At his introductory press conference in April 2019 on the morning when Pope Francis had named him the new archbishop of Washington, then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory pledged to work to rebuild trust and foster healing in the archdiocese, which had been shaken by the clergy abuse crisis in a personal way.
In an opening statement, then-Archbishop Gregory said, “This is obviously a moment fraught with challenges – throughout our entire Catholic Church certainly, but nowhere more so than in this local faith community. And as in any family, challenges can only be overcome by a firmly articulated resolve and commitment to be better. To know Christ better. To love Christ better. To serve Christ better.”
In July 2018, former Washington archbishop Theodore McCarrick had resigned from the College of Cardinals and had been ordered to live a life of prayer and penance after allegations accusing him of abusing minors and engaging in sexual misconduct with adults. In February 2019 after a Vatican investigation, the pope confirmed McCarrick’s removal from the priesthood.
In October 2018, Cardinal Donald Wuerl’s resignation as the archbishop of Washington was accepted by Pope Francis, after Cardinal Wuerl had faced strong criticism in a Pennsylvania Grand Jury report for how he had dealt with some abuse cases when he earlier served as the bishop of Pittsburgh.
In confronting the abuse crisis in the Archdiocese of Washington, then-Archbishop Gregory heard the concerns of priests and laypeople during meetings and parish visits.
Two months after he was installed as Washington’s archbishop, the archdiocese in July 2019 revised its child protection policy with an expanded scope to emphasize the importance of ensuring safe environments for people of all ages, protecting children from sexual abuse and adults from sexual harassment or abuses of power.
When the Vatican issued its long awaited report on McCarrick in November 2020, Cardinal-designate Gregory called it a “tragic chronicle,” and said it not only detailed the former cardinal’s betrayal of his priestly calling, but it also showed systematic failure by Catholic leaders to investigate and act upon allegations of misconduct and abuse that would have prevented McCarrick’s rise through the Church’s hierarchy. Those victimized by McCarrick, he said, “should have been able to rely on the ministers of Christ’s Church to protect and respect them.”
Before being appointed to Washington, Archbishop Gregory led the Archdiocese of Atlanta from 2005 until the spring of 2019. When the sex abuse crisis erupted again in the Catholic Church in the summer of 2018, then-Archbishop Gregory wrote in a column in the Georgia Bulletin, the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s newspaper, that he felt “profound anger, sadness and distress.”
When he became the bishop of Belleville, Illinois, in 1994, Bishop Gregory made sure that all priests with credible allegations against them were removed from ministry, and he met with dozens of abuse survivors to hear their stories and try to bring healing to them.
In 2001, Bishop Gregory was elected as the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and when the abuse crisis erupted in the Catholic Church following the Boston Globe’s investigations of abusive priests and negligent Church leadership in the Archdiocese of Boston, Bishop Gregory led the conference in a nationwide effort to address the crisis, as the bishops implemented the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” in 2002.
“From this day forward, no one known to have sexually abused a child will work in the Catholic Church in the United States,” Bishop Gregory said, as the bishops adopted the charter, which includes a “zero tolerance policy” on priests who abuse children.
Under Bishop Gregory’s leadership of the USCCB, the bishops adopted a set of norms for handling accusations of abuse by priests and other Church personnel, established a lay board to review how cases have been handled, and commissioned an extensive analysis of the factors involved in the crisis.
After the Catholic Church in the United States again confronted the abuse crisis following the McCarrick case, then-Archbishop Gregory was appointed to a USCCB task force examining further responses to the abuse crisis, as Catholic leaders have called for greater accountability and transparency among the bishops.
Officials who witnessed then-Bishop Gregory’s work during the Church’s abuse crisis in 2002 and how he has addressed that challenge as the archbishop of Washington praised his leadership.
Kathleen McChesney, a longtime FBI special agent and administrator, was chosen in 2002 to become the first executive director of the USCCB’s Office of Child Protection.
In comments emailed to the Catholic Standard after Archbishop Gregory was named as the new archbishop of Washington in 2019, McChesney reflected on then-Bishop Gregory’s service as the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as it addressed the abuse crisis in 2002, saying he “was extremely well-suited to lead the USCCB, particularly at the time when survivors were finding their voice and the media was paying particular attention to the devastating problems of clergy abuse. Archbishop Gregory is a listener and was not afraid to engage with survivors and sincerely apologize to them on behalf of the Church for what they had experienced.”
McChesney also noted that as a leader, Archbishop Gregory “was able to bring together bishops of differing opinions and perspectives on the appropriate response of the Church to the issues surrounding clerical abuse and the passage and implementation of the ‘Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.’ He was exactly the leader needed in those moments.”
John Carr, the founding director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, served as the secretary for social development and world peace at the bishops’ conference when the Dallas charter was adopted. In interviews with the Catholic Standard in 2019 and later in 2020, Carr reflected on the impact that then-Bishop Gregory’s leadership had in the pivotal time when he led the nation’s bishops in confronting the abuse crisis in 2002.
Carr said he witnessed how then-Bishop Gregory, in the eye of that storm, “consistently stood up for victims and their families.”
In 2025, Carr reflected on Cardinal Gregory’s ministry as the archbishop of Washington, noting, “Cardinal Gregory was the pastor we needed at a very tough time for our family of faith. He has brought a healing presence, a pastor’s heart, a courageous voice, and a faithful example of priestly service.”
Carr added, “As a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, I will always be grateful for his principled and courageous leadership to listen and learn from victims, to take essential steps to respond with compassion and concrete action, and to protect young people and our Church from these horrific betrayals of trust. I have seen Cardinal Gregory at the USCCB and the archdiocese side with victim/survivors when others did not.”
David Spotanski, the Chief Operating Officer for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, earlier worked with Cardinal Gregory as the Vice Chancellor in the Diocese of Belleville and as the Chief Operating Officer for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. In a 2020 column written for the Catholic Standard, he praised how Cardinal Gregory served the people in those dioceses and how he confronted the abuse crisis as a diocesan bishop and as the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “Every time he has been called upon to choose between what was best for the Church – for us and our families – and what was best for him, he has unselfishly set aside his own ambition and put the rest of us first,” Spotanski said.
Courtney Chase, formerly the executive director of the Office of Child Protection and Safe Environment for the Archdiocese of Washington, in a 2020 interview praised Cardinal Gregory’s leadership as the archbishop of Washington in expanding its policy to emphasize the importance of protecting people of all ages.
“There is zero tolerance for any kind of abuse and zero tolerance for any abuse of power,” she said.
Chase said Cardinal Gregory “is part of the healing process, because he continues to be open and transparent, ensuring there is no leniency on those who abuse or hurt any members of our community.”
As archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Gregory “came in with an open mind and an open heart,” Chase said, adding, “That openness allowed him to do what he is best known for, and that is to be a strong leader and protect all in his community.”
To mark April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Cardinal Gregory as the archbishop of Washington regularly celebrated Masses to pray for healing for abuse survivors and their families. In a 2022 column for the Catholic Standard, the cardinal underscored the importance of listening to abuse survivors with “totally heartfelt and genuine compassion, and then responding in kind.”
In December 2024, Cardinal Gregory as the archbishop of Washington promulgated the Archdiocese of Washington’s updated Safe Environment Policy for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults, noting, “Throughout the Church of Washington, we must always maintain an unwavering commitment to safeguard those in our care.”
