VATICAN CITY
The Beacon Journal
Associated Press
VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of a Detroit bishop, a liberal voice in the U.S. church who recently said he was inappropriately touched by a priest and would fight for an Ohio bill to allow victims of abuse to sue the church.
The Vatican's brief announcement Thursday about auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton said the pope accepted the resignation for reasons of age. Gumbleton turned 76 last week, a year past the normal retirement age for bishops.
Gumbleton said last month that he was abused 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 sexual abuse by clergy.
Gumbleton requested that his resignation be approved 10 days after a Columbus news conference where he spoke about his abuse, the bishop said in a letter delivered to parishioners Sunday.