Strong defense of Pope Benedict from Archbishop Gregory

April 13, 2010

Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, who was president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops when the Dallas charter was adopted in 2002, offered a strong defense of Pope Benedict in an April 12 interview with Vatican Radio. Under the Dallas charter-- officially known as the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People-- all priests credibly accused of the sexual abuse of minors are permanently suspended from ministry.

Asked about his relations with the Roman Curia at the time, Archbishop Gregory responded:

The curial officials asked difficult questions, as well they should have, in order to fulfil their responsibilities from a variety of perspectives in Church life, but I must say that the one individual – if I had to cite one – who seemed to grasp the severity of the issue, to be most supportive of the direction that we were taking, and to encourage us to complete the work that we had begun, was Cardinal Ratzinger.

“In the course of my three years as president [of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops], I made 13 different trips to Rome, and I almost always had a private meeting with Cardinal Ratzinger,” Archbishop Gregory continued. “H[is] was, without a doubt, the most supportive voice at the table, and [he] always seemed to possess the greatest comprehension of the seriousness and the significance of reacting and responding with a strong action.”

 

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Further information:

• Setting the Record Straight: Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta Discusses Role of then-Cardinal Ratzinger in Responding to Clerical Sexual Abuse Crisis in US Church (Vatican Radio)