Pope Francis’s appointment of Cardinal Robert McElroy as the highly visible prelate of the church in Washington is already being interpreted as a shot across the bow of the Trump administration, given the new archbishop’s outspoken views on immigrants’ rights.

Pope Francis on Monday named a Catholic cardinal who has criticized Donald Trump's political agenda as the new leader for the Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., days before Trump is set to be inaugurated as U.

McElroy’s appointment comes at a time of heightened conflict between moderate and progressive U.S. Catholics and an increasingly politicized traditionalist faction, which has deepened its alliance with Republicans and Trump.