Speeches

"Citizens who unquestioningly accept the war policies of their government are untrue to their human dignity as thinking compassionate beings. Such passive acceptance is to give an almost divine status to our political leaders. The human lives at stake will not allow us to close our eyes to the moral questions raised by a war on the grounds that we do not have all the information that the government has, It is the responsibility of our political leaders to justify their war decisions to their constituents.True patriotism will inspire a citizen to seriously examine national policies that affect the lives of thousands or even millions of human beings."

(from "War Never Again" New Catholic World, Sept-Oct., 1972)

"But we, they, I cannot be silent any longer. We must say no with clarity, with finality. We must say no to nuclear war. We must say no to the arms race. We must say no to the testing which makes the arms race possible."

We must say yes only to authentic peace-a peace built on trust in God who sees what is in our hearts. We must say yes only to the Peace of Christ, "who though he was God, stripped himself of glory and by shedding his blood on the cross, brought peace to the world."

"I cannot say yes to the peace of Christ and yes to nuclear weapons. I cannot say yes to the peace of Christ and yes to modern warfare. It doesn't fit; it is not consistent, and I cannot do it."

(from Nevada Test Site Statement, May, 1987, at Pax Christi USA National action. Quoted in Words of Peace Vol. II: Selections from Bishop Thomas Gumbleton. Pax Christi USA 1991.)

"I stood before the mound in Peace Park that is the ashes of tens of thousands of unnamed people. The bodies were gathered and burned within days after the attack, and now there is only a huge mound of ashes. I stood there speechless, empty. What can you say? What can you feel in the presence of such horror, remembering how they died?"

"If there is a morality that can justify such an act, then I say that there is no morality. The word is empty of significance. If there is a religious belief that can be in harmony with this, then there is no such thing as religion. If there is any way this is compatible with being a Christian, I would reject Christianity. If Jesus could bless followers who do this, I would have nothing to do with Jesus."

"Clearly, there is an urgency for conversion-a complete about-face. But it has not happened. It is not happening.What concerns me most of all.is that Hiroshima, that unnamable sin, is taking place everyday. Our own nation is doing it again and again and again.Hiroshima, the sin, the evil, is committed everyday in our hearts."

(From "The Challenge of Peace; The Catholic Church in Public Debate",
Catholic University of America Symposium, Oct., 1989.
Quoted in Words of Peace Vol. II: Selections from Bishop Thomas Gumbleton.
Pax Christi USA 1991.)

..."we must keep working against injustice wherever we find it. As you forge your own convictions, speak out responsibly. Don't you, as adults, assume the role of children within the church."

(From a public discussion with University of Michigan faculty, 1980. Quoted in Words of Peace Vol. II: Selections from Bishop Thomas Gumbleton. Pax Christi USA 1991.)

"When every bishop in every diocese cooperates in bringing about a genuinely just resolution of every charge of sexual abuse, I believe we will once more be perceived as credible moral teachers. Thus what is good for the victims will likewise be good for the church."

..."It may cause some hardship for us financially. It might seem easier to keep the evils hidden, to move on and trust that the future will be better. But I am convinced that a settlement of every case by our court system is the only way to protect children and to heal the brokenness within the church."

"He tells us, I think, that a single act of conscience is like a seed in the ground, that whatever is done for the truth will make a difference, and that it is God that will make that difference acting through us. However small or large our acts of courage, it is God who acts through us and makes the seed grow."

( (1987, May 20). Franz Jaegerstaetter. Speech to honor the 80th birthday of Franz Jaegerstatter in Linz, Austria.)