The Exiling of a Gay-Friendly Catholic Leader

categories: Catholic LGBT, Gay Rights and Religion, Religion and LGBT Rights

Published October 10, 2009 @ 10:13AM PT

Bishop 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.

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Comments (18)

Most of the Catholic Church, the conservative element of it, is made of stupidity. It's unfortunate that Thomas Gumbleton will be exiled for having a correct view of LGBT rights which includes tolerance towards LGBT people. Alexander Sample is an intolerant conservative with an incorrect view of LGBT rights. It's also unfortunate that an intolerant conservative has the power to exile a tolerant Catholic Bishop. Everyone must know of the church's intolerance to break away from it.

Posted by Edwin Bonilla on 10/10/2009 @ 04:59PM PT
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Its always depressing to see people who hold the right point of view kicked in the teeth for it.

It happens every time in history, you think that we'd have learned that certain things will become tolerated, and that we might as well just skip all the hoop-blah and save everyone a lot of grief.

I hope that things turn out well for Gumbleton, and that Sample gets what he deserves.

Posted by Paul Hockhousen on 10/10/2009 @ 06:48PM PT
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@ Edwin - I agree that the church's intolerance is the impetus for true Christians to break away from it.

Every single additional instance of brazen intolerance takes its toll on the ranks of those who "Believe, Obey, Do Not Question!".

That the hierarchy of the HRCC cannot see that it is continually shooting itself in the foot fills me with Hope: Surely these continuing self-inflicted injuries will soon overwhelm any healing provided by even a prolonged surge of liberal theology - and may indeed already have done so!

I believe that the church will collapse under the weight of its anti-human dogma. Each act of intolerance is yet another tiny crack fragmenting the foundations of papal authority.

* * * * * *

@ Paul Hockhousen. Depressing indeed! Spare a thought or two also for those nuns who are currently undergoing a vatican-spawned witch hunt for liberals, lesbians and the intellectual elite in hundreds of religious orders across the continent. Spare too another thought for those seminarians who have recently been through a similar ordeal.

It's a well-planned and coordinated purge designed to ensure that conservative elements retain power for decades to come.

Surely there must be some level of oppostion within the curia, or within individual bishoprics, or in many parishes, or surely in the hearts of good and tolerant people everywhere?

When and how will this opposition manifest itself?

When and how will the arrogant Samples be restrained?

When and how will the Gumbletons receive any portion of justice?

When will faith again become significant?

Posted by Fester 60613 on 10/10/2009 @ 08:34PM PT
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Well said comrade. The church will always be the enemy of the people and of the state. Let help the churches eternal ignorance, stupidity and arrogance along until it finally beheads itself with the sword it branded to smite us with.

Posted by Chris Marshall on 10/11/2009 @ 09:00PM PT
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Chris - I'm not completely comfortable characterizing the church as an enemy of the people and of the state.

The church may - and probably does - smirk behind its hand at the sheeple who "Believe, Obey, and Do Not Question!". These are the people who provide financial support for the church's political and politically subversive programs. Even the misguided and narcicissitic

Posted by Fester 60613 on 10/12/2009 @ 07:19AM PT
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Chris - I'm not completely comfortable characterizing the church as an enemy of the people, even though it continuously exhibits a degree of hatred for its own membership. The sheeple who come to realize this are the ones that break away.

But you're right that the church is an enemy of the state. The church has always sought to undermine organized government - and the democratic process - for its own purposes.

The church's methodology is far different from that of, say, the Taliban, but its goals are the same: to dominate humanity through fear and intolerance masquerading as faith.

Posted by Fester 60613 on 10/12/2009 @ 07:20AM PT
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This is just one of the reasons that my spouse and I are no longer Roman Catholic, but are happy, uncensored Pagans. The Church under Ratzinger has become a moral and logical cesspool.

Posted by Ioan Lightoller on 10/10/2009 @ 08:39PM PT
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Good for you! Will you encourage others?

Posted by Fester 60613 on 10/10/2009 @ 08:54PM PT
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Well, the roman catholic church might suck but theres a true old time catholic religion that bishop gumbleton can join and it would be right in line with his modern day intelligent beliefs...

http://www.st-lukes-peoria.org/

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 10/11/2009 @ 12:42AM PT
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Yes, Fester, I will be happy to.

Thanks for the info, Thomas...I will keep it for anyone who might find the link useful. Nice to see people like this out there. I am probably more of a Christo-Pagan as I do belong to an Old Catholic group and we do NOT tolerate the kind of crap Ratziner dishes out.

I hope that Bishop Gumbleton gets out of that cesspool called the RC Church--and that goes for all good, unprejudiced RCC'ers.

Posted by Ioan Lightoller on 10/11/2009 @ 02:59AM PT
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My pleasure and thank you for passing it on mr. lightoller.

Im an eclectic wiccan but I see no reason not to support those of any faith that believes in equality for all with harm to none and I would love to see more catholics leave the fake roman catholic church in favor of the real one.

Blessed be.

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 10/11/2009 @ 03:51AM PT
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When an organism refuses to, or is incapable of, adapting to a changing environment, it becomes extinct. I wonder if people a thousand years from now (assuming we haven't managed to wiped ourselves out as a species) will look at Catholicism in the same light as the gods of ancient Greece or Egypt are seen today. With this kind of action, that's the course they're setting for themselves.

On another tangent, it's nice to have a reminder that the Catholic Church isn't some single-minded, Borg-like collection of zombies, that there are some members of conscience who are trying to change it from the inside, even if the organization itself is too near-sighted to recognize them for the gift that they are. Somehow I doubt that exile is going to shut Bishop Gumbleton up.

Posted by Darren Wells on 10/12/2009 @ 11:16AM PT
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if u accept the right to for same sex marriages then u wouldnt be alive today.someone carried u 4 nine months.a sperm n an rgg was used to form u.imagine the world with same sex marriage,yet waning children,from who?the spiritual world controls the physical.what happens in the spiritual realm manifest in the physical.believe in JESUS CHRIST.think abt ur life

Posted by STANLEY PES on 10/12/2009 @ 02:46PM PT
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ROTFLMFAO...

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 10/12/2009 @ 09:18PM PT
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Stanely - please explain how and why same-sex marriage results in fewer births?

A) the general ratio of straight / gay hasn't changed.

B) gay men don't generally have children.

C) prove that what happens in the spiritual world

   1) has anything to do with same sex marriage and

   2) "controls" the physical world or

   3) "manifest" in the physical.

Please! I'm really intrigued.

Posted by Fester 60613 on 10/13/2009 @ 06:58AM PT
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To all who may not be aware of this...

Granting equality to the homosexual community wont turn the world gay any more than granting equality to african americans turned the whole world black...

Think about it.

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 10/14/2009 @ 07:49PM PT
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Problem is, Thomas, fundamentalists and homophobes DON'T think.

Posted by Ioan Lightoller on 10/14/2009 @ 08:08PM PT
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Unfortunatly your right miss lightoller...

Theyre too used to letting others who are even dumber than they are do their thinking for them.

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 10/16/2009 @ 08:09AM PT
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Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.