Retired bishop asked to leave Detroit parish for testimony
Nov. 04, 2011
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton speaks at the Call to Action conference in Milwaukee. MILWAUKEE -- "Because he violated "communio episcoporum" (the communion of bishops) and other canons by speaking in support of extending the statute of limitations for cases of sexual abuse by clergy, retired Detroit auxiliary bishop Thomas Gumbleton said he was forced to discontinue his role as pastor at a Detroit parish.
Besides receiving the official notification that he had to resign as pastor, Gumbleton said none of his fellow bishops contacted him personally when he spoke in support of the bill and revealed at the bill's hearing that he was a survivor of sexual abuse by a priest.
Gumbleton spoke Nov. 4 at a session given by the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests at the Call to Action national conference in Milwaukee.
Read more about Bishop Gumbleton's story here: Vatican moved quickly to punish Gumbleton "
"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. In that testimony, he also said a priest sexually abused him in the 9th and 10th grades.
The Ohio Catholic Conference and bishops had spoken out against the bill. They opposed one part of the bill, which would give a one-year look-back period that allowed people to come forward with allegations that had ran past the statute of limitations..."
...His last day as pastor of St. Leo was Jan. 21, 2007.
Gumbleton, widely known as an advocate for the poor and for pacifist causes, has a weekly column of his homilies [4] on the NCR website.
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