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Archbishop Wilton Gregory, center, joins a procession during his installation as the seventh archbishop of Washington at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on May 21, 2019, in Washington.
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Wilton Gregory is installed as the new archbishop of Washington

Matt McClain/The Washington Post via AP

Wilton Gregory is installed as the new archbishop of Washington

WASHINGTON — The Rev. Wilton D. Gregory was installed Tuesday as the seventh archbishop of Washington following a pair of high-profile sexual abuse cases that ensnared his two predecessors.

The 71-year-old Archbishop Gregory, previously the archbishop of Atlanta, becomes the first African American to lead the Washington archdiocese.

Archbishop Gregory replaces Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who resigned in October amid allegations that he covered up multiple abuse scandals while serving as a bishop in Pittsburgh.

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Cardinal Wuerl had replaced Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was defrocked by the pope after a Vatican-backed investigation concluded he sexually abused children and adults during his time as a priest in New York and a bishop in New Jersey. It was the first time a cardinal had been dismissed from the priesthood for abuse.

Despite his resignation, Cardinal Wuerl remains in good standing in the church and served in a caretaker role while the search for his replacement was conducted. On Tuesday, he gave the opening remarks introducing Archbishop Gregory.

“All of us here recognize his many gifts and welcome him as a faith-filled pastor,” Cardinal Wuerl said. “It is clear that Pope Francis sends us a bishop attuned with the signs of the times and endowed with great pastoral ability.”

Archbishop Gregory, in his remarks, directly addressed the recent scandals.

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“We stand at a defining moment for this local faith community,” he said. “Our recent sorrows and shame do not define us. Rather they serve to chasten and strengthen us.”

Calling his installation “an indescribably humbling moment,” Archbishop Gregory pledged to create an open and inclusive environment.

“I want to be a welcoming shepherd,” he said. “We begin a journey together on undeniably choppy seas.”

Archbishop Gregory is credited for his leadership of the U.S. church during a moment of crisis. As president of the U.S. bishops conference, he persuaded church leaders to adopt toughened penalties for abusers in 2002.

In Atlanta, Archbishop Gregory was embroiled briefly in a scandal of his own in 2014 after the archdiocese used $2.2 million in donations to buy and renovate a swank new home for the archbishop. The mansion was later sold, and Archbishop Gregory apologized following an outcry from parishioners.

A native of Chicago, Archbishop Gregory takes over a relatively small archdiocese that has always held outsized importance due to its location in the nation’s capital. Washington archbishops are traditionally elevated to cardinals; if that happens, Archbishop Gregory would become the first African American cardinal.

First Published: May 21, 2019, 9:43 p.m.

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Archbishop Wilton Gregory, center, joins a procession during his installation as the seventh archbishop of Washington at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on May 21, 2019, in Washington.  (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via AP)
Matt McClain/The Washington Post via AP
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