Thomas Gumbleton, Catholic bishop who opposed war and promoted social justice, dies at 94 [Video]

DETROIT — Thomas Gumbleton, a Catholic bishop in Detroit who for decades was an international voice against war and racism and an advocate for labor and social justice, died Thursday. He was 94.

Gumbleton’s death was announced by the Archdiocese of Detroit, where he was a clergyman for more than 50 years. A cause was not disclosed.

“Bishop Gumbleton was a faithful son of the Archdiocese of Detroit, loved and respected by his brother priests and the laity for his integrity and devotion to the people he served,” said Archbishop Allen Vigneron.

Gumbleton became a national religious figure in the 1960s when he was urged by activist priests to oppose the U.S. role in the Vietnam War. He was a founding leader of Pax Christi USA, an American Catholic peace movement.

“Our participation in it is gravely immoral,” Gumbleton said of the war, writing in The New York Times. “When …