Pope Francis has reportedly asked Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory to be the new Archbishop of Washington, according to the Catholic News Agency. If Gregory accepts the role, he’ll be filling a hole in D.C.’s Catholic leadership—the District has technically been without an archbishop since the resignation of Cardinal Donald Wuerl last October amid questions about how he’s handled sexual abuse cases in the church’s past.

The Archdiocese of Washington has not confirmed the announcement. In an emailed statement, an archdiocese spokesperson tells DCist that leadership in D.C. is “awaiting an announcement from the Holy See and will have no further comment.”

Sources tell CNA that a formal announcement could be coming as soon as next week, but that the news isn’t set in stone just yet. Gregory is 71 years old, and bishops normally retire at 75, though they do sometimes extend their service past that age. One unnamed bishop told CNA that Gregory’s age could dissuade him from accepting the pope’s offer.

Gregory would be D.C.’s first African-American archbishop, CNA reports. He is also expected to become the first African-American clergyman to gain the title of cardinal, second in rank only to the pope.

Gregory’s appointment would come at a time of serious controversy in the D.C. Catholic church. The chain of scandals started last June, when the Vatican suspended former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who had served as archbishop of Washington from 2001 to 2006 and was still well-liked and well-respected in the region, from his position in the Catholic clergy. McCarrick had been credibly accused of abusing a 16-year-old altar boy in New York in 1971 and 1972. Later, yet more accusations from emerged against McCarrick from both child and adult victims.

Then, a Pennsylvania grand jury report revealed that when he was a bishop in that state, Cardinal Donald Wuerl had sometimes worked to reassign alleged sexual abusers in the clergy to different parishes instead of reporting them to authorities. Pressure soon mounted for Wuerl to step down from his position, and in October the Vatican accepted his resignation, but asked him to stay on and unofficially lead the Washington archdiocese until the pope named his successor. Later, the Washington Post revealed that Cardinal Wuerl also had some knowledge of the allegations against Cardinal McCarrick decades ago, despite public statements to the contrary.

On top of all this, a priest in a Columbia Heights parish was recently arrested on several allegations of sexual abuse of children and adults in his congregation.

Previously:
Pressure Mounts For Cardinal Wuerl To Resign In Wake Of Grand Jury Report On Sex Abuse
Pope Accepts Resignation Of Washington’s Archbishop, Cardinal Wuerl
Top D.C. Clergyman Denied Knowing About Sexual Abuse Allegations Against A Former Archbishop. Turns Out, He Did
Former D.C. Archbishop Faces New Allegations Of Sexual Abuse