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A Few Words About Archbishop Wilton Gregory
(Well, maybe more than a few.)
My wife and I are Roman Catholics. She is a “cradle Catholic”; I converted to Catholicism nearly forty years ago. During that time, we’ve seen the Church’s problems (the pedophilia scandals, doctrinal squabbles, etc.) however, we would never entertain the idea of leaving the faith. Most of our Catholic friends feel the same way.
Yesterday, I turned on the TV and saw a somewhat familiar face, the Archbishop of Washington DC, Wilton Gregory. We knew him from the Archdiocese of Atlanta where he had been the honcho. The chyron at the bottom of the screen was mentioning President Trump and his wife’s visit to The Saint John Paul II National Shrine and the Archbishop was putting in his two cents worth:
“I find it baffling and reprehensible that any Catholic facility would allow itself to be so egregiously misused and manipulated in a fashion that violates our religious principles…”
Of course, we’re all familiar with the reactions of the politicians and the media. If Trump stays in the White House, he’s a coward and “hunkering down.” If he goes out, it’s merely for a “photo op.” However, Wilton is no mere politician and that’s where my problem comes from. But first, a little background.
If you’ve ever visited Atlanta; maybe the CNN Center or the Coca-Cola Museum or any of the other venues that Atlanta has to offer, you’ll see kitschy items from Gone With the Wind. Coffee cups, plates, dolls, clocks; you name it, all with the visage of Scarlett O’Hara, Rhett Butler, or both. You can buy a DVD of the movie (however, expect to pay double what you could get it for online). Whatever you buy, a certain percentage will be kicked back to the Margaret Mitchell Foundation and, while it doesn’t make as much money as say, the (Elvis) Presley Charitable Foundation, it still does quite nicely.
Up until 2011, the administrator of the Mitchell Foundation was her nephew, Joseph Mitchell. When he died in October of 2011, his will stipulated that $15 million from his estate, along with his house, was to be donated to the Archdiocese of Atlanta and went on to stress that the money was to be used for charitable causes. That’s when things really began to happen.
For those of you not familiar with Atlanta, there’s a section known as Buckhead and that’s where the old money lives (with double emphasis on “old” and “money”). It’s where the Coca-Cola money lives along with the Georgia-Pacific and Southern Bell money; no nouveau riche here.
In 2012, the Buckhead denizens noticed that the old Joseph Mitchell property was being torn down. Then, only days after the last truck from the demolition crew had left, construction began on the new dwelling. Since “inquiring minds” wanted to know who was building this structure, a trip was made to the city clerk’s office.
As it turned out, the dwelling was a $2.2 million, 6,400-foot mansion (complete with two dining rooms and a “safe room”) and the new occupants were to be (drum roll, please) Archbishop Wilton Gregory and six fellow priests. Saints Be Praised!
When word of this spread through the Archdiocese, the initial reaction was head-shaking puzzlement. Then, when it soaked in, the mood changed to outright anger. My wife and I were members of a 1,400-family parish in East Cobb County (northwest of Atlanta) and we did not encounter a single person that was not incensed by the brazen actions of the Archbishop.
The reaction of parish councils throughout the Archdiocese was unequivocal; Fine, keep your mansion. But don’t bother asking anyone in this Parish to contribute to the annual Bishop’s Relief Fund, ever. Reportedly, when word of the “Parish Councils’ Revolt” got back to Gregory, he was furious and sent two or three of his lackeys around to each parish to sternly warn them of the consequences of their mutiny. Instead, he found that, for the most part, the thinking of the parish priests was totally in line with the parish councils.
Finally, Gregory realized that he had no choice other than to back down. Intially, he issued a short, rather curt, note saying that “We took our eye off the ball.” Then it was changed to “I took my eye off the ball.” Later, he published a longer, more contrite message to the Archdiocese (probably written by one of his underlings). I don’t believe that there were many people in the Archdiocese who trusted him after that episode.
Gregory never did realize that the faithful of the Archdiocese had already been betrayed by so many in the priesthood; one of them another Archbishop of the Diocese who had to resign because he had fathered an illegitimate child. Yes, that’s correct. In the early ’90s, the Archbishop of Atlanta, Eugene Marino, impregnated a lay minister but before the paternity could be established, some other priests in the Archdiocese had to be tested since they admitted to sexual relations with the same lay minister (evidently, she was quite the penitent). Gregory’s action in blatantly disregarding the last wishes of a devout parishioner was just another in a long line of betrayals. And he just didn’t get it.
