October 22, 2009. He’s the Archbishop of Atlanta Georgia but Wilton Gregory is also the main representative from the United States at the Synod of Bishops for Africa.


He is one of the 47 from outside of Africa who was personally invited by Pope Benedict XVI.
This is his third time attending a synod.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory
Archdiocese of Atlanta, GA
“In each of the synods I have been part of you do come away strengthened by the communication that goes on.”

In this synod he says much of the dialogue is about the growth of the church in Africa, the Aids pandemic, the political instability of the continent along with the presence of multi-national corporations in the region.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory
Archdiocese of Atlanta, GA
“Occasionally those corporation do not respect the right of states don’t always practice the best environmental approaches to access those resource.”

All topics which he says affects his archdiocese in Atlnanta. In fact, he while in Rome, he continues to communicate with his diocese online through a blog. A diocese with a large African population.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory
Archdiocese of Atlanta, GA
“People who are new arrivals from Nigeria, Kenya, Togo, Gambia, we have a very diverse African community within the archdiocese and this will help me appreciate better their heritage their histories and the land from which they came, the heritage they bring to the archdiocese.”

Because he admits Americans don’t know half of Africa’s story.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory
Archdiocese of Atlanta, GA
“As an American, we know far too little about Africa. That it’s the second largest continent in the earth, home to more than 50 countries, tremendously diverse in ethnic and cultural heritage.”

This and more is what he plans to share with Catholics back home.
MC