Group: Bishop's Arizona talks blocked by Vatican
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The Vatican has silenced an outspoken Catholic bishop, forcing him to cancel two planned talks in Arizona.
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit must seek permission from local bishops anywhere he wishes to speak, by order of the papal nuncio, the Vatican's ambassador to the United States, according to local leaders of Call to Action. The group has taken a variety of positions at odds with church policy.
Bishops Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix and Gerald Kicanas of Tucson refused to grant the permission.
Normally, Catholic clergy need permission only to conduct religious services. The Vatican has penalized dissident theologians in the past, but Robert Blair Kaiser, a Phoenix author who has covered the Vatican since 1962, said he had never heard of a nuncio restricting a bishop.
A source close to Gumbleton in Detroit confirmed the nuncio's action. A man who declined to identify himself at the nuncio's office in Washington, D.C., said the office would not talk about any such order.
Call to Action leaders said Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the papal nuncio, laid down the requirement to Gumbleton several months ago, reportedly as a result of testimony Gumbleton gave a year ago to the Ohio Legislature in favor of expanded time frames for abuse victims to file lawsuits.
Frank Douglas, a Voice of the Faithful leader in Tucson, claimed Gumbleton "has been blackballed by his own church" because of the Ohio testimony.
Nicole Sotelo, a leader in Call to Action's Chicago headquarters, said the Arizona meetings would go on at other churches with Gumbleton on video.
M.J. Benton, a Phoenix Call to Action leader, said the meetings would proceed in Tucson and Phoenix, with Gumbleton on video. The Tucson meeting is at 7 p.m. today at First Christian Church, 740 E. Speedway Blvd.Phoenix Diocese spokesman James Dwyer said the problem was not with Gumbleton, who has taken positions at odds with a majority of his fellow bishops, but with Call to Action.
The group, which has about 325 members in the Phoenix area, describes itself as "a Catholic movement working for equality and justice in the church and society." It has called for an end to the celibacy requirement for priests, approval for female priests and lay participation in the choice of church leaders, among other things.
Such positions conflict with official church teaching.
"The bishop is pleased that Bishop Gumbleton has decided to cancel," Dwyer said. "I don't believe he or any bishop has to explain in detail why we do not endorse Call to Action. The record speaks for itself."
Sotelo said Gumbleton was disappointed in the bishops' reactions. Gumbleton declined to respond to numerous requests for comment.
Gumbleton's stance on expanding the amount of time sex-abuse victims have to file lawsuits and other positions have made him a favorite of liberal Catholics but also a maverick among American bishops.
So you desire a church with:
women clergy
married priesthood
election of leadership by lay persons
"politicaly correct" positions on abortion, homosexuality and other social issues
I have a suggestion - join the Anglicans. They have all of this and more.
Rather than try and change the Catholic church, why not move on to a church that more closely fits what you want? You might be happier.