Free Republic

Prevost is a vocal critic of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and has consistently used his X account to promote material hostile to Trump’s immigration policies. In one instance from February 3, Prevost reposted an article by NCROnline titled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.” The article criticizes the U.S. vice president for correctly arguing that we owe more immediate responsibility to our own family members and country than to those overseas – a position taught by St. Thomas Aquinas and reiterated in the “social encyclicals” of the nineteenth- and twentieth-century popes....

D.C. Cardinal Slams Trump’s Migration Reforms as ‘Crusade’“The pathway of crusade and mass deportation cannot be followed in conscience by those who call themselves disciples of Jesus Christ, and we must work to make sure that that does not happen,” Cardinal Robert McElroy said in a speech to the Jesuit Refugee Service organization in D.C.McElroy called for welcoming policies similar to those established by President Joe Biden’s border czar, Alejandro Mayorkas, saying:The first pathway — which Catholic social teaching would support — is to change our laws so that they have secure borders and dignity for the treatment of everyone...

Washington’s new archbishop expresses concern about impact of policies on undocumented immigrants and federal workersIn an interview five days before he would be installed as the new archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Robert W. McElroy expressed concern about the personal impact of the Trump Administration’s controversial policies of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and the widespread firings of federal workers.When asked what his message would be to the immigrant community at this time, Cardinal McElroy said, “Sorrow. Love, embrace, compassion. Advocacy and solidarity. And all done in God’s name.”In the wide-ranging March 6 interview with the editors of the Catholic Standard...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland calls on Holy See to ‘reconsider’ appointment of Cardinal McElroy to DCAny bishop or cardinal who has enabled abuse, minimized its severity, or failed to act decisively to protect victims must be held accountable – not elevated to positions of greater authority.Editor’s note: The following is a statement from Bishop Joseph Strickland on the appointment of Cardinal Robert McElroy to the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., first published on March 13, 2025, on Strickland’s Facebook page.As shepherds of Christ’s flock, bishops are called to be vigilant in safeguarding the integrity of the Church and the souls entrusted...

[Catholic Caucus] New DC Cardinal McElroy has long record of promoting LGBT ideology, downplaying abortionThe newly-installed archbishop of Washington, D.C., Cardinal Robert McElroy, has strongly pushed for giving Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians, repeatedly attacked Catholic doctrine on sexuality, promoted LGBT activists, and encouraged ‘ordination’ of women, among other things.WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Robert McElroy was installed on Tuesday as the eighth archbishop of Washington, D.C., making him one of the most prominent figures in the U.S. Catholic Church. But the former San Diego bishop has made a reputation for himself as a particularly heterodox, controversial prelate. McElroy has...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Who Approved Communion for Nancy Pelosi Becomes New DC ArchbishopEarlier this year, Pope Francis selected liberal Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego to succeed the retiring Cardinal Wilton Gregory as Archbishop of Washington. Gregory is the Catholic leader in the nation’s capital who would never take Biden to task for his aggression abortion promotion.McElroy is a liberal Catholic who has made headlines for supporting the administration of Holy Communion to Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, even though they are ardent abortion activists.He came under fire years ago for approving communion for radical pro-abortion Democrat Nancy Pelosi despite...

[Catholic Caucus] Welcome to Washington, Cardinal McElroy!Cardinal McElroy will be installed as the new Archbishop of Washington tomorrow, in the Basilica of the National Shrine.He is receiving some warm welcome:For the story on the unbelievable events leading to this, read this from Crux in 2018:Lay woman’s saga illustrates clerical sexual abuse of adults...Yet another example, only now coming to light, is the case of Rachel Mastrogiacomo, who, at age 24, was raped in Satanic cult-like fashion by a Catholic priest as he celebrated a private Mass for the two of them. And, she says, when she came forward to the...

Incoming DC archbishop McElroy says he has no plans to meet with Trump but spoke at length with BidenCardinal McElroy revealed that he ‘had a lengthy call with President Biden the other day,’ though the left-wing, heterodox prelate said that he is not currently planning to see President Trump after his installation as archbishop of Washington, D.C.Cardinal Robert McElroy has indicated that he has no plans to meet President Donald Trump after his installation as the new archbishop of Washington, D.C., next month, yet he recently had a “lengthy” conversation with former President Joe Biden. McElroy, currently the bishop of...

[Catholic Caucus] McElroy’s appointment to Washington is a seriously misguided political moveCatholic America is reeling from the surprise of the new presidency’s political appointments at every level, which are decisively reshaping the political landscape.One of the most unexpected developments has not come from the White House but from the Vatican: the retirement of Cardinal Wilton Gregory as Archbishop of Washington left a vacancy for Rome to fill following his resignation in 2022. This appointment has suddenly acquired political significance that eclipses accompanying pastoral and spiritual considerations.According to the Catholic journal the Pillar, the papal nuncio to the United States, Cardinal...

Pope Francis named Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego as the archbishop of Washington, D.C., this week, a leader with a reputation for taking a progressive stance on hot-topic issues within the Catholic Church. The Vatican announced on Monday McElroy's appointment as the new archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., to replace the retiring Cardinal Wilton Gregory. As McElroy has made headlines over the years with his views on abortion, LGBT rights and immigration, the following pages highlight four things to know about Cardinal McElroy. Supports communion for pro-choice Catholic politicians The election of Democratic President Joe...

