Pope names moderate Gregory as Washington, D.C., archbishop

WASHINGTON (AP) — Archbishop Wilton Gregory promised Catholics he would "rebuild your trust" after Pope Francis today named him the new archbishop of Washington, D.C., the archdiocese that has become the epicenter of the clergy sex-abuse crisis in the U.S.

Bishop Gregory, 71, the archbishop of Atlanta, is a moderate and the first African American to lead the Washington archdiocese. He replaces Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who resigned last year after a Pennsylvania grand jury accused him of covering up the abuse.

Bishop Gregory headed the U.S. bishops conference when it adopted a "zero-tolerance" abuse policy in 2002 to respond to the first wave of the scandal. He has run the Atlanta archdiocese since 2005 and is seen as a pastor very much in line with Francis' progressive vision of the church.

"This is obviously a moment fraught with challenges throughout our entire Catholic Church, certainly, but nowhere more so than in this local faith community," Bishop Gregory said at a news conference in Washington, where he was introduced by Cardinal Wuerl. "And as in any family, challenges can only be overcome by a firmly articulated resolve and commitment to do better, to know Christ better, to love Christ better, to serve Christ better. I would be naive not to acknowledge the unique task that awaits us."

Bishop Gregory's appointment was first reported by Catholic News Agency.

It is the third major move by Francis to reshape the U.S. hierarchy, which over the previous two papacies took on a conservative tilt. Francis began elevating more moderate pastors in 2014, when he named Cardinal Blase Cupich as Chicago archbishop and followed up two years later by moving Joseph Tobin to Newark, N.J., and making him a cardinal.