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Among the 13 new cardinals Pope Francis named on October 25 was Washington, D.C., Archbishop Wilton Gregory. He will be the first Black Catholic leader in the United States to earn a cardinal's red hat.
Cardinals are high officials of the Roman Catholic Church. An archbishop is the main leader of an archdiocese, which is a district of the church.
Gregory made headlines in June 2020. He criticized President Donald Trump.
In a surprise announcement in Vatican City, an enclave in Rome, Italy, Francis said the clergymen would be elevated to cardinal on November 28. An enclave is a territory that is surrounded by another territory. Vatican City is considered a country. Even though it exists within the national boundaries of Italy.
The Washington archdiocese traditionally brings elevation to cardinal's rank. Gregory, 72 years old, was appointed to that post in 2019 as its first Black occupant.
Appointment Comes Amid Focus On Racial Justice
His rise to cardinal comes during increased focus on racial injustice in the United States. Many Americans were moved to action following the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, in Minnesota in May. Protests surged after Floyd's death and the killings of other Black people by police.
In June, civil rights demonstrators were forcibly cleared from a public area in Washington, D.C. They were moved to make it easier for Trump to visit an Episcopal church near the White House. The next day, Gregory was critical of Trump's decision to also visit the St. John Paul II National Shrine.
"I find it baffling" that a Catholic facility would allow itself to be so "misused and manipulated," Gregory said. The misuse was in a way that goes against religious principles, he said. Those principles "call us to defend the rights of all people, even those with whom we might disagree," he said.
Some say that Pope Francis is making a statement by naming Gregory as a cardinal.
A man wearing white Pope robes speaks form a window.
Image 2. Pope Francis announces the 13 new cardinals from the window of his apartment overlooking St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, an enclave in Rome, Italy, October 25, 2020. Photo: Alessandra Tarantino/AP Photo
Francis was now sending a clear message "in the midst of our nation's reckoning in systemic racism, as millions assert that Black Lives Matter," said Johnny Zokovitch. He is executive director of Pax Christi USA. It is a national Catholic peace and justice organization based in Washington, D.C.
Black Lives Matter is an activist-led movement that campaigns against violence toward Black people.
Archbishop's LGBT Support Draws Critics
"It's validation of the archbishop's opposition this past summer of President Trump using the St. John Paul II Shrine for a photo" to promote himself, Zokovitch said. He said that the president's approach is "radically contrary" to their faith. It goes against the teachings of the church, he said.
The U.S. Catholic Church has strong conservative and liberal veins. Conservatives prefer a traditional way of doing things while liberals are more open to change. Conservative church leaders have criticized Francis for his more liberal stands, including his support for same-sex civil unions. His selection of Gregory won praise from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) supporters.
When Gregory led the Atlanta, Georgia, diocese, he wrote positively about conversations with parents of LGBT children. On October 25, an advocate for LGBT Catholics, Francis DeBernardo, said choosing Gregory for a cardinal's post was a signal from the pope. It shows that Francis wants LGBT people "to be part of the church, and he wants church people to respect them," DeBernardo said.
Gregory has also been a leader in addressing the church's sexual abuse scandals. He is strengthening a zero-tolerance approach. The Catholic church has been criticized for failing to properly address years of abuse by church leaders. In a statement on October 25, he said becoming a cardinal would allow him to work more closely with the pope in caring for the church.
President Of Bishops Group Praises Choice
The pope's move was also praised by the head of the largest U.S. Catholic community, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, California, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, a position Gregory once held.
"Pope Francis is sending a powerful message of hope and inclusion to the church in the United States," Gomez said. "The naming of the first African American cardinal from the United States gives us an opportunity to pause and offer thanks for the many gifts African American Catholics have given the church."
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