Breaking news from Atlanta today.  Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory has the following to say on the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s website:

On Monday morning, Nov. 5, I will undergo prostate surgery at Emory University Hospital. I was diagnosed with the early stage prostate cancer after a biopsy in September. I have sought additional medical advice, and I have decided to have this surgery as the best response to my condition. This means that I will be out of commission for the next several weeks.

I am very much at peace with this situation since I believe that I have received expert medical advice and that I will have the best of medical care. I have enjoyed wonderful health throughout my life, and I anticipate returning to a fully active schedule after my recuperation.

Some of you might now wonder why I am being so candid about my health. Well, you are my family, and you have a right to know: Besides if I were to be absent for an entire month, the rumors would be far worse than telling you the simple truth up front. I have never been restricted in my activity for such a long time, and I look forward to getting some reading done that I have not had the opportunity to do. I anticipate that I will be bored quickly, and so I’ll need to practice patience with myself—not an easy task to be certain.

I went to the Sacrament of Reconciliation while I was in Rome. The last thing the Franciscan confessor in St. Peter’s Basilica told me was that I was in good hands—since I am sure he was not an Allstate agent, I presume that he meant in the Father’s hands.

Good to see he’s maintaining a sense of humor going in, eh?

Whole column here