Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] McElory bans the installation of communion rails in the churches of the Diocese of WashingtonCardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, has ordered that no communion rails be installed or reinstalled in the churches of the archdiocese, in a new liturgical controversy in the United States over kneeling communion and traditional forms of reverence before the Eucharist.The alleged directive was initially reported by journalist Christine Niles of Stella Maris Media, following a recent meeting with priests. To date, the Archdiocese of Washington has not issued a formal decree or official communication regarding this measure.No communion rails or temporary kneelersThe...

[Catholic Caucus] Cdl. McElroy praises Vatican downplaying of homosexual sin during James Martin’s conferenceMcElroy failed to mention the Church's teaching on same-sex 'marriage' and accused the Church of 'frequently wounding' the so-called 'LGBT community.'WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Robert McElroy lauded Pope Leo XIV’s downplaying of sexual sin and the Synod on Synodality’s final report on “doctrinal, pastoral and ethical questions” which falsely suggested that homosexual relationships may not be sinful.The notoriously heterodox archbishop of Washington, D.C.’s remarks came during a homily at a Mass for Father James Martin’s pro-LGBT Outreach Conference at the Jesuit-run Georgetown University.During his June 20...

[Catholic Caucus] WATCH: Young Catholics pray Rosary to protest Fr. James Martin’s pro-LGBT conferenceMembers of Tradition, Family and Property Student Action and other Catholics prayed the Rosary outside of Fr. Martin’s heterodox Outreach conference at Georgetown University.Several young Catholics prayed the Holy Rosary outside Georgetown University this weekend during Father James Martin’s pro-LGBT Outreach Conference.Members of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) Student Action, along with many young faithful, peacefully prayed the Rosary outside the Jesuit university after receiving over 31,000 signatures for a petition opposing the June 19–21 conference, entitled “Walking Side by Side: Celebrating Five Years of Outreach Ministries.”In...

… Cardinal Robert McElroy…has distinguished himself as a proponent of left-wing ideology infiltrating the Catholic Church, from promoting same-sex relationships and mass immigration to excusing abortion advocacy and protecting clerical sexual abusers. Now, McElroy can add a new feather to his progressive cap: firing an exorcist….“The Archdiocese of Washington announced … that Robert Cardinal McElroy has removed Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, a priest of the Diocese of Syracuse, N.Y., as an exorcist of the Archdiocese of Washington” …the Archdiocese of Washington said in a press release last week. Rossetti, a licensed psychologist, has served as an exorcist for the archdiocese for...

[Catholic Caucus] DC bishop equates God with DEI in blasphemous comments at Black History Month MassWashington Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell blasphemously claimed “God is DEI” (diversity, equity, and inclusion) during a homily for the archdiocese’s annual Black History Month Mass at St. Joseph Church last weekend. During his homily for the February 21 Mass, Campbell reflected briefly about how the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) is sung shortly before the distribution of the Holy Eucharist and reflected on the word “Dei” (Meaning God), then falsely compared the term to DEI, saying “God is DEI,” per the Catholic Standard, the...

Cardinal McElroy fans the flamesBy now all responsible public leaders have recognized the need to dial down the rhetoric and de-escalate the confrontations in Minnesota. Yet Cardinal Robert McElroy has joined with several other religious leaders in Washington to rouse passions still further, beyond their already dangerous heights.“The murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti,” the religious leaders’ joint statement begins. Right away that opening statement signals their choice to use inflammatory language. They could have spoken in neutral terms about the “deaths” of those two people. Or “killings” would have been perfectly accurate, and conveyed a better sense of...

At annual Mass, Cardinal McElroy honors late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a ‘dreamer and prophet’The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a “revolution of conscience,” who sought “the conversion of hearts,” Washington Cardinal Robert W. McElroy said during a Jan. 18 Mass remembering the late civil rights leader.“Dr. King was truly a dreamer and a prophet,” the cardinal said. “He came to echo the message of Jesus Christ that we are all truly brothers and sisters.”Cardinal McElroy was the principal celebrant of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington’s annual Mass honoring the life and legacy of Dr....

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal McElroy asks Vatican to laicize whistleblower priest claiming DC sex abuse cover-upFr. Michael Briese says Cdl. McElroy never refuted his allegations of abuse cover-ups, instead threatening laicization unless he removed blog posts exposing DC clergy scandals. Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C., is seeking to laicize Father Michael Briese, a whistleblower archdiocesan priest, for refusing to take down blog posts detailing allegations that two priests who remain in good standing with the archdiocese, Father Adam Park and Father Carter Griffin, had sexually abused seminarians as well as allegations of a cover-up of the allegations by both McElroy...

[WARNING-GRAPHIC CONTENT] A gang of male and female pedophiles subjected children as young as three to horrific sexual abuse in a nightmarish underground bunker, police alleged. The group of seven has been accused of abusing victims, aged between three and 15, with shock collars to the genitals and rape inside a grimy storm bunker in Brent, *** The team of seven, whose victims include some of their own children, used an underground bunker to hide their crimes and the inside of it was straight out of a nightmare. *** The suspects would allegedly arrange and pay for the children and...

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...