Thomas Gumbleton
Encyclopedia
Thomas John Gumbleton is a retired Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop
of the Archdiocese of Detroit.
. 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 into the priesthood on 2 June 1956, by Cardinal Edward Mooney.
After his ordination, Bishop Gumbleton held various parochial and then chancery positions. He served as Associate Pastor to St. Alphonsus, Dearborn, and then held the positions of Assistant Chancellor and Vice Chancellor.
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.
Bishop Gumbleton has been awarded a number of honorary degrees, including an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from a number of Education Institutions. He holds degrees from:
Bishop 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".
He is also a member of the following organisations:
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.
in favor of peace have drawn much attention. In 1999 he was arrested outside The White House
along with eleven other anti war protesters for disturbing the peace. Bishop 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. 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.
. Gumbleton often draws from his personal experience of having a homosexual brother. 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.
Bishop 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. Gumbleton has also acted as a keynote speaker at Call to Action
conferences.
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.
.
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.
Gumbleton was notified that he had violated the solidarity of communio episcoporum 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,
and asked to resign from the office of auxiliary bishop. The conservative Lifesitenews attributed this to his heterodox stances on matters such as the Church's treatment of homosexuality, contraception, women's ordination, intercommunion, and other controversial matters.
Questions had been raised about whether or not Bishop Gumbleton should remain as pastor or in residence in the parish church in spite of reaching the mandatory retirement age. He and his followers attempted to rally large numbers and influence the Archdiocese of Detroit. However, his request to remain there was denied.
'
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
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 UniversityPontifical Lateran University
The Pontifical Lateran University is a university by pontifical right based in Rome, Italy. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family...
. He earned a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1952, a M.Div. degree in 1956, and then later earned a J.C.D
Doctor of Canon Law
Doctor of Canon Law is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church.It may also be abbreviated I.C.D. or dr.iur.can. , ICDr., D.C.L., D.Cnl., D.D.C., or D.Can.L. . Doctor of both laws are J.U.D...
in 1964. He was ordained into the priesthood on 2 June 1956, by Cardinal Edward Mooney.
After his ordination, Bishop Gumbleton held various parochial and then chancery positions. He served as Associate Pastor to St. Alphonsus, Dearborn, and then held the positions of Assistant Chancellor and Vice Chancellor.
In 1968 Gumbleton was made the Vicar General
Vicar general
A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
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.
Bishop Gumbleton has been awarded a number of honorary degrees, including an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from a number of Education Institutions. He holds degrees from:
- Seton Hall Law School (New Jersey)
- Anna Maria CollegeAnna Maria CollegeAnna Maria College is a coeducational Catholic liberal arts college in Paxton, Massachusetts.-History:Anna Maria College is a private, coeducational Catholic College founded in 1946 by the Sisters of Saint Anne. The school's original campus was in Marlboro, MA...
(Paxton, MA) - Marygrove CollegeMarygrove CollegeMarygrove College is an independent, Catholic, liberal arts college located in Detroit, Michigan. The college is sponsored by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.-History:...
(Detroit) - St. Joseph’s CollegeSaint Joseph's UniversitySaint Joseph's University is a private, coeducational Roman Catholic Jesuit university located partially in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia and partially in Lower Merion Township and located in the Pennsylvania Main Line, Pennsylvania, United States.The school was founded in 1851 as Saint...
(Philadelphia, PA) - Aquinas CollegeAquinas College (Michigan)Aquinas College is a small Catholic college that aims to provide a liberal arts education located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Aquinas is considered one of the best liberal arts colleges in the Midwest region by U.S. News and World Report ....
(Grand Rapids, MI) - St. Edward’s UniversitySt. Edward's UniversitySt. Edward's University is a private Roman Catholic institution of higher learning located south of Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. The university offers a liberal arts education and its campus is located on a hill overlooking the city of Austin. The campus's most notable landmark is Main...
(Austin) - Ohio Dominican UniversityOhio Dominican UniversityOhio Dominican University is a private four-year liberal arts institution, founded in 1911 in the Catholic and Dominican traditions. The main campus spans over in the North Central neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, United States. The university has just over 3,100 students and offers undergraduate...
(Columbus, OH) - St. Norbert CollegeSt. Norbert CollegeSt. Norbert College is a private Catholic liberal arts college in De Pere, Wisconsin. Founded in October 1898 by Abbot Bernard Pennings, a Norbertine priest and educator, the school was named after Saint Norbert of Xanten. In 1952, the college became coeducational and today enrolls about 2,175...