So, fast forward eight years or so and we see that, in Gregory’s case, a leopard doesn’t change its spots. There were a number of ways that Gregory could have turned the situation into a positive thing. He could have gotten off his keister and gone to greet the President. He could have asked the President and his wife into the Basilica for a few moments of silent prayer. (From the recent pictures in the news, he evidently has no problems with Nancy Pelosi participating in mass.) He could have even reminded the President that his sometimes fiery rhetoric should be tempered.
Instead, Gregory took the cheap way out. Hiding behind the facade of his “holy office,” he became just another Trump critic, no different than any of the Democratic establishment or Washington media. With just a few short sentences he became no better than the Pharisees and Herodians that we read about in the Bible.
When this pandemic lifts, my wife and I will be back at Sunday morning mass. As is our custom, we’ll go early in order to say the Rosary; and then silently reflect on what faces us, and our Nation. However, one person that we’ll be happy to ignore is Archbishop Wilton Gregory.
Published in General
As the saying goes, “Not my circus, not my monkeys,” but I do feel for you. I see several other “religious” leaders from various sects/denominations/etc. makings statements that are not terribly wise.
I’m a devout Christian, although I’m not Catholic. And that pisses ME off.
The Protestant Reformation was partially due to a difficult egomaniac not knowing his place. But it was partially due to crap like this…
I grew up in the Chicago Catholic Church. My parish was St Philip Neri, one of the wealthiest and the Monsignor was Father Parker who had been an accountant before the priesthood and was a very good businessman. He was a good friend of Cardinal Stritch who had given him the #1 Illinois license plate for his limousine. I went through Catholic schools, graduating from St Leo High School. I had a few bad experiences with Christian Brothers in high school, one in particular. He, for some reason I never figured out, took a dislike and, among other things told me that he would not write a recommendation to the U of Chicago, which he considered “godless.” Maybe he did not like m e seeing him at the beach with no sign of his clerical status.
We had a few gay brothers but they were harmless. We knew enough to not be alone with them after class. One of the parish priests wrote children’s books and was a bit odd but we tolerated that. I later got to see some of Father Greeley and enjoyed some of his novels. In fact, my sister used to rent a cottage at Grand Beach , a favorite Chicago Irish summer place in Michigan. The beach where her kids played was near Father Greeley’s cottage and he would sometimes be there videotaping the kids. His most famous book was “The Cardinal Sins,” but it was fiction, of course.
I gradually drifted away from the Church. I did serve Mass the last time in college when the altar boys did not show up one day. The Catholic Church seems to have drifted away from its members in the recent past. It’s not quite as bad as the Episcopal Church, the topic of jokes at Babylon Bee, but it is in no shape to be criticizing Trump.
https://babylonbee.com/news/pelosi-rips-up-bible
https://babylonbee.com/news/episcopalians-confused-by-strange-book-trump-brought-to-church
I love the Bee.
I am a Catholic, but it doesn’t surprise me when Catholic priests and Bishops beclown themselves and smear the faith by their actions. They are not by any means infallible. They are mostly products of the same marxist/atheist education culture the rest of us are, even at Catholic Universities.
I am a cradle Catholic. Catholic educated K-12. Studied theology in college. Considered priesthood at some point. I will be a Catholic till I die. Wish the Church could say the same.
Have you read this book ? It explains a good deal.
https://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Good-Men-Liberals-Corruption/dp/1621574261/
I’m a cradle Catholic here in Portland, Oregon. We are blessed with a fine Archbishop who regularly celebrates the extraordinary form of the mass and we are not short on priests. He lives at the Cathedral in relatively modest housing.
This sort of thing is so tiresome. So many bishops are firebrands about politics (always supporting the party of abortion), but pussy cats when it comes to liturgical/ doctrinal and other abuses. Catholics who know their history, know that bad bishops and popes unfortunately happen. We do not put our faith in men, but in Christ’s promise that the gates of hell shall not prevail.
P.S. During these troubled times it would be wonderful to go to mass at my parish, St Patricks.
