Wilton Gregory, the new Catholic leader in Washington, D.C., and the only black archbishop in the nation, said on Friday that President Donald Trump is “diminishing our national life,” by attacking non-white members of Congress.
“I have stressed that I am a pastor and fellow disciple of Jesus, not a political leader,” Gregory, the former archbishop of Atlanta, said in a statement to the Catholic Standard. “There are, however, sometimes, when a pastor and a disciple of Jesus is called to speak out to defend the dignity of all God’s children.”
Although Gregory did not mention Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., by name, he did express his “sadness and deep regret for the ways our Maryland neighbors in Baltimore have been denigrated in recent public attacks.”
Trump said last Saturday that Baltimore is a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” where “no human being would want to live.”
“Our faith teaches us that respect for people of every race, religion, gender, ethnicity and background are requirements of fundamental human dignity and basic decency,” Gregory said. “This include newcomers to our country, people who have differing political views and people who may be different from us. Comments which dismiss, demean or demonize any of God’s children are destructive of the common good and a denial of our national pledge of ‘liberty and justice for all.’”
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