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BISHOPS (UPDATED) Dec-9-2004 (950 words) With photos. xxxn
Bishop Gregory named to Atlanta; shrine rector to be W.Va. bishop
By Patricia Zapor
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., has been named by Pope John Paul II to head the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
He will replace Archbishop John F. Donoghue, whose retirement was accepted by the pope Dec. 9.
The retirement of Bishop Bernard W. Schmitt of Wheeling-Charleston, W.Va., also was announced. His successor will be Msgr. Michael J. Bransfield, 61, a Philadelphia priest who currently serves as rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.
Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, apostolic nuncio to the United States, made the announcements in Washington.
Archbishop Gregory, 57, completed a three-year term as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in November.
Archbishop Donoghue, 76, has headed the Atlanta Archdiocese since 1993. Bishop Schmitt, also 76, has been bishop of Wheeling-Charleston since 1989.
Archbishop Gregory was president of the USCCB during a turbulent time for the U.S. church, as the bishops dealt with the clergy sexual abuse crisis. It was perhaps one of the most difficult periods in the conference's history.
Under his leadership, the bishops adopted a set of norms for handling accusations of abuse by priests and other church personnel; established a lay board to review how cases have been handled; commissioned an extensive analysis of the factors involved in the crisis; and created a staff office to oversee those efforts.
When he was first elected in 2001, much of the attention to Bishop Gregory focused on the fact that he was the first African-American to head the conference. One of nine active U.S. black bishops, he will be the third African-American to be named archbishop of Atlanta. His installation is scheduled for Jan. 17, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Archbishop Donoghue, a native of Washington, was named to head the Atlanta Archdiocese after Archbishop James P. Lyke died of cancer late in 1992, just 18 months after his installation.
The tenure of the previous Atlanta archbishop also ended abruptly. Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, a Josephite priest who was a Washington auxiliary bishop, became archbishop in 1988, only to resign in July 1990 after it was revealed he had had an affair with a woman.
Before his appointment to Atlanta, Archbishop Donoghue, who holds a canon law degree from The Catholic University of America, had been head of the Diocese of Charlotte, N.C., for nine years, after serving as a priest in the Washington Archdiocese since his ordination on June 4, 1955.
He made national news this summer when he and Bishops Robert J. Baker of Charleston, S.C., and Peter J. Jugis of Charlotte issued a joint letter saying Catholic politicians or candidates who support keeping abortion legal were barred from receiving Communion in any Catholic church in their dioceses.
The Aug. 4 letter said the ban can only be lifted after the politician's "public disavowal of former support for procured abortion" and "with the knowledge and consent of the local bishop."
Archbishop Donoghue has a long history of active involvement in fighting abortion, leading events in Atlanta on the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision and participating in marches and rallies in Georgia, Washington and North Carolina.
While in Charlotte, he oversaw a massive expansion and reorganization of the diocese's school system and created its first diocesan newspaper, the Catholic News and Herald.
During Bishop Schmitt's tenure in West Virginia, he was among the first bishops to establish diocesan policies for dealing with sexual abuse accusations. His 1993 policy emphasized removing accused offenders from their positions, reporting accusations to civil authorities and providing counseling and other aid to victims.
He also launched an innovative vocations recruitment campaign using more than 160 billboards with slogans including "Good Guys Do Wear Black" and "Some White Collar Jobs Are More Challenging Than Others."
Bishop-designate Bransfield was born in Philadelphia on Sept. 8, 1943. A graduate of Philadelphia Catholic schools, he studied for the priesthood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook, Pa., before his ordination on May 15, 1971. He holds a master's degree in philosophy from The Catholic University of America.
After serving at St. Albert Parish in Huntington Valley, Pa., and chairing the religion department at Lansdale Catholic High School from 1973 to 1980, he became assistant director and master of ceremonies at the national shrine in 1980. He served as director of finance there from 1982 to 1986, when he was named rector.
His episcopal ordination has been scheduled for Feb. 22, the feast of the Chair of St. Peter.
Archbishop Gregory is a native of Chicago, born Dec. 7, 1947. Though not raised as a Catholic, his parents enrolled him at St. Carthage Catholic School for the sixth grade. Within weeks he had decided he wanted to be a Catholic and by the end of the school year he had been baptized, made his first Communion and been confirmed.
He graduated from Quigley Preparatory Seminary South, Niles College of Loyola University and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary. After his ordination May 9, 1973, he obtained a doctorate in sacred liturgy from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome.
Then-Father Gregory served in the Archdiocese of Chicago in various positions before being named an auxiliary bishop there in 1983. He was installed as head of the Diocese of Belleville, Ill., next to the Archdiocese of St. Louis, on Feb. 10, 1994.
The Archdiocese of Atlanta includes 69 counties in the northern part of Georgia. It has about 371,000 Catholics in a total population of nearly 6 million.
The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston covers the entire state of West Virginia. It has about 100,000 Catholics in a population of 1.8 million.
END
Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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