By Tom Weber, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Pope John Paul the Second today (Thursday) named Belleville, Ill. bishop Wilton Gregory to be the new Archbishop of Atlanta.
Gregory has been Belleville's bishop for more than a decade (since Feb. 1994). The diocese includes Illinois' 28 southern-most counties.
Gregory became nationally known three years ago, just after becoming President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. That's when the priest sex abuse scandal became national news.
His term as President recently ended, which fueled speculation that he might soon be due for a new appointment in a bigger diocese. But Belleville Diocese spokesman David Spotanski says the speculation wasn't new: "Those rumors have been around since right after he got here.
"He's been so articulate and so upfront a leader throughout his episcopacy that frankly we didn't think we'd have him more than 5 or 6 years when he came to Belleville," Spotanski said.
Gregory will, indeed, be moving to a much bigger flock. Atlanta's archdiocese has about 5,000,000 more people in it, including 263,000 more Catholics. However, Belleville's diocese of 104,000 Catholics represents about 12% of the total population of the diocese, while Atlanta's Catholic population is about 6% of the total population.
In a statement, Gregory said he was grateful to the Pope for the chance to serve in Atlanta, but added "I cannot imagine how I could shepherd better people than those I have found in southern Illinois.
"The people of the Diocese of Belleville will always have a secure place in my heart and prayers. I hope they remember me in theirs."
There's no word on who will be the new Belleville bishop.