Former Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton (right) meets with legislators in the Netherlands in 1983. / Credit: Rob Croes for Anefo|Wikimedia|National Archives, NetherlandsCNA Staff, Apr 5, 2024 / 15:30 pm (CNA).Thomas Gumbleton, a vocal peace activist and critic of war and nuclear weapons who served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Detroit, died on Thursday at age 94. Born in Detroit in 1930, Gumbleton studied at both St. John's Provincial Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan, and the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, the latter at which he earned a doctorate in canon law. He was ordained in the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1956 and made an auxiliary bishop there in 1968, becoming the youngest U.S. bishop at the time.His long tenure as a bishop was marked by several controversies, including his arrest in 1987 in connection with a protest at a Nevada nuclear testing site as well as another arrest at the White House in 1999 while protesting the NATO bombing of Yugosl...
Former Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton (right) meets with legislators in the Netherlands in 1983. / Credit: Rob Croes for Anefo|Wikimedia|National Archives, Netherlands
CNA Staff, Apr 5, 2024 / 15:30 pm (CNA).
Thomas Gumbleton, a vocal peace activist and critic of war and nuclear weapons who served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Detroit, died on Thursday at age 94.
Born in Detroit in 1930, Gumbleton studied at both St. John's Provincial Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan, and the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, the latter at which he earned a doctorate in canon law. He was ordained in the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1956 and made an auxiliary bishop there in 1968, becoming the youngest U.S. bishop at the time.
His long tenure as a bishop was marked by several controversies, including his arrest in 1987 in connection with a protest at a Nevada nuclear testing site as well as another arrest at the White House in 1999 while protesting the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.
The bishop was arrested a third time in 2003 during a protest against the U.S. invasion of Iraq that took place in Lafayette Square across from the White House.
In January 2006, Gumbleton testified before the Ohio General Assembly in favor of a bill expanding the statute of limitations for sexual abuse victims to file lawsuits against their alleged abusers.
In his statement, he told the assembly that he "[did] not speak in any official capacity on behalf of the Archdiocese of Detroit, nor any regional nor national group of bishops," though he said he testified "as a priest of the Catholic Church for almost 50 years and a bishop for almost 38 years." In that testimony, he also said he had been inappropriately touched by a priest while a teenager.
Gumbleton submitted his resignation to then-Pope Benedict XVI less than a month later, in early February. He later claimed that Church leaders had responded negatively to his testimony and that the Vatican had demanded he resign from his role as bishop and as pastor of St. Leo Parish in Detroit.
The prelate was already on the cusp of resignation at the time; he had turned 75 the year before, the age at which bishops are generally required to submit their resignation. Gumbleton himself had requested that he be allowed to continue serving in his role, but the Congregation for Bishops (now the Dicastery for Bishops) had refused.
Gumbleton later said he had corresponded with the congregation for nearly a year on the matter before ultimately submitting his resignation shortly after his testimony at the Ohio Statehouse.
Controversy followed the bishop into his retirement. A supporter of women's ordination to the priesthood, Gumbleton was also an advocate for changes to the Church's teaching about homosexuality. In 2013 he publicly contradicted Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron and urged Catholic supporters of same-sex marriage: "Don't stop going to Communion."
Several years before, then-Marquette, Michigan, Bishop Alexander Sample requested that Gumbleton not attend a talk in the former's diocese, citing his stance on homosexuality and women's ordination. "In order that no one becomes confused, everyone under my pastoral care must receive clear teaching on these important doctrines," Sample said at the time.
In announcing his death this week, Vigneron described Gumbleton as "a faithful son of the Archdiocese of Detroit, loved and respected by his brother priests and the laity for his integrity and devotion to the people he served."
"We in the archdiocese join his family and friends in praying for the repose of his soul and asking God to grant him the reward of his labors," the archbishop said.
Pope Francis addresses the crowd at the proclamation of the papal bull "Spes Non Confudit," meaning "Hope Does Not Disappoint," at the Vatican on Thursday, May 9, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN/Vatican PoolVatican City, May 9, 2024 / 13:54 pm (CNA).The Catholic Church's 2025 Jubilee was officially proclaimed on Thursday by Pope Francis, who presided over a formal reading of the Jubilee's papal bull of indiction.The papal bull, titled "Spes Non Confudit," meaning "Hope Does Not Disappoint," declares that the Jubilee Year will officially begin with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve 2024.The pope further decreed that every Catholic cathedral around the world should offer Mass on Dec. 29, 2024, as the solemn opening of the Jubilee Year for their local communities. Pope Francis encouraged dioceses to organize pilgrimages to the cathedrals for the occasion.A prelate proclaims the papal bull "Spes Non Confudit," meaning "Hope Does Not Disappoint...
Pope Francis at vespers following the proclamation of the papal bull "Spes Non Confudit," meaning "Hope does not disappoint," at the Vatican, Thursday, May 9, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNAVatican City, May 9, 2024 / 14:45 pm (CNA).The Catholic Church's 2025 Jubilee was officially proclaimed on Thursday, May 9, by Pope Francis, who presided over a formal reading of the Jubilee's papal bull of indiction.The papal bull, titled "Spes Non Confudit," meaning "Hope Does Not Disappoint," declares that the Jubilee Year will officially begin with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve 2024.Below is the full text of the bull.FRANCISBISHOP OF ROMESERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GODTO ALL WHO READ THIS LETTER MAY HOPE FILL YOUR HEARTS1. SPES NON CONFUNDIT. "Hope does not disappoint" (Rom 5:5). In the spirit of hope, the Apostle Paul addressed these words of encouragement to the Christian community of Rome. Hope is also the central message of the coming Jubilee ...
Attorney General of Massachusetts Andrea Joy Campbell speaks onstage during the pro-abortion EMILYs List's 2023 Pre-Oscars Breakfast at on March 7, 2023, in Beverly Hills, California. / Credit: Araya Doheny/Getty Images for EMILYs ListWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 9, 2024 / 15:15 pm (CNA).A group of at least 17 Democratic attorneys general has formed a "reproductive rights working group" to expand abortion access and crack down on pregnancy resource centers across the country, according to reporting by The 19th, a pro-abortion news source. The group is being led by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell. She said on Thursday that the group will serve as a "united effort" to "protect access to abortion across our country." In an interview with The 19th, Campbell said that the group held its first meeting this week and had 17 state attorneys general in attendance. She said they plan to use member attorney general offices' resources to advanc...