Pope Gregory was not condemning the Book of Maccabees.
Saint Jerome was describing the beliefs of the Jews. He called those who accused him of holding those beliefs personally, “fools and slanderers.” If, as Protestants argue without evidence, he insisted he was misinterpreted only for fear of being considered a heretic by the Catholic church, that only all the more establishes that the Catholic church permitted no dissent on the books of the canon.
Athanasius included among his list of books not to be read, the Book of Esther, but includes as canonical the Book of Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah. His canon is not the Catholic canon, but is neither the Protestant canon.
The truth is that for hundreds of years, the canon of the Old Testament was volatile. But for more than 1000 years, the first and second Book of Maccabees was published in every bible, and every Church, Roman or Orthodox, or Oriental, or Coptic, or Thomistic included them.
The only grain of truth to the notion that the Catholic Church “added” books to the bible at the Council of Trent is this:
Certain churches used the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah (in Greek, a single book called Esdras.) Others used a shortened version of Esdras, redacted in Greek, which became known as Greek Esdras. The Council of Trent found that there was nothing doctrinal to be found in the Greek Esdras that was not found in Ezra and Nehemiah, so did not include Greek Esdras separately as a book which must be defended as a source of doctrine.
Pope Gregory said Maccabees is not canonical. Saint Jerome said they are not canonical, and said that the CHURCH did not use them for the confirmation of the faith. No mention of the jews. Your quote of Jerome applied to an abuse in a statement of his preface in Daniel. My quotes are two separate ones. That Athanasius did not share the Catholic canon, and was more protestant than Catholic, was the point.
Fact is, there was never any question of Maccabees, insomuch that it itself tells us it is not an inspired work. Why not take it at its word? Same for Wisdom, which contradicts the scripture no one doubts. Josephus said that only 22 books made up the canon, and all the others are not due to the failure of the succession of prophets. Those who study it for themselves are of a greater value than a thousand dead Roman assertions.