Pope Francis has appointed a supporter of allowing pro-abortion Catholic politicians to receive communion to lead the Roman Catholic archdiocese surrounding the United States capital

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.

Pope Francis on Monday named Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego as the archbishop of Washington, tapping one of his most progressively like-minded allies to head the Catholic Church in the U.S. capital at the start of Donald Trump ’s second administration.