page_title: Gay bishops
section_title: Roman Catholic Church
hierarchical_section_title: Gay bishops / Modern day / Roman Catholic Church
caption_attribution_description: English: American cardinal Francis Spellman (1889-1967)
context_page_description: The existence of homosexual bishops in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and other traditions is a matter of historical record, though never, until recently, considered licit by any of the main Christian denominations. Homosexual activity was engaged in secretly. When it was made public, official response ranged from suspension of sacramental duties to laicization.
  The higher prominence given today to the presence of homosexual clergy, including bishops, in the life of the church reflects broader issues, both socially and ecclesiologically, concerning issues of social tolerance and the relationship between social change and doctrinal development. The issue has attracted greater attention in recent years following the development of the gay rights movement, and the increasing discussion within some Christian churches over the legitimacy of gay clergy in senior positions.
  This has precipitated crises in various Christian denominations, resulting from divergent construals of Christian ethical doctrines, which in turn are associated with the interpretation of the Bible. Traditionally, Christian doctrine has categorized homosexual activity as sinful.
context_section_description: Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, a retired Catholic bishop in the Diocese of Detroit, has consistently been a supporter of New Ways Ministry and has also called for homosexual priests and bishops to "come out" and be truthful to themselves and others. Gumbleton has acted as a keynote speaker at Call to Action conferences. In 1995 he wore a mitre at a church service on which were symbols of the cross, a rainbow and a pink triangle in solidarity with the gay community. Later, he came into the public eye before the Vatican's Instruction with regard to the ordination of homosexual men was released, arguing against Andrew R. Baker's article on the issue in America.
  Francis Spellman, Cardinal Archbishop of New York, was long rumored to have been gay, according to a book by John Cooney, who said that many whom he interviewed took his homosexuality for granted. In addition, a book published in 1998 claims that during the Second World War, Spellman was carrying on a relationship with a chorus boy in the Broadway revue One Touch of Venus. Spellman defended Senator Joseph McCarthy's 1953 investigations of subversives and homosexuals in the federal government.
  Archbishop Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, retired on 24 May 2002 following the revelation that he had used $450,000 in archdiocesan funds to settle a lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment. In a statement one week later, he admitted the falsity of his previous assertion that income he had earned outside of his priestly occupation (and turned over to the Church) exceeded the $450,000. In 2009 he confirmed that he was gay, but did not reveal any details of his relationships.
  The auxiliary Roman Catholic Bishop of Cape Town, South Africa,  Reginald Cawcutt,  resigned in July 2002 following allegations that he outed himself as gay on a sometimes-sexually charged website set up for gay priests. Bishop Reginald Cawcutt blamed the scandal on the conservative US organization Roman Catholic Faithful which infiltrated the now closed website, called St. Sebastian's Angels, and traced posting addresses.
  In 2003, Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër was removed from office by Pope John Paul II for alleged sexual misconduct with younger men who were students in his care. Officially, the Pope accepted the resignation letter which Groër had written on the occasion of his 75th birthday. This made Groër, who had adamantly refused to ever comment in public on the allegations, one of the highest-ranking Catholic clerics to become caught up in the sexual abuse scandals.
  In 2005, Juan Carlos Maccarone, the Bishop of Santiago del Estero in Argentina was forced to resign after images were released of him engaged in sexual activity with another man. Suggestion was made that the former state governor Carlos Juarez had been involved in the release after criticism of the governor's human rights record.
  Francisco Domingo Barbosa Da Silveira, the Bishop of Minas in Uruguay, was forced to resign in July 2009, following a gay sex scandal in which he had faced extortion.
  In February 2013, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, was forced to resign as archbishop three months ahead of planned retirement because of allegations of inappropriate acts with four priests during the 1980s, but also more recently. O'Brien had been a vocal critic of the UK Government's plans to introduce same-sex marriage.
  In October 2016, a group in favour of marriage equality in Mexico called the Pride National Front (FON) alleged that a number of Catholic leaders were homosexual. The list included Hipólito Reyes Larios, Archbishop of Xalapa in Veracruz.
caption: Cardinal Francis Spellman
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