Who we are

What we do

Contact us

Search

The Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church (ARCC, founded 1980) presented its 2011 Hans Küng Rights of Catholics in the Church Award to Bishop Thomas Gumbleton at the BWI Best Western, Friday, November 11, 2011, at 7:30 P.M.

The report on his presentation can be seen here.

The Award was named after Father Hans Küng (its first recipient in 2005), who was removed by the Vatican from his position as Professor of Catholic Theology at the University of Tübingen, Germany, in 1979. This was the culmination of a year-long series of silencing actions taken by the Vatican. One consequence of these actions was the formation of the Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church in the United States, which is now an international organization of Catholics working for structural reform of the Church.

Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, a retired auxiliary bishop of the Detroit archdiocese, is a leading voice for peace, justice, and civil rights in the United States. He is a co-author of the 1983 U.S. Catholic Bishops' Conference Pastoral Letter, "The Challenge of Peace." One of the first bishops to speak out against the Vietnam War, he is a founding member and past president of Pax Christi USA, the American Catholic peace movement. He is also a founder and former president of Bread for the World.

Since becoming a bishop in 1968, he has traveled throughout the world calling for an end to war and the abolition of nuclear weapons. He has spoken out courageously on behalf the victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic church, and he has advocated for the full participation and the rights of women and homosexuals in the Catholic Church. He has met with victims of war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Israel, Palestine, Colombia, Haiti, and Peru. He led a delegation to visit the American hostages in Iran in 1979. Among his many awards and honorary degrees are the 2007 Detroit Spirit of MLK Award and numerous lifetime achievement awards for peacemaking. His homilies are read by thousands each week in the National Catholic Reporter. From 1983-2007 he was the pastor of St. Leo Parish, a vibrant church in inner-city Detroit. In January of 2007 he was forced by the archdiocese of Detroit to leave his post and his home at St. Leo's. He continues to serve the people of Detroit as a priest and bishop, and to travel the world speaking and working on behalf of victims of war, violence, and prejudice.

Bp Gumbleton offered remarks on "Vatican II and the Rights of Catholics".

Information: Tel. (870) 235-5200 ; e-mail: arcc@arcc-catholic-rights.net

Other voices

Another Voice

Questions From a Ewe

Challenges Facing Catholicism
(Bishop Geoffrey Robinson in converation with Dr Ingrid Shafer)