The Exiling of a Gay-Friendly Catholic Leader

by Michael Jones · 2009-10-10 10:13:00 UTC
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Bishop Thomas GumbletonBishop Thomas Gumbleton is a lot of things. He's a former Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit. A founder of a peace and justice organization that a certain blogger used to work at. A leader in the peace movement since the 1970s up through today. And a Bishop who has challenged the concept that to be Catholic means to be anti-gay.

Because of those beliefs, he's being exiled from the Catholic Church.

The latest example comes from Marquette, Michigan, where a local group of peace activists invited Bishop Gumbleton to come and give a talk. Marquette's Bishop, Alexander Sample, issued a public letter saying that because of Bishop Gumbleton's stance that gay people should be treated as human beings, he's not welcome in the diocese.

"Given Bishop Gumbleton's very public position on certain important matters of Catholic teaching, specifically with regard to homosexuality and the ordination of women to the priesthood, it was my judgment that his presence in Marquette would not be helpful," Bishop Sample wrote.

Mind you, Bishop Gumbleton was coming to speak about peace -- not about gay rights or ordaining women. Yet this is what the Catholic Church has come to: censoring -- nay, banishing -- Catholics who won't toe the homophobic line of certain U.S. bishops and the Vatican.

Bishop Sample is a damn fool -- running a Catholic gestapo in charge of policing who comes in and out of his diocese lest folks hear a thing or two about equal rights.

Sadly, this isn't the first time Bishop Gumbleton has been told to keep out from a Catholic diocese. Tucson, Arizona's Bishop, Gerald Kicanas, also wouldn't allow Bishop Gumbleton to travel to his diocese to talk about peace and justice issues.

Apparently, censorship is more important to the Catholic Church than championing the cause of peace.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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