Donald William Wuerl | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington | |
 Wuerl in 2015 | |
| Archdiocese | Washington |
| Appointed | May 16, 2006 |
| Installed | June 22, 2006 |
| Retired | October 12, 2018 |
| Predecessor | Theodore McCarrick |
| Successor | Wilton Daniel Gregory |
| Other post(s) | Cardinal-Priest of San Pietro in Vincoli Chancellor of the Catholic University of America |
| Previous post(s) |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | December 17, 1966 by Francis Frederick Reh |
| Consecration | January 6, 1986 by John Paul II, Agostino Casaroli, and Bernardin Gantin |
| Created cardinal | November 20, 2010 by Benedict XVI |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Donald William Wuerl November 12, 1940 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Motto | Thy kingdom come |
| Styles of Donald William Wuerl | |
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| Reference style | |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
Ordination history of Donald Wuerl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Donald William Wuerl (born November 12, 1940) is an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Washington from 2006 to 2018. He previously served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle (1986 to 1987) and Bishop of Pittsburgh (1988 to 2006). Pope Benedict XVI made him a cardinal in 2010.
Wuerl is widely viewed as a theological moderate, and is well known in the church for his ability to forge consensus between different factions. Questions arose in 2018 of whether Wuerl had adequately dealt with allegations of sexual abuse against clergy under his jurisdiction. A 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report criticized how he handled sexual abuse cases during his time as bishop in Pittsburgh. Wuerl has denied mishandling the cases.
There were additional accusations that Wuerl, despite initially denying it, was aware of sexual abuse accusations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, his predecessor in Washington. On October 12, 2018, Pope Francis accepted Wuerl's resignation as Archbishop of Washington. Wuerl remained in charge of the archdiocese as its apostolic administrator until Francis appointed his successor, Wilton Daniel Gregory, in 2019.