Posted on May 1, 2019 in News by The Grand Priory of America
Christian and other faith leaders from around the country issued statements of congratulations to our own Archbishop H.E. Wilton D. Gregory, GCLJ, on his April 4 appointment by Pope Francis to head the Archdiocese of Washington. The Most Reverend Gregory had headed the Archdiocese of Atlanta since 2005 and is an active member of the Commandery of the Southeast. Archbishop Gregory has served in many leading roles in the U.S. church. In November 2001, he was elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops following three years as vice president under Bishop Joseph Fiorenza of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston. During his tenure in office, the crisis of sex abuse by Catholic clergy escalated; and under his leadership, the bishops implemented the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”
He served on the USCCB Executive and Administrative Committees, the Administrative Board, the Committee on Doctrine and the U.S. Catholic Conference Committee on International Policy. He previously served as the chairman of the Bishops’ Committees on Personnel and the Third Millennium/Jubilee Year 2000 from 1998-2001, and Liturgy from 1991-1993.
Archbishop Gregory has written extensively on church issues, including pastoral statements on the death penalty, euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide and has published numerous articles on the subject of liturgy, particularly in the African-American community.