(De Pere, WI) - LaSalle University (Philadelphia, Pa)
Bishop Gumbleton was the founding president of Pax Christi
Pax Christi
-History:Pax Christi was established in France in 1945 as a reconciliation work between the French and the Germans after the Second World War. In 2007, it existed in more than 60 countries...
USA in 1972. Pax Christi
Pax Christi
-History:Pax Christi was established in France in 1945 as a reconciliation work between the French and the Germans after the Second World War. In 2007, it existed in more than 60 countries...
is an organisation devoted to promoting peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
, and Bishop Gumbleton remains one of the organisation's "Ambassadors for the Peace".
He is also a member of the following organisations:
- Call to ActionCall to ActionCall to Action is an organization that advocates for a variety of liberal causes to change the Catholic Church. Call to Action's goals include women's ordination, an end to mandatory priestly celibacy, a change in the church's teaching on a variety of sexual matters, and a change to the way the...
- Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance
- Institute for Public AccuracyInstitute for Public AccuracyThe Institute for Public Accuracy is a Washington, D.C.-based organization that encourages mainstream news media to interview alternative sources. It was founded in 1997 by Norman Solomon, who serves as executive director; its communications director is Sam Husseini....
- Pastors for PeaceInterreligious Foundation for Community OrganizationThe Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization is an international religious community whose aim is to ensure justice for the oppressed peoples of the world...
- Nevada Desert ExperienceNevada Desert ExperienceThe Nevada Desert Experience is a name for the movement to stop U.S. nuclear weapons testing that came into use in the middle 1980s. It is also the name of a particular anti-nuclear organization which continues to create public events to question the morality and intelligence of the U.S. nuclear...
- New Ways MinistryNew Ways MinistryNew Ways Ministry is an organization providing positive ministry and support to gay and lesbian Catholics in the United States of America. The organization is primarily based in Maryland.-History and purpose:...
- SHARE Foundation (El Salvador)SHARE Foundation (El Salvador)SHARE Foundation is an international organisation which promotes the development of El Salvador. It was founded in 1981....
- Triangle Foundation
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
National Catholic Reporter
The National Catholic Reporter is the second largest Catholic newspaper in the United States; its circulation reaches ninety-seven countries on six continents. Based in midtown Kansas City, Missouri, NCR was founded by Robert Hoyt in 1964 as an independent newspaper focusing on the Catholic Church...
, where he also wrote a regular column.
Civil disobedience
Gumbleton's public activities and civil disobedienceCivil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
in favor of peace have drawn much attention. In 1999 he was arrested outside The White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
along with eleven other anti war protesters for disturbing the peace. Bishop 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
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
, he was arrested along with United Methodist
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
Bishop C. Joseph Sprague, Rabbi Arthur Waskow
Arthur Waskow
Arthur Ocean Waskow, born Arthur I. Waskow, is an American author, political activist, and rabbi associated with the Jewish Renewal movement.-Education and early career:...
, Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
laureates Mairead Corrigan Maguire and Jody Williams
Jody Williams
Jody Williams is an American teacher and aid worker who received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the campaign she worked for, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines...
and members of pacifist organisations. 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 homosexualityHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. Gumbleton often draws from his personal experience of having a homosexual brother. 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.
Bishop Gumbleton has consistently been a supporter of New Ways Ministry
New Ways Ministry
New Ways Ministry is an organization providing positive ministry and support to gay and lesbian Catholics in the United States of America. The organization is primarily based in Maryland.-History and purpose:...
and has also called for homosexual priests and bishops to "come out" and be truthful to themselves and others. Gumbleton has also acted as a keynote speaker at Call to Action
Call to Action
Call to Action is an organization that advocates for a variety of liberal causes to change the Catholic Church. Call to Action's goals include women's ordination, an end to mandatory priestly celibacy, a change in the church's teaching on a variety of sexual matters, and a change to the way the...
conferences.
During his time as bishop, Gumbleton wore a mitre
Mitre
The mitre , also spelled miter, is a type of headwear now known as the traditional, ceremonial head-dress of bishops and certain abbots in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in the Anglican Communion, some Lutheran churches, and also bishops and certain other clergy in the Eastern Orthodox...
at a church service on which were symbols of the cross, a rainbow and a pink triangle. The pink triangle
Pink triangle
The pink triangle was one of the Nazi concentration camp badges, used to identify male prisoners who were sent there because of their homosexuality. Every prisoner had to wear a downward-pointing triangle on his or her jacket, the colour of which was to categorise him or her by "kind"...
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.
