CATHOLIC BISHOPS Outgoing chief issues apology

His successor was to be chosen today.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
WASHINGTON -- Bishop Wilton Gregory, outgoing president of the nation's Roman Catholic bishops, apologized today for any mistakes he made as he led the church through the clergy sex abuse crisis. He urged his fellow church leaders to resolve internal differences that have emerged during the scandal.
In his final address as president, Gregory said there were times during the nearly three-year-long crisis when bishops clearly supported each other as they faced unprecedented criticism from the laity and general public. However, there were also moments when the Catholic prelates were divided.
"A strengthened sense of collegiality among ourselves can only redound to the common good of the church in the United States which we tend and love," he said as he opened the fall meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "It will also serve as a very important witness to our beloved nation of how religious and civil discourse can and must take place."
Elections
Gregory, of Belleville, Ill., is ending his three-year term as president. His successor was to be chosen in elections later today.
Gregory did not say specifically what he thought he had done wrong as president, but apologized "for the mistakes and missteps that I have made."
"I hope that you and the members of the church that I love so deeply have been able to forgive me for those," he said. "I also hope that I am a better bishop for having accepted your fraternal correction and for having, with your assistance, recognized how I could have done better."
Tobin in attendance
Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, leader of the Diocese of Youngstown, is attending the meeting through Thursday, a spokeswoman said. He serves on the administrative committee, which plans the conference and its agenda.
Bishop Tobin also is a member of the board of directors of Catholic Relief Services and is chairman of the Committee for Pastoral Practice.
Under Gregory, the bishops adopted a binding policy on how to respond to abuse claims that includes barring offenders from church work. They also formed a national lay watchdog panel to help oversee the plan.
Throughout the changes, Gregory has been caught among warring factions: victims who say the policy is too weak and bishops who consider it draconian; lay people seeking more say in how dioceses are governed and conservatives demanding bishops reassert their authority over the church.
The discipline policy, that the bishops approved in their June 2002 meeting in Dallas, is now undergoing review. Gregory urged his fellow bishops keep working on reforms to restore trust in their leadership.
Marriage initiative
Later in the week, the bishops will consider starting a multiyear initiative to strengthen marriage and hear an update from their task force on how bishops should respond to Catholics in public life who do not follow church teachings.
The issue arose when Democrat John Kerry, a Catholic who backs abortion rights, became his party's nominee for president and St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke said he would withhold the sacrament from the Massachusetts senator.