It's sad. He was brought here to put things in order after the very public disgrace of the country's first black archbishop. (Another black archbishop, who died in office, briefly intervened.) Under his tenure, the archdiocese grew tremendously--largely because of the migration of northern Catholics into the Atlanta area and the immigration of many thousands of Hispanics. Perhaps because he didn't need to have a pastoral touch to see such growth in the local church, he never really developed one, and now that he is retiring (he's submitted his mandatory resignation), he appears to be growing more difficult. Today on the Way of the Cross in downtown Atlanta, I talked with people from several different parishes. In every one, the Washing of the Feet ceremony was dropped. And in more than one, the controversy was the topic of the homily.
So, as he goes out the door, his final act is to give the finger to his diocese?
Pathetic!