ILLINOIS
The Southern Illinoisan
Posted: Sunday, December 12, 2004 7:19 AM CST
It is with sadness that news was received that Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, who has served as head of the Belleville Diocese, has been re-assigned and will become Atlanta's sixth archbishop. He succeeds Archbishop John F. Donoghue, who is resigning. Pope John Paul II's appointment of Gregory to the Atlanta post was announced Thursday.
The 57-year-old Gregory has become an extremely important figure in the Catholic church. Gregory served as was president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for three years during the height of the clergy molestation crisis. Gregory 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. A week before his term expired as leader of the conference, Gregory said the pressure of guiding the church through the height of the sex abuse crisis "drove me to my knees" spiritually.