I can hardly stand the TDS from these bishops with their lavish living and pedophilia. Every cent I give them is grates on me.
I went to high school with Cardinal Donald Werle. Boy did he let me down.
I think the Archbishop had some exaggerated information when he made the statement. Trump was in a no win situation. It’s not easy to condemn the rioters and the cops while supporting the protesters. I’m pretty sure Gregory’s instincts are on the left, but let’s hope he’s more restrained in his public statements in the future. Yes, I didn’t care for it either.
I wrote two posts on Archbishop Gregory just over a year ago (here and here). His appointment as archbishop of DC was a slap in the face to the faithful. And, as Phil Lawler wrote at the time: “The appointment of Archbishop Gregory is “safe” because the only people who are upset are the people who will be ignored.” That is still the case.
I will take one issue with your description of the Church’s problems: the “pedophilia” scandal is more accurately a scandal of homosexual predation – and Archbishop Gregory is linked to a long line of these predators.
I find it baffling and reprehensible that men like Gregory are priests and archbishops in the Church.
As far as the homosexual issue with the priests (as opposed to pedophilia), the book I lionked to above has a long account of what happened to the seminaries in the 60s.
I’ve been reflecting on our senior military leadership, present and former. Your comment applies to them as well. The rest of us really is almost every single American, now that this leftist indoctrination has extended down to pre-K.
I try to afford bishops the same respect I afford all people. No matter how habitually wrong and destructive their behavior, I will listen and hope they surprise me. And if the majority of what one says is garbage, perhaps there is some grain of truth and beauty that can yet be embraced.
I will gladly pray for an end to racism, but grate at the suggestion that it is a common problem in modern America aside from the anti-white bigotry promoted daily by Democrats and enshrined in various Affirmative Action programs.
The problem with leaders in the church is that they come with authority and are far more likely to lead others astray with what they say (as opposed to you and I).
They need to be held accountable beyond just praying for them.
I am not Catholic, and had not seen the Archbishop’s comments, but I had a reaction similar to yours when the Episcopalian hierarchy vocally objected to President Trump’s walk across the street to the fire-damaged Episcopal church building: Even if you think the president is using your church’s facility for a photo op, you have an opportunity to bring the light of the Holy Spirit to the circumstance. By merely denouncing the president and his actions you just join an undifferentiated chorus of voices.
The perverts, deviants and crooks have successfully relied upon the gutlessness of those who see themselves as bureaucrats or PR managers for a fund-raiding operation rather than spiritual leaders. Political correctness as a shield was also a major gift to the bad guys. The enemies of the hierarchy are the boat-rockers, the simplistic rubes who actually believe and try to practice their faith.
The current pope seems especially reluctant to root this out. In addition my my disappointment in his first encyclical, the fact that Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga was given a prominent role was a clue that this was gonna be bad.
Cardinal Maradiaga is a real jewel. He fiercely protected his pervert auxiliary bishop and, adding anti-semitism to the mix, once told a reporter that the Church’s pedophilia crisis was overblown because Jews own all the newspapers and wanted to distract from Israeli abuses of Palestinians. He “mishandled” a hell of lot of money that was diverted and is now missing. As a leader in the Vatican’s new climate change wokeness, he reached out to the Potsdam Institute which is not just home to über-alarmists but a last refuge of “population bomb” anti-human theorists that previous popes opposed.
Government, universities, churches, media… gotta give the devil credit for some extensive hard work. We need reform less than we need amputations to save what little is not yet diseased.
At least, we can publicly admonish them (preferably after private correction, leading to the clergyman’s public apology). Nobody likes to be shamed or accused publicly. YouTube and other social media can be powerful tools for good (or evil).
Why do Christians promote leftism? Leftism wishes to replace Christianity with the state.
Best question of the week, at least.
This is, I think, a perpetual problem in any human-run institution – periods of decadence and degradation, followed by periods of cleansing and renewal. And any heirarchical structure is going to attract to itself, or tempt those already within, to abuses and corruptions, to personal aggrandizement, and to conflating their own desires and passions with those of the organization.
And within any Christian church you will find, even absent these other corruptions, people honestly believing that this action or that action is more closely hewing to the teachings and commandments of Jesus, and so some such people will be more animated by social work, while others through prayer, while others through private action. The dangers always come when people see their own talents and drives for a particular type of service as ultimately more “valuable” than those of others – the social worker who thinks everyone should be a social worker, and so forth.
