Full Size Tabby
    @FullSizeTabby

    Steven Seward (View Comment):

    Doesn’t Vatican City exercise strict control over its own borders to keep out illegal aliens?

    At least one editorial I read noted that there are walls around Vatican City, and that the Vatican strictly controls who gets in to which parts of Vatican City. 

    • #23
  24. Sisyphus Member
    Sisyphus
    @Sisyphus

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    Steven Seward (View Comment):

    Doesn’t Vatican City exercise strict control over its own borders to keep out illegal aliens?

    At least one editorial I read noted that there are walls around Vatican City, and that the Vatican strictly controls who gets in to which parts of Vatican City.

    And “migrants” are jailed and severely fined.

    • #24
  25. Steven Seward Member
    Steven Seward
    @StevenSeward

    Sisyphus (View Comment):

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    Steven Seward (View Comment):

    Doesn’t Vatican City exercise strict control over its own borders to keep out illegal aliens?

    At least one editorial I read noted that there are walls around Vatican City, and that the Vatican strictly controls who gets in to which parts of Vatican City.

    And “migrants” are jailed and severely fined.

    Maybe President Trump should put out an encyclical condemning the Vatican for its heartless immigration policy and its intolerant views on religion, homosexuality, abortion, and women in the clergy.

    • #25
  26. Scott Wilmot Member
    Scott Wilmot
    @ScottWilmot

    Phil Lawler, in my opinion, is one of the best journalists in the Catholic world. This is a good article on the clash between JD Vance and the bishops. JD didn’t get things exactly right re the money involved in all of this, but he did expose the bishops for their hypocrisy.

    Opening paragraphs:

    Less than a week after the Inauguration, the Trump administration is fully engaged in debate with the US bishops: a debate that seems likely to stretch over the next four years. The subject is immigration; the main protagonists (for now) are Vice President Vance and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

    Each side has scored some points, but the Trump team is has taken an early lead in the contest, and is likely to maintain that lead, for two reasons. First, Trump and Vance are skillful politicians, with a keen sense for public opinion; the bishops are not. Second, Trump and Vance have strong public support, particularly within their own base, and they know it. The bishops don’t have that support, and apparently don’t know it.

    Closing paragraphs:

    Here, by introducing what appears at first to be an unfair and invalid argument, Vance is actually pointing out a very serious problem. Insofar as he hints that the bishops enjoy a financial profit from their immigration programs, he is demonstrably wrong. But by raising that question he calls attention to a serious imbalance in the US bishops’ conference. Today more than half of the USCCB revenue comes in the form of government grants, and more than half of the USCC expenses go into programs that carry out the government’s policies.

    So it is predictable that the USCCB will lobby energetically in support of the programs that furnish those revenues. But what does that lobbying have to do with the work of the Catholic Church? Government contractors do what the government wants done; he who pays the piper calls the tune. As successors to the Apostles and teachers of the Catholic faith, the bishops should be carrying out works of charity, not filling government contracts.

    It is all very good and worth a read for anyone interested in this post and issue.

    • #26
  27. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Scott Wilmot (View Comment):

    Today more than half of the USCCB revenue comes in the form of government grants, and more than half of the USCC expenses go into programs that carry out the government’s policies.

    So it is predictable that the USCCB will lobby energetically in support of the programs that furnish those revenues. But what does that lobbying have to do with the work of the Catholic Church? Government contractors do what the government wants done; he who pays the piper calls the tune. As successors to the Apostles and teachers of the Catholic faith, the bishops should be carrying out works of charity, not filling government contracts.

    Oh my goodness.

    Money appears to have caused them to lose focus on their original mission.

    Understandable.  Not the first time.  But this must change, for the health of the church.

    • #27
  28. Sisyphus Member
    Sisyphus
    @Sisyphus

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Scott Wilmot (View Comment):

    Today more than half of the USCCB revenue comes in the form of government grants, and more than half of the USCC expenses go into programs that carry out the government’s policies.

    So it is predictable that the USCCB will lobby energetically in support of the programs that furnish those revenues. But what does that lobbying have to do with the work of the Catholic Church? Government contractors do what the government wants done; he who pays the piper calls the tune. As successors to the Apostles and teachers of the Catholic faith, the bishops should be carrying out works of charity, not filling government contracts.

    Oh my goodness.

    Money appears to have caused them to lose focus on their original mission.

    Understandable. Not the first time. But this must change, for the health of the church.

    Amen.

    It is the US version of the German scandal where government collected and managed tithing has rendered the German bishops stooges of their decadent government. The disgusting record of the modern magisterium world-wide on matters of sexual depravity makes their role in disappearing millions of children in the United States no less concerning.

    • #28
  29. Columbo Member
    Columbo
    @Columbo

    Scott Wilmot (View Comment):

    And of course all the usual suspects must come out and gaslight and give their worthless 2 cents. Jesuit Fr. James Martin is one of the worst – he’s another Francis sycophant who is all gay all the time.

    James Martin, misinterpreting scripture,  since the birth of Christ.

    • #29
  30. Scott Wilmot Member
    Scott Wilmot
    @ScottWilmot

    This is an excellent article on this whole mess of money and the USCCB.

    And JD on the “order of charity”.

    • #30
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