The Vatican Appoints First African American Cardinal in the U.S., a 'Human Rights Advocate'

Wilton Gregory, appointed as the first African American cardinal in the United States and Archbishop of Washington DC
[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Vatican announced the appointment of the first African American cardinal in the United States. He is a figure who has actively engaged in human rights activism and also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump following the death of George Floyd, a Black man whose death sparked nationwide protests against racial discrimination in the U.S.

According to the Associated Press and other sources on the 25th (local time), Pope Francis announced the appointment of 13 cardinals, including Wilton Gregory (72), Archbishop of Washington DC, USA. Archbishop Gregory will become the first African American cardinal in the United States. Ordained as a priest in 1973, he has served as Archbishop of Atlanta since 2005 and Archbishop of Washington DC since last year, and will be made cardinal on the 28th of next month.

Archbishop Gregory is known for his active involvement in human rights activism. He served as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2001 to 2004 and is credited with laying the groundwork for applying a "zero tolerance policy" regarding sexual abuse scandals involving clergy. At that time, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops introduced a charter outlining measures to handle cases of sexual abuse of minors by clergy. The AP reported, "The Vatican took this action considering his effective handling of clergy sexual abuse cases."

Archbishop Gregory also criticized President Trump’s sudden visit to a Catholic facility following the George Floyd incident. When news broke in June that President Trump would visit the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, a Catholic facility, Gregory issued a statement saying, "I find it incomprehensible and deserving of criticism to allow any Catholic facility to be so absurdly misused and manipulated." At the time, President Trump’s consecutive visits to religious facilities sparked criticism that he was using religion as a means to rally his support base, and Gregory strongly rebuked this.

Following the Vatican’s announcement, Archbishop Gregory expressed his feelings, saying, "I am very grateful and humbled, and I thank Pope Francis for allowing me to work more closely in caring for the Church of Christ."