St. Leo Parishioners Greet New Pastor but Question Circumstances of Liberal Bishop's Exit.
By Shawn D. Lewis
Detroit News
January 29, 2007
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070129/LIFESTYLE04/701290329
The mood was somber at St. Leo Catholic Church Sunday morning.
It was the first Sunday parishioners had to worship without their beloved Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton at the helm. Gumbleton, 77, resigned from the west side church, near Grand River and West Warren, but told parishioners it was not of his own volition.
And the parishioners, although welcoming to the new pastor, the Rev. Gerard Battersby, are upset.
"If I could sum up our feelings in one word, it would be 'sad,'?" said Leo Kohanski of Detroit, who has been attending the church for more than 20 years.
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| Gumbleton spoke in January 2006 in support of an Ohio bill to remove time limits preventing people claiming abuse from suing the church. Photo by Associated Press |
Gumbleton, the liberal priest who champions civil rights and is outspoken about victims of sexual abuse by priests, told parishioners during his final service at the church on Jan. 21 that he did not choose to leave St. Leo.
"It was something that was forced upon me and I apologize to all of you," he said. "I'm sure that it's because of the openness with which I spoke out last January concerning victims of sex abuse in the church. So we're all suffering the consequences of that, and yet, I don't regret doing what I did because I still think it was the right thing to do."
Gumbleton has said he was molested as a boy by a clergyman.
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| Longtime St. Leo Catholic Church members Edward Sears, left, and Denise Dunham hug before attending Mass on Sunday, the church's first Sunday service since the resignation of Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton. Gumbleton, 77, had told the congregation he was forced to leave, citing his outspoken comments about sexual abuse by priests. Photo by Brandy Baker / The Detroit News |
Although church law requires bishops to retire from that position at age 75, there is no law requiring retiring bishops to remove themselves completely from their church's leadership.
"He can still say Mass, he just won't be the administrator at that church any longer," said archdiocese spokesman Ned McGrath.
Gumbleton, who could not be reached for comment, told parishioners that he wrote a separate letter to Cardinal Adam Maida resigning from the parish but with the understanding that he would remain as administrator on a year-by year basis, as some of his classmates, some older than him.
McGrath said, in accepting the resignation, Pope Benedict XVI informed Gumbleton he had to resign from all posts.
But parishioner Randy Frank 43, of Dearborn is among several church members to describe the circumstances surrounding the resignation as unjust.
"If Bishop Gumbleton is healthy and willing to continue serving, he should be allowed to stay on," said Frank, who has attended since 1991. "I think what the archdiocese did was wrong. Most of us believe it is because he's been outspoken against scandals and abuse by priests. I applaud what he did. But I also think we should welcome Fr. Gerard."
Daniel Maxwell, one of the ministers of service, has attended the parish for 47 years. "I started to leave the church, and was actually thinking of not coming here today," he said. "But my wife said, 'let's just go and see.'?"
Lourdes Nearon of Dearborn, an active member of the church, has been attending with her family for almost five years. "We have found a home here, and someone has been uprooted and taken from us with no real explanation. I feel it was done underhandedly."
Anthony Lesnick, 54, of Dearborn attended Sunday with his wife Wendy and 5-month-old son, who was baptized by Gumbleton.
"It is not that we do not like the new pastor, it's that we love Bishop Gumbleton," Lesnick said. "We want people to hear our voice and to know that it's not over yet."
The Rev. Battersby, who formerly pastored at St. Christopher in Detroit, said he will not try to fill Gumbleton's shoes. "This is a lovely community that is celebrating their grief in Christ Jesus, because he is our hope. I'm coming to pray with this community."
Detroit News Staff Writer Santiago Esparza contributed to this report.
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