Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory
| Birthday: | 7 December 1947 |
| Education: | Quigley Preparatory Seminary South, Chicago, IL |
| Ordination: | 9 May 1973 |
| Episcopate: | 13 December 1983 |
Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory on the Issues
Viganò testimony
Not enough evidence collected on this issue-
Gregory’s installation Mass as Archbishop of Washington featured numerous scandal-plagued and liberal members of the Church hierarchy. Among those present included Gregory’s predeecessor, Cardinal Wuerl, who turned in his resignation after it was revealed that he was invovled in a major cover-up of sexual abuse while Bishop of Pittsburgh. Wuerl also played a part in covering up ex-Cardinal McCarrick’s abuse of seminarians. (LifeSiteNews)
Amoris Laetitia
Unclear on Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics-
Archbishop Gregory was one of two featured speakers at a gathering of liberal theologians and 15 bishops at Boston College in October 2017. The event, “Understanding Amoris Laetitia,” was hosted by progressive Cardinal Cupich. Gregory appeared to endorse communion for divorced and remarried Catholics when he said Amoris Laetitia “challenges the church and its pastors to move beyond thinking that everything is black and white, so that we sometimes close off the way of grace and growth.” He also said Amoris Laetitia is a “proclamation of hope through the mercy and grace of God.” (America)
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In an April 2016 interview with The Georgia Bulletin, Archbishop Gregory appeared to give support for communion to divorced and remarried Catholics. He said he was “enthused” to see that Amoris Laetitia “acknowledged the tremendous importance” of “the diversity of family situations.” He said it is a document that encourages clergy to reach out to “all families” and to “be sensitive to the real life situations” they face. Gregory stated that divorced and civilly remarried Catholics “still belong to the heart of the Church.” (The Georgia Bulletin)
Pro-life leadership
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On January 23, 2017, Archbishop Gregory celebrated the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s Pro-Life Mass. In his homily however, Gregory equated abortion with other social justice issues. He stated that the Roe v. Wade decision spawned the reintroduction of the death penalty and “the hostile treatment of our immigrant neighbors.” Gregory called on Catholics to be equally pro-life in these matters. (Archdiocese of Atlanta)
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In 2015, Archbishop Gregory released a statement condemning Planned Parenthood and its sale of organs and tissue of aborted babies. Gregory called for the governmental funds given to Planned Parenthood to be delivered to organizations “that provide real medical assistance to women.” Gregory also affirmed that all human life “from conception to natural death” is a “precious gift.” (Archdiocese of Atlanta)
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As President of the USCCB, Archbishop Gregory appointed a pro-abortion attorney to USCCB’s National Review Board. The attorney, Pamela Hayes, has made donations to the pro-abortion lobbying group, Emily’s List, as well as pro-abortion politicians John Kerry and Hillary Clinton. (EWTN)
Homosexuality
Does not uphold Church teaching on homosexuality-
At a 2019 Theology on Tap event, Archbishop Gregory said pro-gay priest Fr. James Martin has certainly “caused a stir,” but that he is a good voice to speak on the “gay and lesbian community” within the Church. (One Peter 5)
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Archbishop Gregory has designated a pro-gay priest who heads a homosexual-affirming parish as the “Spiritual Director for Victims” of sex abuse for the Atlanta archdiocese. (LifeSiteNews)
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Archbishop Gregory was the keynote speaker at a conference hosted by a group of liberal, pro-gay Catholics priests in 2017. The group, which goes by the name Association of United States Catholic Priests, wants women to be ordained to the diaconate, the laity to run parishes and that there be an open discussion in the Church on the issue of married priests. (Lepanto Institute)
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Following the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay “marriage” in 2015, Archbishop Gregory provided a weak and ambiguous statement, emphasizing how there must remain “obligations of civility toward one another” going forward. Instead of affirming the evil of homosexual acts, Archbishop Wilton Gregory simply said the Church’s teaching does not change, and the ruling merely “confers a civil entitlement to some people who could not claim it before.” He almost seemed indifferent about the ruling’s impact, calling the decision a “deep disappointment for some people and vindication for others.” Gregory said the Court’s decision provides “an opportunity to continue the vitally important dialogue of human encounter.” (The Georgia Bulletin)
