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Pope names moderate Wilton Gregory as Washington, DC, archbishop
Source: Associated Press
Pope names moderate Gregory as Washington, DC, archbishop
By NICOLE WINFIELD
April 4, 2019
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Thursday named Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory as the new archbishop of Washington D.C., choosing a moderate, and the first African-American, to lead the archdiocese that has become the epicenter of the clergy sex abuse crisis in the U.S.
Gregory, 71, replaces Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who resigned last year after being implicated in covering up abuse by a Pennsylvania grand jury report.
Gregory headed the U.S. bishops conference when it adopted a “zero-tolerance” abuse policy in 2002 to respond to the first wave of the scandal. He has run the Atlanta archdiocese since 2005 and is seen as a pastor very much in line with Francis’ progressive vision of the church.
The appointment was first reported by Catholic News Agency.
It is the third major move by Francis to reshape the U.S. hierarchy, which over the previous two papacies took on a culture war-influenced conservative tilt. Francis began elevating more moderate pastors in 2014, when he named Cardinal Blase Cupich as Chicago archbishop and followed up two years later by moving Joseph Tobin to Newark, New Jersey, and making him a cardinal.
-snip-
By NICOLE WINFIELD
April 4, 2019
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Thursday named Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory as the new archbishop of Washington D.C., choosing a moderate, and the first African-American, to lead the archdiocese that has become the epicenter of the clergy sex abuse crisis in the U.S.
Gregory, 71, replaces Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who resigned last year after being implicated in covering up abuse by a Pennsylvania grand jury report.
Gregory headed the U.S. bishops conference when it adopted a “zero-tolerance” abuse policy in 2002 to respond to the first wave of the scandal. He has run the Atlanta archdiocese since 2005 and is seen as a pastor very much in line with Francis’ progressive vision of the church.
The appointment was first reported by Catholic News Agency.
It is the third major move by Francis to reshape the U.S. hierarchy, which over the previous two papacies took on a culture war-influenced conservative tilt. Francis began elevating more moderate pastors in 2014, when he named Cardinal Blase Cupich as Chicago archbishop and followed up two years later by moving Joseph Tobin to Newark, New Jersey, and making him a cardinal.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/07fa469d75864e05a78ce5ae970062ad
