Pope Francis, the leader of all Roman Catholics, announced on Sunday, October 25, 2020, the appointment of 13 new cardinals, including the black Archbishop of Washington (USA) Wilton Gregory, as reported by The Washington Post.
He and the rest of the elect will be elevated to the rank of cardinal on November 28, after which Gregory will enter the college of cardinals and for the next eight years will have the right to vote for the next pope.
Wilton Gregory is not the first black cardinal, but previously only representatives of Africa received this title.
He became the Archbishop of Washington in 2019, and his task was to restore the trust of the Catholic society, greatly undermined by pedophile scandals in which two of his predecessors were involved.
Prior to that, Gregory had been the Archbishop of Atlanta for over 10 years, where he became infamous as a "progressive" cleric, actively supporting homosexuals.
Against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter protest movement unfolding in the United States, Gregory has repeatedly condemned the rhetoric of President Donald Trump, accusing the White House of increasing the split in society.
Source: SPZH News (Russian)