Faithful Catholic laity of the United States are outraged that Archbishop Wilton Gregory (pictured above), who is known for his support for the homosexualist agenda and rejection of orthodoxy, was announced by the Vatican as the one to fill the vacant See of Washington, D.C.
Faithful and orthodox American Catholics OPPOSE this appointment and call on the Holy Father to DIRECTLY INTERVENE to STOP this from going forward.
Catholics have good reason to fear that Gregory’s appointment will only continue the iron grip of the Bernardins, McCarricks, and Wuerls on the church in Washington and the United States.
Archbishop Gregory’s offenses against orthodoxy are on public record. These include:
- As head of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Gregory has displayed an uncritical willingness to accept LGBT ideology in defiance of the Church’s Magisterium.
- He appointed a pro-gay priest who heads a gay-affirming parish to be diocesan spiritual director for victims of sexual abuse by clergy.
- In 2018, 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” at both St. Thomas More Parish and at Atlanta’s Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
- Gregory has permitted the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (Atlanta, GA) to act as a center for LGBT events, including LGBT potluck socials and participating in the city’s Pride Parade. Since 2014, he has also allowed the pro-homosexual and pro-transgenderism “Catholic” group, Fortunate and Faithful Families, to hold retreats in his Atlanta Chancery, while personally saying Mass for the group.
- In 2017, Archbishop Gregory gave the keynote address at the Association of United States Catholic Priests (AUSCP) conference. The group backs the ordination of women to the priesthood and is open to the idea of the Church approving the use of contraception.
- Along with now defrocked former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Gregory misrepresented the contents of a letter from Cardinal Ratzinger, then the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which counseled American prelates to deny Communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion during the 2004 presidential campaign season. They instead paraphrased the letter, telling their brother bishops that they should exercise their own judgment regarding pro-abortion politicos. The U.S. bishops ended up voting 183-6 to leave the decision up to each diocese.
- Archbishop Gregory has signaled a willingness to allow divorced and “remarried” Catholics to receive communion contrary to perennial Catholic teaching.
What the Archdiocese of Washington needs is a worthy shepherd who has a proven track record of teaching and practicing the fullness of the Catholic Faith.
Knowingly installing a man who flagrantly departs from Catholic moral teaching to Washington, D.C., suggests that the Vatican doesn't seem to care about listening to church-going American Catholics.
Faithful American Catholics are angry and disappointed at this slap-in-the-face.
Please SIGN this petition, directed to Pope Francis, asking him to directly intervene to STOP this appointment.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
https://web.archive.org/web/20111228194938/http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/kralis/040706#notes
https://georgiabulletin.org/news/2015/06/atlanta-archbishop-responds-to-us-supreme-court-decsion/
https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/wuerls-refusal-to-protect-the-blessed-sacrament
http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/group-claims-predator-priests-worked-for-archdiocese-of-atlanta