ST. LOUIS (MO)
Duluth News Tribune
By Tim Townsend
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
(KRT) - ST. LOUIS - Belleville, Ill., Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, who guided the nation's Catholic church through the sexual abuse scandal, will now lead one of the country's fastest-growing dioceses.
Pope John Paul II on Thursday appointed Gregory to become the sixth archbishop of Atlanta. The nation's best-known black bishop, he will be installed on Jan. 17 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
In a press conference in Atlanta Thursday afternoon with the man he will replace, Archbishop John F. Donoghue, Gregory expressed his thanks to the people of Belleville.
"I leave the Diocese of Belleville in Illinois with deep gratitude for the support and collaboration of the extraordinary people of that local Church during these past 11 years," he said.
Last month, Gregory finished a three-year term as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Although some of his fellow bishops and even officials inside the Vatican criticized various decisions Gregory made in that role - especially his steadfast support of the zero-tolerance policy for abusive priests - most praised his handling of the worst crisis the American Roman Catholic Church has faced.
Posted by kshaw at December 10, 2004 09:25 AM