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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Catholic church in North Georgia continues to grow, even as it deals with huge challenges — welcoming transplants and immigrants; planning new churches and schools; and reassuring parishioners about reports involving sexual abuse by priests.
The Atlanta archdiocese, according to Archbishop Wilton Gregory, now lists 850,000 Catholics in the territory: 95 parishes in 69 counties, served by 275 priests.
Gregory, 62, recently addressed the growing pains, along with the new scandals, facing the Vatican.
Q: What do you make of the criticisms leveled at the church in the past several months for covering up sexual abuse by priests?
A: I wish you were limited to [only] the last several months. It has taken on a new energy. It’s focused on the way that Rome, the Holy See, has handled these cases on the international level. Eight years ago we were more focused on the cases that faced the bishops of the United States. So it’s a reintroduction of an issue that has now taken on an international dimension.
Q: Is it troubling for people in the clergy stateside to see this constant parade of headlines?
A: Well, of course. First of all, I’m going to start with the Catholic people, the people who attend church and send their kids to Catholic school: This is terribly troubling for them. It reopens some very deeply felt feelings and sentiments of embarrassment, anger, frustration. Our Catholic people want the church to take straightforward, corrective action.
Q: And as for the clergy?
A: It’s embarrassing to our Catholic clergy, to the priests and deacons. The overwhelming majority of these men and women have served faithfully with integrity, generosity and dedication. So to have to once again live under the shadow of fear and embarrassment, that’s a heavy burden for them to bear.
Q: Do Catholics in Atlanta ask frequently about this?
A: Well, it’s not just the Catholics. This is an issue that touches people of goodwill and people of faith and people of no professed faith. And they do ask me, what is the church doing? What more should we be doing? And basically when will it end? When is this going to end?
Q: When do you think it will end?
A: It will end, I believe, when people are convinced that everything that should be done has been done. I think we’re moving in that direction. The people across the country are increasingly convinced that what we did [in 2002] has made the Catholic community perhaps the safest environment for young people of any public institution in the United States.
Q: You reference actions the church took in 2002. What were they?
A: The bishops of the United States established a series of church-law protocols that required us to remove from public office any cleric who had a credible allegation of sexual abuse of minors against them, no matter how far in the past. We also established that priests and deacons and people who work with children would undergo background checks; that we would be open with our people and parishes when things occurred, and that we would undergo annual reviews by an outside investigative and compliance agency.
Q: Was there much of a history of abuse in Atlanta?
A: In the archdiocese, there were a number of priests who had abused young people in the past. I think they were addressed at the time that they were known. Archbishop [Thomas] Donnellan was the archbishop of Atlanta between 1968 and 1988. From all that I can discover in our history, he dealt very directly, swiftly and effectively with cases that were brought to his attention.
Q: It’s rare in my experience to see such criticism directed personally toward the pope. Do you find that shocking?
A: In the history of the church, popes have often been held up for public criticism. They have been criticized by people who disagreed with the teachings of the church. We live in a world where public criticism can be aired and be seen all over the world instantly. And there’s no editorial board for the Internet, no group of people who can say, you know, this hasn’t been properly researched, or this is somewhat skewed. Some of that criticism may be justified. If we’ve done something wrong, we should be held accountable.
Q: You think there’s more examination that needs to be done?
A: I don’t know, because each morning you might [read about] something else. This should be a time for healing and purification for the Catholic church and for other public institutions that have somehow neglected, covered over, excused or denied activities of leaders that have harmed children. The Catholic church should not be looking for excuses to delay or, you know, justify the actions that we should take.
Q: Do you think it is making excuses?
A: No, no, no. That’s not my point. My point is that so often in this same environment you get people saying that the church is no worse than any other institution. Well, the church should be better than most institutions. That’s my point.
Q: Hispanics make up about 51 percent of the Catholics in North Georgia. You wrote recently about immigrants, particularly Latinos, and the need for the church to offer more than just a place to worship.
A: I think the challenge to the church is certainly to be more welcoming to the stranger in our midst. The vast majority of those people who are new to our community are of a Latino background. But there are also people from Haiti, from Asia, from Europe. The challenge is always to welcome those who may be different in terms of language, culture, heritage than the assembly.
Q: In recent years, some bishops have admonished Catholic lawmakers for their stance on abortion, for being pro “abortion rights.” Should the Catholic church get involved in politics of abortion?
A: Abortion is a moral issue. And the bishop of a diocese is the pastor and the moral leader of his people. So wherever that is an issue, he has to speak up. If that situation occurs, where one of the elected officials is a member of the flock, the bishop has to figure out a way of teaching and admonishing that individual. Different bishops approach it differently. And different politicians receive it differently. It certainly has political ramifications, but for the Catholic community it is primarily a moral issue.
Q: What’s your biggest issue that we haven’t touched on?
A: I’m encouraging vocations. We need good, healthy, energetic, joyful Catholic priests. I ordained seven last year. I think I’m going to ordain five this year.
Q: In the fall of 2007, you had surgery for prostate cancer. How are you doing?
A: I’m doing great. I only see the doctor once a year. I have no residual difficulties whatsoever. It has not improved my golf game, but it has not done any historic damage to it either.
