Editor's Desk: Thanks, Bishop Gregory

By Michael F. Flach
HERALD Editor
(From the issue of 11/25/04)

Belleville Bishop Wilton D. Gregory last week concluded his three-year term as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He will be succeeded in that position by Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane. One could argue that Bishop Gregory’s tenure as president was the most challenging in the history of the Church in the United States.

"When I began my term as your president," Bishop Gregory said in his emotional farewell address, "none of us could have foreseen the extraordinary challenges that would face the Church in this county at the dawn of this new millennium. It is my deepest hope that the ways we have met and continue to meet those challenges fulfill in some small manner the Holy Father's call for us to seize this opportunity to bring about ‘a holier priesthood, a holier episcopate, and a holier Church.’"

One of his most difficult jobs was convincing the pope and other Vatican officials of the seriousness of the abuse crisis in early 2002 when many still thought it was being exaggerated by the secular media in Boston. It is hard to fathom the amount of time he spent working with the National Review Board, the Vatican and his fellow bishops in dealing with this crisis.

"We have been through some very difficult times together in the past three years," Bishop Gregory said. "Those demanding moments were more often, thank God, blessed with an outpouring of God's grace which we gratefully received and thereby were sustained in our unity in Christ. There were moments, however, and there may be some that are still present, when we perhaps did not reach as eagerly as we should have for the grace that the Lord was offering us.

"As Church leaders, you will realize that there can be no unity of praxis without an underlying consensus, and this, of course, can only be attained through frank dialogue and informed discussions, based on sound theological and pastoral principles. Solutions to difficult questions emerge when they are thoroughly and honestly examined, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit."

Bishop Gregory expressed gratitude for the support he received from his fellow bishops during the last three years. "They have been an extraordinary time for the Church in our country, and you have given me extraordinary support," he said. "Our conference tends to move more slowly than the world around us. This is often an advantage, giving time for an issue to mature and for us to grasp all sides of questions that may not be obvious at first. However, in an experience such as we had in 2002 and much of the two years following, the need to act with deliberation but also swiftly was clear."

He said he found himself faced with the need to make decisions and to take steps that exceeded the actions of his predecessors. He apologized for the mistakes and missteps that he made and asked the bishops and the members of the Church to forgive him. As conference president, Bishop Gregory’s advice and fraternal support were sought by other bishops who faced difficult situations in their dioceses. "I hope you found me as great a support in those moments as I found each of you," he said.

Bishop Gregory earlier announced he will take a brief sabbatical before resuming his full-time duties in Belleville. The Church in the U.S. still has many hurdles to face in connection with the sex abuse crisis. Repercussions will be felt in some dioceses foe generations to come. But Bishop Gregory deserves our admiration and gratitude for the inspired leadership he exhibited during a challenging period. — M.F.F.

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