Archbishop Wilton Gregory is not Cardinal Joseph Tobin. For that reason alone, many conservative-minded Catholics will be relieved to learn of his appointment as Archbishop of Washington, DC.
After the resignation of Washington’s last archbishop, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Tobin was considered the frontrunner to succeed him. That would have made Tobin the chief representative of the Catholic Church in our nation’s capital. The Archbishop of Newark is widely seen as a progressive who answers directly to the Vatican. For that reason, critics doubted whether his reign would see reform on the sex abuse front or lead to any significant action against pro-choice legislators. There would have been a tremendous outcry the moment his appointment was announced.