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 AmericaAmerica (magazine)
America is a national weekly magazine published by the American Jesuits that contains news and opinion about Catholicism and how it relates to American politics and cultural life....
.
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 other Ohio bishops.Gumbleton claimed that he was sexually abused by a priest as an adolescent while in the seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
. 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.
Gumbleton was notified that he had violated the solidarity of communio episcoporum 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,
and asked to resign from the office of auxiliary bishop. The conservative Lifesitenews attributed this to his heterodox stances on matters such as the Church's treatment of homosexuality, contraception, women's ordination, intercommunion, and other controversial matters.
Questions had been raised about whether or not Bishop Gumbleton should remain as pastor or in residence in the parish church in spite of reaching the mandatory retirement age. He and his followers attempted to rally large numbers and influence the Archdiocese of Detroit. However, his request to remain there was denied.
Awards
Bishop Gumbleton has been presented with various awards during his lifetime:- Isaac Hecker Peacemaker (1975)
- Metro Detroit Council of Churches (1976)
- Pacem in Terris AwardPacem in Terris AwardThe Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award is a Catholic peace award which has been given annually since 1964, in commemoration of the 1963 encyclical letter "Pacem in Terris" of Pope John XXIII...
(1979) - Public Citizen of the Year Natl. Assoc. of Social Workers (1980)
- Institute for Peace and Justice (1981)
- Justice and Peace Medal - St. Bonaventure University (1981)
- Jewish National Fund - Trees for Israel (1981)
- American Personnel & Guidance Assoc. (1981)
- Life Achievement Award - Interfaith Peace Ministry (1987)
- Groundwork Discipleship Award (1989)
- The Institute for International Peace - University of Notre Dame (1990)
- Palestine Aid Society (1990)
- University of Notre Dame Peacemaker (1991)
- Pope Paul VI Teacher of Peace - Pax Christi USA (1991)
- Pax Christi MI Purple Ribbon Award (1992)
- Pax Christi Ambassador of Peace (1992)
- Joseph C. Wilson Award - Xerox Corp. (1992)
- Pax Christi N.Y. Peacemaker Award (1992)
- Certificate of Appreciation - Dignity Detroit (1992)
- Honorary Chaplaincy Aids Award (1994)
- Outstanding Service & Witness Award Dignity/USA (1995)
- Bridge Building Award - New Ways Ministry (1995)
- Lifelong Honorary membership - In Pax Christi International (1995)
- Call to Action Leadership Award (1995)
- San Damiano - Madonna U. Press Symposium (1996)
- National Peace Foundation - Award of Peacemaker/Peacebuilder (1997)
- The Francis House Award (1997)
- Spirit of Detroit Award (1998)
- Alliance for Nuclear AccountabilityAlliance for Nuclear AccountabilityThe Alliance for Nuclear Accountability is a network of local, regional and national organizations working collaboratively on issues of nuclear weapons production and waste cleanup. Many of the local groups live downwind and downstream of the United States nuclear weapons complex sites...
(1998) - Bishop Dozier Peace & Justice Award - Christian Brothers University (1998)
- Humanitarian Award, MI Coalition for Human Rights (1998)
- 1998 PHD Award, Harambee, Core City Neighborhoods (1998)
- 1999 Peacemaking Award - Nebraskans for Peace (1999)
- 1999 Washington Theological Union - Distinguished Service Award (1999)
- Prophets of Peace Award - Benedictine Sisters of Erie (2000)
- Faithful Revolutionary Award - St. James Justice Action Ministry (2000)
- Civic & Humanitarian Award - Arab-American & Chaldean Council (2000)
- Lou Kousin Award - New Jersey Peace Action (2001)
- Humanitarian Service Award - LIFE for Relief & Development (2001)
- Lifetime Achievement Peacebuilder Award - Peace Action of Michigan (2002)
- Lifetime Achievement in Peacemaking - University of Missouri (2002)
- Dignity USA (2003)
- Sadako Peace Citation - Disarmament and Economic Conversion Committee of Sisters & Co-members of the Loretto Community (2003)
- Reconciler Award - National Franciscan Federation (2003)
- Theresa Maxis Award for Social Justice - Marygrove College, National Franciscan Federation (2003)
- Philip A. Hart Award - Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame (2003)
- Community Peace Maker Award - Wayne State University (2003)
- 2005 Global Peace Award (2005)
- Mercyhurst College's Archbishop Oscar Romero Award (2007)
External links
- Bishop Gumbleton's Biography from the Archdiocese of Detroit
- Bishop Gumbleton's article on the ordination of homosexuals
'