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.

Cardinal Robert McElroy has supported migrants and said the church should be more inclusive to women and LGBT people.

Francis’ liberal pick for Washington, D.C. archbishop is at odds with Trump’s choice for ambassador to the Vatican, Brian Burch, a vocal Francis critic.

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, 88, still has some tricks up his sleeve. The pontiff has appointed a sharp critic of Donald Trump to be the next archbishop of the nation’s capital—just in time for the president-elect’s return to office.

Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy as Archbishop of Washington. This choice carries undeniable political weight, reflecting the profound opposition between the Californian cleric and the incoming Republican President Donald Trump.

During Trump's first administration, Cardinal McElroy sharply criticised his plan to launch a mass deportation campaign targeting millions of immigrants living in the United States.

In a latest development it has been known that Pope Francis pretty recently appointed a major sharp critic of US President- elect Donald Trump to become the next archbishop of Washington DC. This development actually came just somedays prior of the inauguration of US President- elect Donald Trump.