Ultimately, therefore, I think this is at its core a problem of leadership – there simply hasn’t been good leadership from the papacy, at least not of the right sort to rein in guys like this, for several generations. JPII you could say seriously had his work cut out for him on other fronts, but I think (and we can really only say this in retrospect) he tended to turn a blind eye towards matters like this. Benedict resigned too quickly to really fix things, and well, now…
Because many of the core concerns of leftists do overlap with the duties of Christians. I see liberal Christians all the time meanwhile wonder how one can be a selfish capitalist and still be a Christian too. At either extreme, Left or Right, one can find plenty of idols that subvert the Christian message.
It’s rather a tightrope to walk because Christians ultimately have to place Christ above politics, and remember where their real loyalties lie.
As usual, you are spot on. I read sometime ago that in the early 60s, one in five Americans belonged to one of the seven largest mainline Protestant churches (United Methodist, Evangelical Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopal, American Baptist, United Church of Christ, and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)). By 2012, it was less than one in fifteen. I suspect that today it is even lower. (Of course, many of these folks may have decided to switch to independent Evangelical or Pentecostal churches)
In my teens, I attended a Methodist Church but after I returned from military service in 1968 I began to notice changes, particularly an effort (by a single individual) to purge “Onward Christian Soldiers” from the Methodist Hymnal. Methodist leadership appeared to be thoroughly cowed and completely capitulated to this person.
It was things like this that caused my drift from religion until my conversion to Catholicism. There are some things that I disagree with (and you mentioned some of them) in the Church but, at least, the Church stands for something.
As a Catholic, I am loath to comment on other religions; as one commenter (above) so succinctly stated, “not my circus; not my monkeys”. However, George Will (who I do not like, in the slightest) made an excellent point with his comment on the Episcopal Church, “The Episcopal Church’s leadership is latitudinarian – tolerant to the point of incoherence… The Episcopal Church once was America’s upper crust at prayer. Today it is “progressive” politics cloaked – very thinly- in piety.”
As a former Episcopalian (but one in my heart), I approve this message.
I have a friend who lives to say derogatory things about the Episcopal Church which is forgivable because he is funny. He says the Royal Shakespearean Liturgical Society in America was founded on the precept “Justification by Taste Alone.” Adherence to PC is not an improvement.
LOL! I appreciate it.
Up until a few years back, I had always thought of West Point grads as hard-eyed Civil Engineering majors and Naval Academy grads as thoughtful Electrical Engineering and Nuclear Propulsion types. Then, just as a goof, I took a close look at the catalogs for both institutions.
I was greatly surprised that one institution offers a major in English and the other offers a major in Sociology. For the life of me, I cannot understand this. Granted, we want well rounded officers coming out of the academies. We need officers with superior communication skills and an ability to understand our society.
However, fool that I am, I want our Army officers spending the majority of their time studying Scipio Africanus and Clausewitz, not Keats and Shelley. I want future Navy officers studying Alfred Mahan and Julian Corbett not Emil Dirkem and Max Weber.
What is the utility of cadets majoring in social sciences? Again, two or three courses in English and the equivalent in Sociology might be useful; but a major? I admit that a major in Psychology might be useful for a career in the S5/G5 areas and certainly in Psyops but not for war fighting. For the other areas it seems to me to be a formula for making a breed of officers that are fit only for navel-gazing, or formulating social policies. We have more than enough of those type of officers now.
And why do we have so many civilian instructors at the three academies now; especially radical civilian instructors? This problem was brought to light in James Hasson’s book, Stand Down: “A case in point is an academic article titled “Dinner and a Conversation: Transgender Integration at West Point and Beyond” published by West Point sociology professor Morton G Ender and four coauthors in the journal Social Sciences in March 2017.”
In enlisted jargon, WTF? If a cadet wants a major in the social sciences then they have their choice of hundreds of other universities. The academies should not be educating them. Bottom line: if you think our senior leadership is hosed up now; just wait until this current crop of cadets goes into the 0-6 and 0-7 ranks.
As for the Catholic Church, we’re still trying to overcome the damage wrought by the takeover of the seminaries by the “Lavender Mafia”. Don’t even get me started on this one…