A Red Hat for San Diego

Stephen White of Catholic University reflects on the recent appointment of Bishop Robert McElroy of the Diocese of San Diego to the cardinalate.

“But Bishop McElroy’s elevation to the College of Cardinals is neither the triumph nor the disaster that too many Catholics seem to hope or fear it to be. Insofar as his appointment is a clear and unmistakable message to the bishops of the United States, it is not a message they have not already heard. Repeatedly. If his fellow bishops were previously unlikely to share Bishop McElroy’s judgments about the demands of the current pastoral circumstances – as many are – changing the color of his hat is unlikely to persuade them.”

Read the whole column.

*Image: Pope Francis greets Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego during an ad limina visit to the Vatican in 2020. (Photo: CNS)