January 11, 2006

Detroit Bishop Claims Sexual Abuse By Priest

WASHINGTON (DC)
ClickonDetroit.com

WASHINGTON -- Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit, arguing for more time for sex abuse victims to sue the Roman Catholic Church, says he was abused by a priest 60 years ago.

Gumbleton, 75, told The Washington Post in an interview published in Wednesday's editions that he was "inappropriately touched" by a priest in 1945 when he was a ninth grader at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit.

He is believed to be the first U.S. bishop to disclose that he was a victim of clergy sexual abuse and also the first to endorse proposals in several states to remove time limits that have prevented many victims of sex abuse from suing the church.

"I don't want to exaggerate that I was terribly damaged," Gumbleton told the Post in a telephone interview. "It was not the kind of sexual abuse that many of the victims experience."

But he said the experience helps him understand why sex abuse victims often cannot bring themselves to file lawsuits within the period allowed by the statute of limitations, which in many states is two to five years after the alleged crime.

Posted by kshaw at January 11, 2006 07:51 AM