Wilton D. Gregory,
Archbishop of Atlanta

From Archbishop Gregory

Archbishop Gregory's Post Election Comments

Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory joins the U.S. bishops in congratulating President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden. "I offer my prayerful good wishes on this historic occasion. The election of the first African-American President of the United States shows the degree of maturity reached by Americans and, I hope, is a definitive sign of reconciliation," said Archbishop Gregory.

On the important issues facing the United States after the election, Archbishop Gregory stated, "The Catholic Church will continue to challenge and urge the country's leaders to enact laws that respect human life at each stage of its existence. Far longer than the Declaration of Independence, the Catholic Church has placed life first among our rights that are described as inalienable. Our social teaching also supports the just care of the poor, the rights of workers, the dignity of people who immigrate to a new nation, the conservation of the environment; we must assess the very complex economic issues, seek to provide affordable health care for people who do not enjoy that security, and foster the more humane treatment of those who are imprisoned, to list only some of the issues that we now face. We will also speak up for other concerns that cannot be ignored or dismissed because they flow from the very human dignity that we all enjoy as God's children."