"A Brother Among Brothers": Bishops and Priests, Wilton Edition

Greetings from Baltimore -- first and forever, the cradle of the Stateside church... and, today, the backdrop of a significant talk on one of the key issues of this ecclesial moment, especially on these shores over the course of the last decade.

In the first of this year's John Carroll Lectures sponsored by the Charm City church -- all of them dedicated to the Vatican's Year of the Priest -- Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta spoke on the topic of "Bishop-Priest Relationships."

In recent years, the issue might've only made national news twice... but, indeed, it's an oft-cited concern in the trenches, and on both sides of the desk at that.

What's more, the topic's not the only aspect of note here; as president of the USCCB during the national outbreak of the clergy sex-abuse crisis in 2002, Gregory was the driving force behind the drafting of the "Dallas Charter," arguably the lead catalyst behind an increasingly fraught atmosphere between bishops and their presbyterates in many locales in the scandals' wake.

That said, Gregory enjoys a widespread affection and regard among his priests in the booming Hotlanta church... which, given recent trends, probably racked up another hundred newcomers in the hour or so it took the archbishop to give his talk.

Given the context and the interest the topic holds in the trenches, here in full are the audio of both Gregory's lecture and the subsequent (and quite interesting) Q&A period... or, for those who'd just like to scan it, the Wilt-text as prepared for delivery:

SVILUPPO: Thanks to those who wrote in saying the audio links had died... don't know why that happened, but it should be fixed now.

PHOTO: Michael Alexander/Georgia Bulletin

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