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In 2010, a priest in the Archdiocese of Atlanta was removed from ministry for having engaged in homosexual misconduct. In 2013, the priest was restored to active ministry by Archbishop Gregory. (Church Militant)
Abortion politics
Not enough evidence collected on this issue-
In September 2019, Archbishop Gregory offered a funeral Mass for the outspoken pro-abortion journalist, Cokie Roberts. Gregory praised Roberts in his homily, calling her an “extraordinary, professional servant of truth” who “believed in God’s word…accepted it and fashioned her life around that word.” Throughout her career, Roberts ridiculed pro-life advocates and referred to them as “extremists.” Recently, Roberts had stated that the federal ban on partial-birth abortions was “off the track.” (LifeSiteNews)
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In 2004, Archbishop Gregory was the President of the USCCB. He, alongside Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, received a letter from Cardinal Ratzinger during the 2004 presidential election season. The letter said it was obligatory to deny Communion to Catholic politicians who obstinately support abortion and euthanasia. Gregory and McCarrick took it upon themselves to paraphrase the letter and inform their brother bishops at the June 2004 bishops’ gathering that Ratzinger basically wanted to leave the decision up to each bishop, thereby downplaying his real intentions. As a result, the bishops voted 183-6 to leave the implementation of Canon 915 up to each diocese. (The Washington Times)
Contraception
Not enough evidence collected on this issue“LGBT” ideology
Does not uphold Church teaching on “LGBT” ideology-
The dissident, pro-“LGBT” group, Fortunate and Faithful Families, thanked Archbishop Gregory in an ad published in the Archdiocese of Atlanta newspaper after he was named Archbishop of Washington DC. Fortunate and Faithful Families, a group of “Catholic families affirming their ‘LGBTQ’ members,” thanked Gregory for his “encouragement” of the group’s mission. (Church Militant)
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Archbishop Gregory personally invited pro-gay Vatican adviser Fr. James Martin to give a speech titled “Showing Welcome and Respect in our Parishes to LGBT Catholics” on October 20, 2018 at St. Thomas More Parish in his Archdiocese. Martin is also scheduled to speak at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on October 21st. (Georgia Bulletin)
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Since being named Archbishop of Atlanta, Gregory has done nothing to stop a radical, pro-LGBT parish in his diocese from promoting, participating in and hosting a booth at the Atlanta gay pride parade. (LifeSiteNews)
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Since 2014, Archbishop Gregory has allowed a dissident, pro-LGBT group that promotes transgenderism and homosexuality to have their annual retreat at the Chancery of the Atlanta Archdiocese. Gregory said mass and gave a homily at the 2014 and 2015 retreats. (Fortunate and Faithful Families)
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In a column for The Georgia Bulletin in 2013, Gregory said the Church’s language on “sexual orientation” is often “unwelcoming and condemnatory.” Because of its “severity” it “occasionally suggests that certain members of the Church are superior to others,” he claimed. Gregory said that he told a pro-LGBT Catholic group that the Church “must welcome all of her sons and daughters — no matter what their sexual orientation or life situation might be.” (Church Militant)
Liturgy
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In 2016, Pope Francis changed church rules on allowing the washing of women’s feet on Holy Thursday. Archbishop Gregory had already been performing the ritual with women for ten years. He typically washes the feet of six boys and six girls from the first Communion class at the Cathedral of Christ the King. Each parish in the Archdiocese is free to wash the feet of men or women under Gregory’s guidelines. (National Catholic Reporter)
Marriage and Family Life
Not enough evidence collected on this issueEducation
Not enough evidence collected on this issue-
In 2006, Archbishop Gregory endorsed Tradition, Family and Property’s campaign against The Da Vinci Code. Gregory called the movie a “fabrication” and “tapestry” of lies “woven from twisted truths.” Gregory also said it can’t be “passed off as innocent entertainment or fun” because it undemines the Catholic faith. (Tradition, Family and Property)