’Pro Gay’ Bishop Barred from Diocese

A young Catholic bishop has censored an retired colleague, barring him from public speaking.

Anti-gay religious Web site LifeSiteNews.com branded 79-year-old Bishop Thomas Gumbleton a "notorious promoter of homosexuality" in an Oct. 13 article.

The site also characterized the decision by Michigan bishop Alexander K. Sample, who is 49 years old, as "an effort to defend the Church’s teachings on homosexuality and other issues."

Bishop Gumbleton, of the Archdiocese of Detroit, had been invited to speak to a citizens’ group in Marquette, Michigan, which is included in the diocese overseen by Bishop Sample.

Though the citizens’ group, Marquette Citizens for Peace and Justice, say they were not given an explanation as to why Bishop Gumble was denied permission to make his address, Bishop Sample outlined his general rationale in a statement.

The LifeSiteNews article quoted from Bishop Sample’s statement, which read in part, "As the Bishop of the Diocese of Marquette, I am the chief shepherd and teacher of the Catholic faithful of the Upper Peninsula entrusted to my pastoral care.

"As such I am charged with the grave responsibility to keep clearly before my people the teachings of the Catholic Church on matters of faith and morals."

Bishop Sample cited his elder colleague’s stance on gays and the role of women in the church as reasons for having denied Bishop Gumbleton his chance to speak publicly.

"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 to me in fulfilling my responsibility."

Bishop Sample, the article reported, was not concerned about the substance of the speech that Bishop Gumbleton was to have delivered, which concerned the "Abolition of Nuclear Weapons," but rather had concerns about what the elder church official might have to say as he interacted on a personal level with local parishoners.

Admitted Bishop Sample, "I was concerned about his well-known and public stature and position on these issues and my inability to keep these matters from coming up in discussion.

"In order that no one becomes confused, everyone under my pastoral care must receive clear teaching on these important doctrines."

Bishop Gumbleton, the article noted, belongs to progressive Catholic organizations that have been denounced by the Vatican. The elder Bishop is affiliated with both New Ways Ministry and Call to Action, the article said.

The groups embrace gays and lesbians as falling within normal human sexual variation.