Bishop Wilton Gregory named new archbishop of Atlanta
By The Associated Press
Posted 10:25AM on Thursday, December 9, 2004
<p>Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, who was president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops during the height of the clergy molestation crisis, has been appointed by Pope John Paul II to serve as Archbishop of Atlanta, the archdiocese announced Thursday.</p><p>Gregory, who had been serving as bishop in Belleville, Ill., will become Atlanta's sixth archbishop.</p><p>"I welcome the opportunity to serve the people of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. I am deeply grateful to the Holy Father for his confidence and support," Gregory said.</p><p>He succeeds Archbishop John F. Donoghue, who is resigning for reason of age. He is 76.</p><p>Gregory, 57, was the first black president of the bishops conference when he was elected in November 2001. At the time, his election was seen by black Catholics as long-awaited recognition of their presence in the church.</p><p>But scandal soon eclipsed his historic elevation to leadership.</p><p>A week before his term expired as leader of the conference, Gregory had said the pressure of guiding the church through the height of the sex abuse crisis "drove me to my knees" spiritually.</p><p>Russell Shaw, a former spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and a writer for Our Sunday Vistor magazine, said the appointment was a recognition of Gregory's leadership abilities, throughout the crisis and in his own diocese.</p><p>Some church observers had wondered whether any Vatican displeasure with how the bishops handled the abuse scandal would hinder Gregory's church career.</p><p>"These have been three rocky years," Shaw said. "But the point is Archbishop Gregory not only stuck it out, but he stuck it out with grace and courage and a great deal of skill."</p><p>Gregory led the bishops through nothing short of a revolution in their approach to abuse. They now have a binding policy on how to respond to allegations that includes barring offenders from church work and a national lay watchdog panel to help enforce the plan.</p><p>Even so, Gregory was forced to handle warring factions: victims of priest abuse who said the policy is too weak, and priests who consider it too draconian.</p><p>"While we wish he had been more successful in prodding his brother bishops toward real reform and prevention efforts, it's clear he has a better track record than most American prelates on the sexual abuse issue," said David Clohessy, the national director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "The church was fortunate to have such a media savvy leader at the helm when the molestation cover up scandal finally broke into the public view."</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>Archdiocese of Atlanta: www.archatl.com/</p>