Pope names Gregory as Washington DC archbishop

(4 Apr 2019) Pope Francis has named Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory as the new archbishop of Washington DC, choosing a moderate, and the first African-American, to lead the archdiocese that has become the epicentre of the clergy sex abuse crisis in the US. Gregory, 71, replaces Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who resigned last year after being implicated in covering up abuse by a Pennsylvania grand jury report. Gregory headed the US bishops conference when it adopted a "zero-tolerance" abuse policy in 2002 to respond to the first wave of the scandal. He has run the Atlanta archdiocese since 2005 and is seen as a pastor very much in line with Francis' progressive vision of the church. Gregory was embroiled briefly in a scandal of his own in 2014 after the archdiocese used 2.2 million US dollars in donations to buy and renovate a swank new home for the archbishop. The archdiocese later sold the mansion and Gregory apologised following an outcry from parishioners who cited Francis' frugality as a model other church leaders should follow. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...