Cardinal Robert Walter McElroy is a scholarly, Harvard-educated progressive American prelate closely aligned to Pope Francis’ vision for the Church but who has faced scrutiny and criticism for his views on Catholic social teaching and his own handling of sexual abuse cases.

McElroy’s academic background is extensive. Born on February 5, 1954, in San Francisco, California, he attended Saint Joseph Minor Seminary in Mountain View, the high school seminary of the archdiocese. Upon graduating from Saint Joseph, McElroy decided it would be best to pursue his vocation in a college outside the seminary system and so entered Harvard College in 1972. He graduated three years later with a degree in American history before attending graduate school at Stanford and receiving a master’s degree in American history in 1976.

McElroy returned to complete his ecclesiastical studies at Saint Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, California and was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1980. He then went on to obtain a licentiate in theology at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California (1985). He was later awarded a doctorate in moral theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (1986) and a doctorate in Political Science from Stanford University (1989).

After ordination, McElroy served in various roles within the archdiocese, including as a parish vicar, personal secretary to the social progressive Archbishop John R. Quinn, and vicar general. His pastoral experience included serving as pastor of St. Gregory Church in San Mateo, California, from 1997 to 2010.

In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed McElroy auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Five years later Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of San Diego. In August 2022, McElroy was elevated to cardinal, and on January 6, 2025, Pope Francis nominated him Archbishop of Washington D.C.

Cardinal McElroy is known for his scholarly work and writings on Catholic social teaching. He has authored two books: “The Search for an American Public Theology” and “Morality and American Foreign Policy: The Role of Ethics in International Affairs.” He has also contributed several articles to America magazine, addressing key elements of Catholic social teaching.

McElroy is widely regarded as a supporter of Pope Francis’s progressive teaching. He has been a vocal advocate for addressing social inequality, the cause of the homeless, supporting comprehensive immigration reform, and emphasizing the Church’s social justice mission. He affirms the Catholic teaching that life begins at conception, but does not believe abortion should be the sole preeminent issue for Catholic voters, arguing that climate change is also a crucial moral concern.

In fact, he considers climate change to be an extremely serious moral issue, stating it has the potential of “stealing the future from coming generations.” He even argued that abandoning the Paris Climate Accord is “a far greater moral evil” than providing contraceptives in federal health centers.

Cardinal McElroy has been a strong defender of migrants and has condemned efforts to deport illegal immigrants, clashing with President Donald Trump over the issue during Trump’s first term. He has voiced concerns about excessive partisanship in American politics, which he believes undermines unity and compassion towards vulnerable populations. He offered prayers for President Trump, Vice-President-Elect Vance, and others elected in November to Federal, State and Local Office.¹“The American people have entrusted to you a profound mission to build up our nation and transform our political culture so that genuine dialogue and devotion to the sacred dignity of the human person will characterize our government at every level,” McElroy wrote. “You are men and women of differing parties, regions, races, cultures and ideological visions. But that is precisely why you can become the architects of healing, unity and progress for our divided country in the coming years. May God bless you abundantly in your service to this land that all of us love so deeply.”

McElroy is a strong proponent of synodality in the Church. He sees it as a way to transform Church culture away from clericalism and secrecy towards greater listening and humility. He believes synodality is not about specific outcomes but about recasting Church culture for generations. Moreover, he said he saw the Synod on Synodality as the appropriate venue to overturn the Church’s core teachings, for example on the ordination of women deacons or St. Paul’s scriptural teaching on not receiving Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin.

The American cardinal is a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ Catholics in the Church, calling for their radical inclusion. He has criticized what he has called a “profound and visceral animus” towards LGBTQ+ people, saying it is a “demonic mystery.” He has said he wants to make LGBTQ+ people “feel equally welcome in the Church as everyone else.”

