US bishop says he was abused as teen by priest

By Andrew Stern

CHICAGO (Reuters) – A Roman Catholic bishop from Detroit
said on Wednesday said he was sexually abused by a priest as a
teenager, becoming the highest-ranking clergyman and the first
prelate to declare himself a victim in the scandal tainting the
church.

“I speak out of my own experience of being exploited as a
teenager through inappropriate touching by a priest,” Auxiliary
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton said in testimony for the Ohio state
legislature.

Gumbleton said he supports efforts in Ohio and several
other states to follow California’s lead in suspending the
statute of limitations for civil lawsuits that allege abuse by
clergy and subsequent cover-ups by the church hierarchy.

The scandal first erupted in 2003 in Boston and has since
involved virtually every U.S. diocese.

Gumbleton, 75, said in published interviews that he was in
a religious high school in Detroit when the unnamed priest took
him to a cottage where they wrestled and he was fondled. The
priest has been dead 10 years and Gumbleton said he had
suffered no lasting effects from the encounter.

A bishop in Detroit since 1968, Gumbleton is known for his
liberal views and his prayer vigils and fasts especially in
support of peace movements and disarmament. He was ordained in
1956 and has been the pastor at St. Leo’s church in Detroit
since 1983.

In his remarks, Gumbleton said he was speaking out as an
individual to apologize to victims and their families and
because the only way to assure perpetrators were exposed was by
providing victims their day in court.

Detroit Cardinal Adam Maida in a statement said he was
saddened by the report of the bishop being an abuse victim,
saying it was the first the diocese had heard of his claims.

“Bishop Gumbleton’s experience is indeed regrettable and,
no doubt, it frames his personal opinion on this matter,” said
archdiocese spokesman Monsignor Ricardo Bass. He added the
archdiocese supported a statute of limitations as “protecting
the rights of everyone, especially after a long passage of
time.”

OTHER STATES MULLING SUSPENSION

California is the lone state to have approved a one-year
window suspending its statute of limitations on abuse lawsuits,
and hundreds of civil cases were filed in 2003, many of which
are pending but dozens of which were settled, said David
Clohessy of the advocacy group Survivors Network of those
Abused by Priests.

Several other states including Ohio, New York and
Pennsylvania are considering suspending the 2- to 5-year
statute of limitations so as to allow lawsuits about events
from long ago.

“It is just incredibly inspiring to see someone of
(Gumbleton’s) stature and position showing such courage. We
know dozens of priests were abused by priests as kids, and we
suspect there were bishops as well,” Clohessy said.

“We’re grateful that he recognizes that reforming laws,
while bitter-tasting medicine, is ultimately very effective
medicine for cleansing the church and protecting kids,” he
said. “The baby-steps taken thus far by the bishops aren’t
fixing the problem.”