Pope Appoints Controversial Cardinal to DC; Accepts Resignation of Cardinal Wilton Gregory

In a surprising move by Pope Francis, he accepts the resignation of Cardinal Wilton Gregory. Gregory, 77, led the Archdiocese of Washington, DC for the last six years after serving fifteen years prior in Atlanta as Catholicism was growing from 2002 to 2012. Gregory goes down as the African American cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. He left behind a litany of firsts as cardinal. His resignation was submitted to the pope in December 2022 and was accepted as of now. 

It didn’t take long for the Holy Father to announce the shepherd who would lead his flock of 3 million Catholics. The District of Columbia is home to American politics, think tanks, and lobby groups who will pull America’s lever through their persuasion.

Controversy on Church Teachings

The pope appointed Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of the Diocese of San Diego. a San Francisco native who pursued degrees at Harvard and Stanford before his 1980 priestly ordination, Cardinal McElroy was appointed bishop of San Diego in 2015. During the last ten years, he convened three synods — the most recent began a process to implement synodal decision-making in the local church. Cardinal McElroy was also a participant in the global Synod on Synodality, which produced a final document on synodality in October, which was promulgated by the pope.

Like many lukewarm bishops, McElroy is one of the many pawns in advancing the synod among the Catholic Church. The recent events that took place in the last two years or more have placed the church teachings on the back burner while looking for ways to make the church more inclusive.

During a Religious Education Conference in Los Angeles, the cardinal said,

“it is now becoming clear that on some issues the understanding of human nature and moral reality upon which previous declarations of doctrine were made were in fact limited or defective…” Certain doctrines of the Church need to change in order to keep up with cultural evolution, and the doctrinal tradition “restricts” the efforts of those who now see “clearly” that we need to “refine” these teachings. Indeed, the older doctrines to which he is referring—and he clearly means in the whole context of his speech the sexual doctrines—not only restrict our ability to bless the modern shift in sexual morality, but that they are also in fact “defective” and rooted in a now discredited “understanding of human nature”.

A columnist for Catholic World Report goes on to criticize this remark and his speech in its entirety.

“The fact that he uttered such words at one of the largest gatherings of religious educators in the United States, without any evident fear of ecclesial discipline from above, says all you need to know about the increasing sense of empowerment that this movement feels at the moment.” The columnist wrote. He continues, “And make no mistake, Cardinal McElroy is not calling for a deepening of our doctrines or their organic development. He is calling for their repudiation and reversal.”

This columnist doesn’t shy away from critiquing the many clergy who keep church teachings out in helping those who don’t understand the teachings of those who are called to uphold the many.

We must pray that this new cardinal will repent of his sin of omission and begin proclaiming the truth and nothing but the truth as he will run with the baton that was once carried by Carinal Gregory.