Archbishop of Atlanta Reportedly Selected as Next Archbishop of Washington

WASHINGTON (DC)
The Hoya

April 3, 2019

By Alexandra Bowman

Reports emerged Thursday that Pope Francis is set to appoint Archbishop of Atlanta Wilton Gregory to replace Cardinal Donald Wuerl as the archbishop of Washington, D.C., after the latter resigned following reports that he had mishandled sexual assault cases.

The Catholic News Agency first reported on Gregory’s appointment; however, the report’s reliance on anonymous sources has led many Catholic institutions and D.C. news outlets to question its validity, according to The Washington Post. As of Saturday, no other Catholic media or mainstream outlet had confirmed the report other than the far-right, web-based Catholic news outlet, Church Militant.

NOTABLE NAMES DATABASE Critics of Catholic News Agency’s report speculate that reports that Archbishop of Altanta Wilton Gregory has been selected as Cardinal’s Wuerl’s replacement may be tactic to hurt Gregory’s actual chances of selection.

Gregory’s appointment would be a historic milestone for the Catholic Church in the United States, according to The Washington Post. If appointed, Gregory would be the first black Catholic archbishop of D.C.

Gregory’s appointment follows the ongoing clergy sexual abuse scandal within the church, which has implicated two former archbishops of D.C.

Former Archbishop of Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was found guilty of abuse of minors and solicitation of sex from adults during confession. McCarrick became one of the highest-ranking Americans to be formally dismissed from the clerical state when he was officially defrocked by the Catholic Church on Feb. 16.

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