Vatican strikes Washington with appointment of new bishop

Pope Francis appointed the Archbishop of Washington Thursday to the current Archbishop of Atlanta, Wilton Gregory. Among the priorities of the future African-American archbishop of the United States capital and, as one could expect, the first black cardinal of the North American country, it will be necessary in particular to restore the confidence between the faithful and the public after the scandal of badual abuse.

According to Cameron Doody in Digital Religion, Gregory, 71, will have 46 years as a priest and 36 years as a bishop this year. From 1983 to 1994, he was Auxiliary Bishop of his hometown, Chicago, under the tutelage of his theology professor, Progressive Cardinal Joseph Bernardin. In 1994, he was appointed Archbishop of Belleville, in the same state as Illinois, a post he held until 2004, when he was transferred to his current position.

In Washington, Gregory will replace Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who has remained in the capital as an apostolic administrator since his resignation in October of last year, under pressure from his predecessor's scandal. former cardinal and ex-priest Theodore McCarrick.

Despite the doubts that have been expressed both in the United States and in Rome because of his advanced age – he will only have four years in Washington before being forced to submit his resignation to the pontiff – it seems that his experience has won. The former Archbishop of Atlanta has earned a reputation for being a good administrator and a relentless enemy of pedophilia, especially for his stay at the head of the Episcopal Conference from 2001 to 2004.

In the midst of a scandal over Spotlight abuses in Boston, Gregory has successfully implemented the current anti-abuse protocols of the US Church, recognized in 2002 by Time magazine for its commitment to protecting minors.