On Fiducia Supplicans which was rejected by many dioceses, especially in Africa, McElroy welcomed the Vatican declaration, saying its “diverging pastoral approaches” were a model of healthy decentralization rather than an obvious contradiction within the Church.²“We have witnessed the reality that bishops in various parts of the world have made radically divergent decisions about the acceptability of such blessings in their countries, based substantially on cultural and pastoral factors, as well as neo-colonialism,” the cardinal said. “This is decentralization in the life of the global Church.” He added, however, that such decentralization “must not obscure in any manner the rigorous obligation of every local church in justice and solidarity to protect LGBT+ persons in their lives and equal dignity,” nor prevent “genuine accompaniment to LGBT+ men and women in their lives of faith and pilgrimage.”³McElroy added: “It is wholly legitimate for a priest to decline to perform the blessings outlined in Fiducia because he believes that to do so would undermine the strength of marriage.  But it is particularly distressing that the opposition to Fiducia in our own country focuses overwhelmingly on blessing those in same sex relationships rather than those many more men and women who are in heterosexual relationships that are not ecclesially valid.  If the reason for opposing such blessings is really that this practice will blur and undermine the commitment to marriage, then the opposition should, one thinks, be focusing at least equally on blessings for heterosexual relationships. We all know why it is not:  An enduring animus toward LGBT+ persons.”

McElroy supports expanding access to the Eucharist, arguing it should not be restricted only to “the best-behavers.” He cites Pope Francis’ view that the Eucharist is “healing and medicine for those in need of God’s help.” However, he clarifies he does not support completely open Communion for non-Catholics.

McElroy fully subscribes to Traditionis Custodes and Pope Francis’ reasons for issuing it. In August 2021, he issued a letter outlining how his diocese would implement Francis’s decision to limit the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass. He required that any priest wishing to celebrate the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass had to obtain prior permission from the diocesan bishop. He allowed the TLM to continue at one parish, St. Anne’s, which is designated as a personal parish for the Fraternity of St. Peter, but other parishes, such as St. Mary’s and St. Margaret’s, had their Latin Masses discontinued in accordance with Traditionis Custodes. He said he was actively working to accommodate those who wished to attend the TLM by seeking alternative non-parochial locations. 

In general, Cardinal McElroy appears to align closely with Pope Francis’ more progressive approach to many issues, emphasizing “inclusion,” environmental concern, and a less rigid application of Church rules regarding the Eucharist and sexuality.

On sexual abuse by clergy, as Bishop of San Diego, McElroy has taken steps to deal with the crime. He has recognized deeper systemic problems within the Church, including acknowledging the validity of the hypothesis that some bishops did not vigorously pursue abuse allegations due to their own personal sexual misconduct. He has called for addressing issues of clerical abuse and clericalism embedded in Church structures.⁴In San Diego, he pledged to ban anyone who has abused minors from serving in the clergy or other employment in the diocese. He released a list of all priests credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors in the past fifty years in the Diocese of San Diego, and hosted listening sessions with priests, parishioners, and survivors of abuse to seek their input on responding to the crisis. McElroy has also acknowledged the moral responsibility of the Church and bishops in the abuse crisis, stating that the shame should never pass from sight.

However, he has been directly criticized for his own handling of abuse cases.

McElroy is accused of delaying for a year the removal of a priest abuser from the diocese of San Diego who had admitted to what his victim had called “satanic ritual abuse.” McElroy is also accused of not properly investigating the case.

In 2016, McElroy received a letter from psychotherapist Richard Sipe detailing allegations of abuse and cover-ups by prominent U.S. bishops, including then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was later found guilty and laicized. McElroy doubted the accuracy of some of Sipe’s allegations and so their dialogue ended. McCarrick is believed to have helped orchestrate McElroy’s appointment to San Diego.

The cardinal has been involved in the diocese’s approach to compensating abuse victims. Under his leadership, in June 2024 the Diocese of San Diego filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to address over 450 sexual abuse claims. The diocese has faced allegations of hiding assets to avoid paying child sexual abuse claims, which it has denied.

While McElroy has taken steps to address the abuse crisis, his handling of specific allegations and the diocese’s financial approach to compensation have drawn scrutiny and criticism.