Retired Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton is taking his show on the road. This time to Archbishop Chaput’s diocese to support a sex-abuse bill in Colorado that takes aim only at the Catholic Church and ignores every other institution.
…His visit was arranged through the office of Sen. Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon. She and Rep. Gwyn Green, D-Golden, each authored controversial bills that would remove the statute of limitations so that adult victims of childhood sexual abuse could bring civil lawsuits against their predators, even if the incidents occurred many years ago.
Unexpected opposition from the Colorado Catholic Conference and the Archdiocese of Denver led Fitz-Gerald to lay over her own bill to concentrate on Green’s remaining House Bill 1090.
"I’d like for a man of faith to tell his story so state lawmakers don’t believe the position that the Denver Archdiocese has taken against the bill is the only Catholic position in the country," Fitz-Gerald said. "I’d like to point out that some Catholic leaders think it’s a necessary thing to do.
"Bishop Gumbleton strongly believes the state needs to lift the window to get the names of perpetrators in the public forum so the abuse doesn’t continue and to get some sense of justice for victims."
[Via Gerald]
Perhaps the Archbishop could start by naming the priest who had allegedly abused him. After all if the story is true wouldn’t doing this help others that would probably have been abused from the same person and might want support? I have pretty much been skeptical of his recent confession of abuse, but if true it wouldn’t be the first time that homosexual abuse as a minor lead to someone developing homosexual tendencies or become sympathetic to homosexuality.
Of course Chaput and Gumbleton with the same area could lead to catastrophic results. No need for anti-matter to power a starship; I think you could power one with the energy collision of orthodoxy and heterodoxy of of these two bishops in close proximity.
6 comments
Wow I hadn’t heard this. I’ll have keep my ears open and hear what happens.
As a clarification, the Denver Archdiocese is not against “get[ing] the names of perpetrators in the public forum so the abuse doesn’t continue and to get some sense of justice for victims”. I think Chaput agrees with that statement very clearly. However, these proposed CO bills will only reveal a few perpetrators. The vast majority of them are protected in public schools, which this bill does nto address.
Abuse in childhood might lead one to develop homosexual tendencies or become sympathetic to homosexuality? That’s it? Might it not lead one to actually – dare I say it?! – *become* homosexual?
I hope there’s a decent Catholic on the committee to grill this degenerate pagan.
Gumbie was recently in Milwaukee addressing Call to Action (all 3 active and ambulatory members) and another group–both now attempting to defeat the Wisconsin constitutional amendment which would define marriage as ‘between man and woman…’
The talk was originally scheduled to be given on the property of St John’s Cathedral, but when the Abp. was advised that this might be, ah, un-Catholic, it was suddenly moved to All Saints’ Parish.
The Cathedral Rector, Fr. C. Last, is a very close personal friend of the pastor at All Saints.
Couldn’t Bishop Chaput forbid him to speak in the name of the Church in his diocese?
Gumbie was also in Boston lately. Who’s paying for this roadshow?
UPDATE to this story:
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=6546