Thomas J. Gumbleton, a retired Catholic prelate and longtime social activist, never officially married.
He became known for pushing the Church toward a more compassionate and understanding stance on marriage and human sexuality.
“In married life, the Catholic Church at one time taught married people that you could not engage in sexual intercourse and not commit sin because you would experience pleasure,” Gumbleton told PBS. “Now people would be astounded at that. And yet that’s what we taught. Now there’s a much deeper understanding of the importance of intimacy and sexual intimacy within marriage as a way to strengthen and build the bond between two people. And that the sexual relationship is a very important part of the whole married relationship. Nothing wrong with it.”
His views were also shaped by a personal family moment: his brother publicly came out as gay, prompting Gumbleton to rethink his assumptions and the Church’s approach to homosexuality.
“Until suddenly in my own family I was confronted when my brother wrote a letter to my siblings and me and my mother coming out–saying He is gay and had been all his life–had struggled against it in various ways as many homosexual people do,” Gumbleton told PBS. “Because first of all, you’re taught it’s wrong. And so you somehow feel it’s wrong. And you’re trying to do the right thing. So you’re trying not to be who you are.”
He drew a distinction between homosexual orientation, which he does not view as sinful, and homosexual acts, which remain the focus of traditional Church teaching.
Gumbleton urged the Church to continue evolving toward a more nuanced, empathetic understanding of sexuality and marriage.
“The Church, over the centuries, has tried to teach about sexuality in single life, married life, homosexual life, and our teaching has evolved. And that’s true of almost any moral teaching within the Church,” Gumbleton further said to PBS.
He Passed Away at 94
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, a longtime activist against war and racial injustice, died at 94 on April 4. Over a 50-year ministry he became known for opposing the Vietnam War in the 1960s and emerged as a leading figure in Pax Christi USA, the Catholic peace organization.
“Bishop Gumbleton was 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,” said Allen Vigneron, the current archbishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in Michigan to The Detroit News.
He was not without controversy: Gumbleton attracted criticism for positions including opposition to military service, and his work took him into contact with victims of violence in many parts of the world.
Born in Detroit, Gumbleton was ordained a priest in 1956. He served at St. Leo’s, a parish noted for its largely Black congregation, and advocated for survivors of sexual abuse and for LGBTQ+ rights until he retired in 2006.
