Bishop Sample tells Detroit bishop not to speak publicly

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MARQUETTE - Members of the Citizens for Peace and Social Justice group said they are appalled, sad and frustrated over a decision by Bishop Alexander Sample of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette to deny a Detroit bishop permission to speak publicly in Marquette this weekend.

"We're really confused about it," said Darlene Dreisbach, a member of the Marquette peace organization. "Doesn't that seem like the Middle Ages?"

Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton, 79, of Detroit was invited by the Citizens for Peace and Social Justice group to talk about "Visions of Peace: Abolition of Nuclear Weapons" at a forum scheduled for Monday. He was also invited to give a speech on peace in a local church on Sunday.

"Yesterday afternoon he called us and said he received a letter from Bishop Sample to not speak publicly," Dreisbach said. "He was not told why."

Gumbleton, a retired Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop of the Detroit Archdiocese, is a longtime national and international activist in the peace movement, according to Dreisbach.

"He was the founder (member) of Pax Christi USA," she said. "He was one of the first bishops to speak out against the Vietnam War."

Gumbleton, whose homilies can be read in The National Catholic Reporter, has been known as an outspoken critic of violence and militarism; his stances have drawn national attention. He was arrested several times for anti-war protesting and performing acts of civil disobedience outside of The White House.

"I don't know how one bishop can deny civil rights," Dreisbach said, adding that she now has to cancel every event planned for Gumbleton's visit.