[Catholic Caucus] Sexual abuse victim slams Pope Francis for appointing McElroy to DC archdiocese: ‘He spat in my face’Rachel Mastrogiacomo said Pope Francis ‘spat right in my face’ by promoting Cardinal Robert McElroy to the Archdiocese of Washington three months after she sent him a letter detailing McElroy’s protection of a now-laicized ex-priest who subjected her to satanic abuse.A survivor of satanic sexual abuse whose abuser was left in active ministry by Cardinal Robert McElroy for more than a year after confessing guilt slammed Pope Francis’ appointment of the controversial San Diego cardinal to the Archdiocese of Washington.“Roman Catholics in...

[Catholic Caucus] McElroy New Bishop of Washington: Latest Move to Fracture US Church?The recent appointment of Cardinal Robert Walter McElroy as Metropolitan Archbishop of Washington, announced by Pope Francis, has raised numerous concerns and sparked a lively debate within the Catholic world. The decision to transfer McElroy from the Diocese of San Diego, California, to lead one of the most important episcopal sees in the United States is, to say the least, problematic for multiple reasons, both pastoral and doctrinal.During his episcopate in San Diego, McElroy adopted positions that have drawn criticism even from more moderate Catholics. A notable example...

[Catholic Caucus] McCarrick Successor McElroy: Francis’s Response to Trump?Back in 2018 during the “Summer of Shame,” the successor to (Cardinal) McCarrick was Donald Wuerl. The latter claimed he knew nothing of McCarrick’s crimes crying to heaven, but many were skeptical, and with good reason. He initially denied knowledge, and then admitted he did, in fact, know. After the Vatican assured us that they would speedily get to the bottom of the McCarrick scandal, a man aligned with McCarrick and his agenda was appointed in 2019: Wilton Gregory, shortly thereafter Cardinal. The next year, the McCarrick report was released by the...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland decries Pope Francis’ appointment of Cardinal McElroy as DC archbishopBishop Strickland slammed heterodox, pro-LGBT Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego as a ‘corrupt hireling’ in response to his appointment as archbishop of Washington, D.C., by Pope Francis and called on Catholics to ‘speak out against these wolves of the hierarchy.’Editor’s note: The following statement is taken from an X post by Bishop Joseph Strickland published on January 6, 2025. (LifeSiteNews) — In November, I asked the bishops of the United States, “What will it take?” It’s not surprising that I received no response from the bishops....

[Catholic Caucus] Homeschoolers vs. GoliathIt is apparent that there is real division in the Church; banning the homeschoolers from church property has revealed that division far more than allowing them to use the space ever could have.What is interesting about the recent statement in the San Diego diocese banning homeschoolers from using parish facilities is that it opens with, “parents are the first teachers of their children,” yet it concludes with, “homeschooling is not inherently a ministry of the parish.” If parents are the first teachers of their children, shouldn’t that all-important and sacred duty be a ministry of the...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal McElroy’s Diocese of San Diego orders homeschool groups removed from parishesThe Diocese of San Diego, led by heterodox Cardinal Robert McElroy, has banned homeschooling groups from using any diocesan parish properties. A diocesan memo states that such groups 'can undermine the stability of nearby Catholic schools.'The Diocese of San Diego, led by the heterodox Cardinal Robert McElroy, issued a new policy earlier this month that bars homeschooling groups from using any diocesan parish properties.The new policy, which took effect September 1, prohibits the use of parish facilities by homeschool, private school, and charter school programs, according to...

[Catholic Caucus] The long road to replacing Cardinal O'MalleyThe announcement Monday that Bishop Richard Henning will replace Cardinal Sean O’Malley as Archbishop of Boston has ended one of the longest-running points of speculation in the Church in the United States. O’Malley steps down after more than two decades in charge of what has traditionally been one of the country’s most prominent sees. He turned 80 years old in June, aging him out of participation in a future conclave, and putting him more than five years past the nominal episcopal retirement age.The announcement of Henning as his replacement follows years of...

Cardinal McElroy: Pope's climate vision not getting enough attention from US bishopsPope Francis' call for the world to address the coming consequences of global climate change has not garnered enough attention at the U.S. Catholic bishops' conference, said a leading American cardinal.In an exclusive interview with National Catholic Reporter in late February, San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy said the pope's environmental vision "has not gotten the attention of the conference that it should get, and that the pope is calling us to get.""It has not been institutionalized in the conference in the same way that other major initiatives and priorities...

Antichrists and Practical Heresies: Saint Augustine’s Warning Both the signs of the end and the signs of recognizing the antichrist have been left to us in the inspired texts with the purpose of warning us about the imminence of crucial historical events. Their purpose, however, is never to satisfy our human curiosity, but to urge us to repentance, to penance, to prayer – to a life of more intense and deep sanctity. From the numerous difficult and enigmatic passages contained within the sacred texts of the Bible, the most read are the prophecies concerning the end of the world. No...

[Catholic Caucus] Two Treatments for the Same Spiritual Maladies: The Catholic Church Offers a Cure, the Synodal Church Offers Euthanasia“If you perchance have any bad habit, endeavor to break from it speedily, now that God calls you. And as long as your conscience smites you, rejoice; for it is a sign that God has not yet abandoned you. But amend, give up sin at once; for if not, the wound will become gangrenous, and you will be lost.” (p. 79)Much like other Catholic spiritual works dedicated to Lenten reflections, St. Alphonsus Liguori’s Meditations and Readings for Every Day of Lent...