Thomas Gumbleton

The Most Reverend Dr Thomas Gumbleton
Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Detroit
Church	Roman Catholic Church
See	Archdiocese of Detroit
In office	1968–2006
Orders
Ordination	1956
Consecration	March 4, 1968
Personal details
Born	(1930-01-26) January 26, 1930 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Previous post	Vicar General

Styles of Thomas Gumbleton

Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Bishop
Posthumous style	not applicable

Thomas John Gumbleton (born January 26, 1930) is a retired Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit.

Education and career

Born in Detroit in 1930, Gumbleton attended Sacred Heart Seminary High School, and later Sacred Heart Seminary. He then went on to study at St. John's Provincial Seminary in Plymouth, and also the Pontifical Lateran University. He earned a B.A. degree in 1952, a M.Div. degree in 1956, and then later earned a J.C.D in 1964. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 2, 1956, by Cardinal Edward Mooney.

In 1968 Gumbleton was made the Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Detroit, and was later named Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit on March 4, 1968. He served as the pastor to a number of parishes including St. Aloysius, Holy Ghost and also at St. Leo's in Detroit until 2007.

Gumbleton founded the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights in December 1980 with former Episcopal Bishop Harry Coleman McGehee, Jr. and Rabbi Richard Hertz.^[1]^[2]

Gumbleton has been awarded a number of honorary degrees, including an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from a number of Education Institutions.

Gumbleton was the founding president of Pax Christi USA in 1972. Pax Christi is an organisation devoted to promoting peace, and Bishop Gumbleton remains one of the organisation's "Ambassadors for the Peace".

Bishop Gumbleton has traveled extensively, given speeches, and has participated in prayer vigils and television and radio appearances. Gumbleton's Sunday homilies from St Leo's parish are documented by the National Catholic Reporter, where he also wrote a regular column.^[3]

Views

Civil disobedience

In 1999 he was arrested outside the White House along with eleven other anti-war protesters for disturbing the peace. Gumbleton has more recently been a very vocal opponent of the war in Iraq, being arrested once again outside the White House for engaging in civil disobedience; he was arrested along with United Methodist Bishop C. Joseph Sprague, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Nobel Peace Prize laureates Mairead Corrigan Maguire and Jody Williams, and members of pacifist organisations.^[4] Gumbleton is the only Roman Catholic bishop in America to have taken such action in protest of the war. Gumbleton has also in the past been arrested due to protests against nuclear weapons.

Catholic teaching regarding homosexuality

The bishop has written extensively on Catholic teaching regarding homosexuality. Gumbleton often draws from his personal experience of having a homosexual brother.^[5] His brother Dan revealed to his family that he was a homosexual through a letter. Gumbleton has discussed how he had previously ignored the topic; however his brother's revelation, he said, forced him to consider the matter.

Gumbleton has consistently been a supporter of New Ways Ministry and has also called for homosexual priests and bishops to "come out" and be truthful to themselves and others.

During his time as bishop, Gumbleton wore a mitre at a church service on which were symbols of the cross, a rainbow and a pink triangle. The pink triangle caused particular complaints by some due to its history as a symbol of gay rights, after its use to identify homosexuals in Nazi Concentration Camps.^[6]

Ordination of homosexuals

Gumbleton also came into the public eye before the Vatican's Instruction with regard to the ordination of homosexual men was released, arguing against Fr. Baker's article on the issue in America.^[7]

Abuse controversy

In 2006, he gave a written testimony to the Ohio House Judiciary Committee that explained his support for a bill that would extend the statute of limitations to 20 years past the victim's 18th birthday, a bill opposed by Ohio bishops.

Gumbleton claimed that he was sexually abused by a priest as an adolescent while in the seminary. This attracted some media attention. He stated; "I don't want to exaggerate that I was terribly damaged. It was not the kind of sexual abuse that many of the victims experience", further adding, "They are intimidated, embarrassed, and they just bury it. I understand that", explaining that, "I never told my parents.... I never told anybody." Gumbleton spoke out as a measure to encourage Catholics who have been abused to make complaints through the official channels.^[8]

Gumbleton was notified that, through his actions in this case, he had violated the solidarity of communio episcoporum (communion of bishops) in canon law. He said at a conference in 2011 that as a consequence he was forced to give up his position as pastor at St. Leo's in January 2007, ^[9] and asked to resign from the office of auxiliary bishop.^[10]

In 2012, Gumbleton signed the Catholic Scholars' Jubilee Declaration on reform of authority in the Catholic Church.^[11]

Gumbleton was required under church law to submit his resignation when he turned 75. At that time, he petitioned to remain in office.^[12] However, his request to remain there was denied.

Awards

Bishop Gumbleton has been presented with various awards during his lifetime.

References

↑ Montemurri, Patricia (March 15, 2013). "Retired Episcopalian Bishop H. Coleman McGehee has died at age 89". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
↑ "Michigan Coalition for Human Rights – History". Michigan Coalition for Human Rights. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
↑ National Catholic Reporter. French Against Vatican Sacking of "Red Cleric"
↑ Pax Christi. Civil Disobedience Action By Religious Leaders March 25, 2003
↑ National Catholic Reporter. Bishop Wants Clergy and Laity Out of the Closet March 21, 1997
↑ New Ways Ministry. 1995 Building Bridges Award Recipient 1995
↑ America. Yes, Gay Men Should Be Ordained September 30, 2002
↑ Washington Post. Bishop Says Priest Abused Him as Teenager January 11, 2006
↑ Sean, Michael. "Retired bishop asked to leave Detroit parish for testimony | National Catholic Reporter". Ncronline.org. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
↑ "Blog offline". Realcostofprisons.org. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
↑ "Bishop Thomas Gumbleton".
↑ ""Pope retires liberal Bishop Gumbleton", ''Christian Century'', February 21, 2006". Christiancentury.org. 2006-02-21. Retrieved 2013-12-05.

