As he turns 75, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton reflects ...

... on Pope Benedict XVI, polarization within the Church, and the challenge to reach out to young people, in and interview by Bill and Mary Carry in Catholic Peace Voice.

When he turned 75, he didn't send the Pope a letter of resignation, as required. Why not? Because he didn't want an opening for a new auxiliary bishop in Detroit. Why not? Because Pope John Paul II would appoint the successor.

... his pontificate was a major loss for the church because very, very few bishops that have been named by him have shown any inclination to be involved in action for justice and participating in the transformation of the world, except on issues that affect the medical moral/ethical field.

That's the only place bishops have been active in any political way, which is how you try to change the world according to Catholic teaching.

But later,

BC: What's the hardest thing you've had to encounter as a U.S. bishop entrenched in the peace movement?

BTG: The hardest thing...you know, it's not something I've suffered in a physical way, but the hardest thing is the indifference of most people to this issue, which I find frustrating, because I see it as the number one issue for the future of the planet, and also for our spiritual future.

A bishop who regards himself as indispensible and bishops as political wonders why lay people are indifferent.