By Judie Brown
Wilton Gregory, of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, was recently hailed by the media for becoming America’s first black Catholic cardinal. His elevation to the post of cardinal came as a shock to many of us, but then again, we are living in strange times.
Gregory, for those unaware, is a controversial prelate whose actions have distressed some of us and caused us to wonder just what is wrong with many of the current batch of Catholic bishops in our nation. Though called to be our shepherds, many of them have become slaves to political correctness—a term most recently referred to as wokeness.
This is in direct contrast to the role of a shepherd in the Roman Catholic Church. As a shepherd, a man should strive “to build up in communion the one and only Body of Christ until it reaches full maturity.”
But Gregory has taken a different path. He has devoted himself to honoring wayward Catholics, including folks like Nancy Pelosi and former disgraced cardinal Theodore McCarrick.
Gregory has defended Black Lives Matter, insulted President Donald Trump and his wife, and most recently declared that he will not deny the Eucharist to pro-abortion Catholic Joseph Biden.
In a recent interview, Gregory defended his decision regarding Biden, saying:
“The kind of relationship that I hope we will have is a conversational relationship where we can discover areas where we can cooperate that reflect the social teachings of the church, knowing full well that there are some areas where we won’t agree,” the cardinal-designate said. “They are areas where the church’s position is very clear,” particularly its opposition to the president-elect’s support for legal abortion.
In deciding when to collaborate and when to criticize, he said, “I hope that I don’t highlight one over the other.”
Frankly, these words reveal the Cardinal’s problem with truth in a way that is mind-numbing. Clearly Gregory is all about relationship building, even when it means denying the truth that Biden spits in the face of Christ when he arrogantly receives the body of Christ while continuing to defend the murder of millions of our fellow brothers and sisters prior to birth.
Abortion is not debatable. Perhaps the Cardinal needs to revisit Catholic teaching as stated in the Catechism: “Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.”
What is there about this teaching that has escaped the Cardinal’s mind?
Perhaps Gregory should attempt to comprehend these words in order to remind himself of the reasons why Biden’s 47-year public support for killing the preborn is a sin:
Abortion isn’t about reproductive rights. It isn’t about healthcare. It is about people. Those people have bodies. And those bodies go somewhere after they have been poisoned, dismembered and suctioned into bloody slurry. Where do they go? Philosophers have asked through the ages: Where do we go after we die? With abortion, the question we need to ask is similar: Where do they go after we kill them?
Indeed!
While some ask how Catholics will respond to this latest Wilton Gregory fiasco, I ask how God will respond. Where does the soul of a man or woman who willfully supports this killing go after death?
As we reflect on this latest Cardinal Wilton Gregory travesty, we pray for all those who will be misled and duped by his words and actions.
Bishops, after all, are human beings, capable of error. But they are also successors to the Apostles. As successors, they
have the responsibility of preaching the Gospel, administering the sacraments, and guiding Christ’s flock. The Bishop is the principal teacher in the faith community. As such, he must be devoted to preaching the Gospel constantly. That preaching aims at illuminating to the faithful what they must believe and put into practice, while steering them away from every error that is life-threatening to the spirit. The Bishop’s teaching is called to embody a powerful proclamation of the reasons for hope.
Cardinal Gregory, are you listening?