Bishop Gregory says pope still gives powerful witness to world

Published: 2003-10-16

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Pope John Paul II came to the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica after his election Oct. 16, 1978, Bishop Wilton D. Gregory was a young graduate student in the square below, amazed at the new pontiff's vigor and enthusiasm. Twenty-five years later, the pope -- frail and weakened by illness -- is still giving powerful witness to the world and teaching it the value of commitment, Bishop Gregory said. Bishop Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and head of the Diocese of Belleville, Ill., spoke in an interview with Catholic News Service Oct. 16 before concelebrating a 25th anniversary Mass with the pope at the Vatican. "I think in our society we as Americans so value physical dexterity, the ability to move, the ability to be self-directed, independent and autonomous. The pope's physical appearance right now really challenges that," Bishop Gregory said. "Yet he is witnessing to us the human dignity that is present at all moments in life and that we never lose, even though we lose our physical strength or physical beauty, and even though we become dependent on others," he said.

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