DC archdiocese slammed on social media over Cardinal McElroy appointment: ‘Unmitigated disaster’

(LifeSiteNews) — The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. likely didn’t get the response it had hoped for after posting an announcement on social media regarding Cardinal Robert McElroy’s appointment as the new archdiocesan leader.

Virtually every comment was negative, with some providing in-depth reports accompanied by evidence for McElroy’s unsuitability to preside over what is arguably the most important see in the United States.

“Please join us in welcoming Cardinal Robert McElroy to the Archdiocese of Washington!” began the archdiocese’s upbeat post on X that went on to urge followers to read McElroy’s full biography.

Things went sharply downhill from there.

“Great way of telling the faithful that Pope Francis & US Bishops don’t care about abuse victims. Great way to tell the world you don’t care about the Catholic faith,” one X user responded.

“A bishop who has been called a heretic by brother bishops. Utterly disgraceful,” they added.

Great way of telling the faithful that Pope Francis & US Bishops don’t care about abuse victims. Great way to tell the world you don’t care about the Catholic faith. A bishop who has been called a heretic by brother bishops. Utterly disgraceful.

— Mark (@sitsio) January 8, 2025

“You couldn’t say ‘screw you’ to abuse victims any louder,” Melody Lyons wrote. “Absolutely grievous. Anyone celebrating this choice is complicit.”

You couldn’t say “screw you” to abuse victims any louder. Absolutely grievous. Anyone celebrating this choice is complicit.

— Melody Lyons (@melodymlyons) January 7, 2025

“Why welcome someone so corrupt who covered up sex abuse?!??? What is wrong this Archdiocese???” another X user asked.

“An unmitigated disaster and embarrassment.   We reject this appointment,” still another declared.

“Covered for and protected not only a monster named McCarrick, but also a satanic ritual abuser, a satanic priest,” Catholic author and commentator Leila Miller wrote. “Untold levels of spiritual abuse by McElroy.”

“He’s the worst possible choice,” James Pavlick said. “He knew all about McCarrick and he enabled the evil by covering it up. He was complicit in McCarrick’s evil by enabling it.”

He’s the worst possible choice.

He knew all about McCarrick and he enabled the evil by covering it up.

He was complicit in McCarrick’s evil by enabling it.

— James Pavlick 🐊 #DeSantis2028 (@jamespavlick) January 7, 2025

Pavlick added in a subsequent post: “The good people of the Archdiocese of Washington should refuse to contribute a single dime as long as it has this wicked shepherd as its leader.”

Noted Catholic investigative reporter and commentator Christine Niles brought receipts to the online discussion. As a preface to an in-depth 2022 video report that purported to show McElroy to be protecting a priest sexual predator, she wrote:

Cardinal Robert McElroy is being crowned the new cardinal-archbishop of Washington, D.C., one of the most important Catholic sees in the United States.   But he has never given an account for why he rehabilitated a priest convicted of rape, a priest accused of ritual abuse in which he desecrated the Sacred Host in a disturbing private ceremony.

It is said that Cdl. McElroy owes his original bishopric to the now-defrocked homosexual predator, Cdl. Theodore McCarrick, who allegedly handpicked him for San Diego.

Since then, McElroy has quickly risen through the ranks — from auxiliary bishop of San Francisco to bishop of San Diego in 2015, receiving the cardinal’s red hat in 2022, and now moving to the prestigious see of Washington, D.C., where he will replace another alleged McCarrick appointee: Cdl. Wilton Gregory.

In this Special Report, originally aired in 2022, I reveal never-before-seen evidence exposing a diabolical network in the heart of the Church.

Cardinal Robert McElroy is being crowned the new cardinal-archbishop of Washington, D.C., one of the most important Catholic sees in the United States. But he has never given an account for why he rehabilitated a priest convicted of rape, a priest accused of ritual abuse in… pic.twitter.com/095HeXbDrk

— Christine Niles (@ChristineNiles1) January 6, 2025

A few days later, Niles posted again on X, this time casting light on McElroy’s choice to ignore Dr. Richard Sipe‘s warnings about then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s homosexual predatory behavior toward seminarians.

This letter is still available on the late Dr. Richard Sipe’s website. Sipe warned then-Bishop McElroy about Theodore McCarrick’s homosexual predation of seminarians. McElroy ignored them, refusing to meet with Sipe:

“Your office made it clear that you have no time in your schedule either now or ‘in the foreseeable future’ to have the meeting that they suggested.”

https://t.co/C7zi5O5PjV

— Christine Niles (@ChristineNiles1) January 9, 2025

In what was apparently intended as a bit of humorous satire, an X user — with gay pride and trans pride flags in his bio and, for his profile photo, posed in pink sunglasses and a red feather boa — exclaimed:

“Yay! What a fabulous choice for Archbishop! He is willing to confront alt-right fascism in politics!”

Yay! What a fabulous choice for Archbishop! He is willing to confront alt-right fascism in politics!

— Parent Ryan, SJ 🏳️‍⚧️💉x11😷☮️ (@ParentRyanSJ) January 7, 2025

In another post, this time commenting on a National Catholic Register article headlined “Mass Deportations Are ‘incompatible With Catholic Doctrine,’ Cardinal McElroy says at His DC Debut,” he sternly ordered, tongue-in-cheek:

“You must submit to the new doctrines of the synodal church.”

You must submit to the new doctrines of the synodal church. https://t.co/wt6TvHyyDD

— Parent Ryan, SJ 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️💉x11😷🇺🇦☮️ (@ParentRyanSJ) January 9, 2025