Thomas Gumbleton | |
|---|---|
| Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Detroit | |
.jpg) Gumbleton in 1983 | |
| Church | |
| Archdiocese | Detroit |
| Appointed | March 8, 1968 |
| Installed | May 1, 1968 |
| Retired | February 2, 2006 |
| Other post | Titular Bishop ofUluli (1968–2024) |
| Previous post | Vicar General |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | June 2, 1956 by Edward Aloysius Mooney |
| Consecration | May 1, 1968 by John Francis Dearden,Alexander M. Zaleski, andJoseph M. Breitenbeck |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1930-01-26)January 26, 1930 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | April 4, 2024(2024-04-04) (aged 94) Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Motto | Be doers of the Word |
| Styles of Thomas John Gumbleton | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Reference style | |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Bishop |
Thomas John Gumbleton (January 26, 1930 – April 4, 2024) was anAmerican Catholic prelate and a prominent social activist. Gumbleton served as an auxiliary bishop of theArchdiocese of Detroit from 1968 to 2006. According to Gumbleton, theVatican forced him to resign as auxiliary bishop when he publicly supported the passage of a state legislative bill in another diocese without the approval of that diocese's bishop.
Born inDetroit, Michigan, on January 26, 1930,[1] Thomas Gumbleton attendedSacred Heart Seminary High School in that city. He then studied atSt. John's Provincial Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan, and also thePontifical Lateran University in Rome. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1952, aMaster of Divinity in 1956, and aDoctor of Canon Law in 1964.[2]
On June 2, 1956, Gumbleton was ordained to the priesthood in Rome by CardinalEdward Mooney for the Archdiocese of Detroit.[3] In 1968, Gumbleton was appointedvicar general for the archdiocese.[4]
On March 4, 1968, Pope Paul VI appointed Gumbleton as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit and titular bishop ofUluli. He was consecrated on May 1, 1968, by ArchbishopJohn Dearden.[3] Gumbleton served as the pastor to a number of parishes, including St. Aloysius, Holy Ghost and St. Leo's in Detroit, until 2007.[5]
During the1972 Presidential election, Gumbleton endorsed SenatorGeorge McGovern for president due to his opposition to American involvement in theVietnam War and liberal economic policies. When asked about McGovern's stance onabortion rights Gumbleton responded that McGovern "would not aid or support the current efforts to liberalize the abortion laws."[6][7]
In December 1980, Gumbleton founded the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights with former Episcopal BishopHarry McGehee, Jr. and Rabbi Richard Hertz.[8][9] Gumbleton's Sunday homilies from St Leo's parish were documented by theNational Catholic Reporter, where he also wrote a regular column.[10]
On September 10, 1981, at St. Clare of Montefalco, he ordained to the diaconate Robert Francis Prevost, who would later becomePope Leo XIV.[11]
On May 6, 1987, Gumbleton was one of eight protestors arrested at the US Department of EnergyNevada Test Site inMercury, Nevada. The arrestees were protesting the testing ofnuclear weapons there.[12] On June 4, 1999, Gumbleton was among 26 protestors arrested for blocking an entrance to theWhite House in Washington, D.C. They were protesting theNATO bombing campaign inSerbia during theKosovo War.[13] On March 27, 2003, Gumbleton was arrested along with other protestors for violating a ban on large demonstrations inLafayette Square in Washington, D.C. The protest was about theUS invasion of Iraq on March 19.[14]
On January 11, 2006, Gumbleton testified at a hearing at theOhio General Assembly inColumbus, Ohio, about sexual abuse in the Catholic church. The Assembly was considering a bill to create a legal window for victims of sexual abuse to sue the perpetrators. In his statement, Gumbleton endorsed the bill and called for all states to enact bills like this one. He also revealed that he wassexually abused by a priest as an adolescent while in theseminary. 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. They are intimidated, embarrassed, and they just bury it. I understand that ... never told my parents.... I never told anybody.[15]
According to an account given by Gumbleton in 2011, the bishops of Ohio opposed the proposed sexual abuse bill and were incensed by his testimony. They immediately complained to the Vatican about him. A few days later, Gumbleton received a letter from CardinalGiovanni Re, Prefect of theCongregation for Bishops, saying that Gumbleton had violated the solidarity ofcommunio episcoporum (communion of bishops) by testifying for the bill in Ohio without the permission of the local bishop. Re ordered Gumbleton to resign immediately as auxiliary bishop and as pastor of St. Leo's Parish.[16][17][18]
On February 6, 2006, Gumbleton submitted his letter of resignation as auxiliary bishop of Detroit toPope Benedict XVI.[3] Gumbleton had been required under church law to submit his resignation when he turned 75 in 2005. At that time, he had petitioned to remain in office.[19]
In 2009, the Marquette Citizens for Peace and Justice invited Gumbleton to speak about peace at St. Mark's Lutheran Church inMarquette, Michigan. However, when BishopAlexander Sample of theDiocese of Marquette heard about the invitation, he asked Gumbleton not to come. Sample said that Gumbleton had not offered the courtesy of requesting Sample's permission to speak, and as Sample did not agree with Gumbleton's views on theordination of women andLGBTQ+ rights, he was obliged to silence him.[20] Sample called it "unfortunate" that his effort to silence Gumbleton had become public, and offered prayers for those harmed.[21]
From 2006 to 2020, Gumbleton regularly published his sermons in a column calledThe Peace Pulpit.[22] Gumbleton died in Detroit, Michigan, on April 4, 2024, at the age of 94.[23]
Gumbleton wrote extensively on Catholic teaching regarding homosexuality. Gumbleton often drew from his personal experience of having a gay brother.[24] During his time as auxiliary bishop of Detroit, Gumbleton wore amitre at a church service that displayed symbols of the cross, a rainbow and a pink triangle.[25] Thepink triangle caused particular complaints by some due to its use to identify gay men inNaziconcentration camps.[by whom?] Gumbleton also came into the public eye before the Vatican's Instruction with regard to the ordination of gay men was released, arguing against a ban in a 2007 issue ofAmerica.[26]
In 2012, Gumbleton signed theCatholic Scholars' Jubilee Declaration on the reform of authority in the Catholic Church.[27] On January 14, 2020, he declared that Catholics should not participate in US wars.[28]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by — | Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit 1968–2006 | Succeeded by — |
| Preceded by First | Titular Bishop of Ululi 1968–2024 | Succeeded by Vacant |
| Preceded by New position | Founding President of Pax Christi USA 1972–1991 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
