December 10, 2004

Archbishop Is Appointed for Atlanta

ATLANTA (GA)
The New York Times

By ARIEL HART

Published: December 10, 2004

ATLANTA, Dec. 9 - Pope John Paul II has named Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, who led the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops through the sexual abuse scandal, to head the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

Bishop Gregory, who is currently bishop of the Diocese of Belleville, Ill., will be installed as archbishop in January, the archdiocese said.

Under Bishop Gregory's leadership, the bishops' conference adopted measures in 2002 to deal with the scandal, including mandates to remove any priest from the ministry who had molested a child, to report child sexual abuse to public authorities, and to create a structure to ensure church leaders' accountability.

The promotion can be viewed as a vote of confidence, said the Rev. Thomas J. Reese, editor in chief of America, a Jesuit magazine.

Posted by kshaw at December 10, 2004 09:00 AM