JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In November, the first Black cardinal in the United States will be inducted. It’s an historical move by Pope Francis.
Wilton Gregory, 72, made history last year as Washington D.C.'s first-ever Black archbishop. Gregory is known for guiding the Catholic Church through its clergy sexual abuse crisis in the early 2000′s.
“We bishops will always have the deepest regret for those who were abused and must live with that pain all of their lives. No apology can undo that, yet we must never cease to remember them, reach out to them and must never forget that and ask for their forgiveness,” said Gregory.
Archbishop Gregory is one of 13 to be elevated to the rank of cardinal.
Father James Boddie is pastor of Christ the King Catholic Church in Jacksonville. He said he met Gregory some years ago.
“He’s very pastoral, and very with the people,” said Boddie.
Boddie was the first African American ordained as a priest in the St. Augustine Diocese
“It’s so important because we recognize the great talents, the great gifts that African American Catholics have, and great leadership,” he said.
Gregory was the first Black archbishop in Washington D.C., and before that he was archbishop in Atlanta. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops says there are 37,000 Catholic priests in America, and 250 of them are African American. There are 3 million African American Catholics in the United States.
Gregory is well-known for the way he handled the sex abuse scandals in the church and more recently his stance on racial injustices in the country.
Gregory led the D.C. archdiocese’s creation a of an anti-racism initiative and has fought for inclusive treatment of LGBTQ Catholics.
The primary responsibility of a cardinal is to elect a new pope if he were to step down or die. The position is the Catholic Church’s highest governing body.
Boddie said Pope Francis is sending a message with Gregory as his decision.
“I believe Pope Francis is letting us know that the church calls upon all cultures to leadership," Boddie said. “African American Catholics have a very small percentage in the church, but now this elevates it to even higher levels.”