External links

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by New position	Founding president of Pax Christi USA 1972–1991	Succeeded by Walter Francis Sullivan

Archdiocese of Detroit

Ordinaries of the Archdiocese of Detroit

Bishops	Frederick Rese Caspar Borgess John Samuel Foley Michael Gallagher

Coadjutor bishop	Peter Paul Lefevere

Archbishops	Edward Aloysius Mooney John Francis Dearden Edmund Szoka Adam Maida Allen Henry Vigneron

Churches in the Archdiocese of Detroit

Cathedral	Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament

Parishes	Detroit Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church Most Holy Redeemer Church Our Lady of the Rosary Church Sacred Heart Church St. Albertus Church Ste. Anne de Detroit Church St. Catherine of Siena Church St. Charles Borromeo Church St. Josaphat's Church St. Joseph Church St. Mary Church St. Patrick Church Saints Peter and Paul Church St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Church Sweetest Heart of Mary Church Monroe County St. Mary's Church, Monroe Wayne County St. Paul Church, Grosse Pointe Farms St. Florian Church, Hamtramck Our Lady of the Scapular Parish, Wyandotte Former St. Boniface Church, Detroit St. Theresa of Avila Church, Detroit St. Thomas the Apostle's Church, Detroit

Shrine	National Shrine of the Little Flower, Royal Oak

Education in the Archdiocese of Detroit

Higher education	Madonna University Marygrove College University of Detroit Mercy

Seminaries	Sacred Heart Major Seminary SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary

High schools	Macomb County De La Salle Collegiate High School, Warren Regina High School, Warren Austin Catholic High School, Ray Township Monroe County St. Mary Catholic Central High School, Monroe Oakland County Academy of the Sacred Heart High School, Bloomfield Hills Bishop Foley Catholic High School, Madison Heights Brother Rice High School, Bloomfield Hills Detroit Catholic Central High School, Novi Everest Academy and High School, Independence Township Marian High School, Bloomfield Hills Mercy High School, Farmington Hills Notre Dame Preparatory, Pontiac Our Lady of the Lakes High School, Waterford Shrine Catholic High School, Royal Oak St. Mary's Preparatory, Orchard Lake Village St. Catherine of Siena Academy, Wixom St. Clair County Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School, Marine City Wayne County Cabrini High School, Allen Park Detroit Cristo Rey High School, Detroit Divine Child High School, Dearborn Gabriel Richard Catholic High School, Riverview Ladywood High School, Livonia Loyola High School, Detroit University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, Detroit

Former	Higher education Duns Scotus College Maryglade College High schools Girls Catholic Central High School, Detroit Holy Redeemer High School, Detroit Notre Dame High School, Harper Woods Sacred Heart High School, Roseville Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School, Wyandotte

Clergy of the Archdiocese of Detroit

Auxiliary bishops	Moses Anderson Allen James Babcock Leonard Paul Blair Earl Alfred Boyea, Jr. Joseph M. Breitenbeck Kevin Michael Britt Michael J. Byrnes Arturo Cepeda Patrick R. Cooney Henry Edmund Donnelly John Anthony Donovan Daniel E. Flores Thomas Gumbleton Donald Hanchon Bernard Joseph Harrington Walter A. Hurley Joseph Leopold Imesch Edward D. Kelly Arthur Henry Krawczak Dale Joseph Melczek John Clayton Nienstedt Joseph C. Plagens John M. Quinn Francis R. Reiss Walter Joseph Schoenherr Allen Henry Vigneron Stephen Stanislaus Woznicki Alexander M. Zaleski

Priests	Alexander Joseph Brunett Solanus Casey Charles Coughlin Francis Kelley Camillus Paul Maes Jeffrey Marc Monforton William Murphy John A. Trese Kenneth Edward Untener

Catholicism Portal

Detroit Portal

Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award laureates

1960s	1964 John Howard Griffin / John F. Kennedy 1965 Martin Luther King, Jr. 1966 R. Sargent Shriver 1967 A. Philip Randolph 1968 James Groppi 1969 Saul Alinsky

1970s	1971 Dorothy Day 1974 Harold Hughes 1975 Hélder Câmara 1976 Mother Teresa 1979 Thomas Gumbleton

1980s	1980 Crystal Lee Sutton / Ernest Leo Unterkoefler 1982 George F. Kennan 1983 Helen Caldicott 1985 Joseph Bernardin 1986 Maurice John Dingman 1987 Desmond Tutu 1989 Eileen Egan

1990s	1990 Mairead Maguire 1991 María Julia Hernández 1992 César Chávez 1993 Daniel Berrigan 1995 Jim Wallis 1996 Samuel Ruiz 1997 Jim and Shelley Douglass

2000s	2000 George G. Higgins 2001 Lech Wałęsa 2002 Gwen Hennessey / Dorothy Hennessey 2004 Arthur Simon 2005 Donald Mosley 2007 Salim Ghazal 2008 Marvin Mottet 2009 Hildegard Goss-Mayr

2010s	2010 John Dear 2011 Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri 2012 Kim Bobo 2013 Jean Vanier 2014 Simone Campbell 2015 Thích Nhất Hạnh

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