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Suzanne Sattler, Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, is an attorney and a former English teacher. Now, she’s also an author.
On June 29, she and Frank Fromherz released the biography “No Guilty Bystander: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Catholic Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit.” A book launch party will be held later this month.
Gumbleton, 93, was a bishop in Detroit for 55 years and is known for his social advocacy. Now retired, he continues to speak on social issues. Sattler has been Gumbleton’s driver and friend for years.
“When the author Frank Fromherz arrived in Detroit to interview the subject of his new biography, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, he was not looking for a co-author. And yet, after being driven around town by Sister Suzanne Sattler, he knew he needed her input for his evolving manuscript. Sister Sue contributed five chapters regarding the work of Bishop Gumbleton, whom she knows well,” Michele Farrell from the IMH Communications Department wrote in a release.
“Sue is Bishop Gumbleton’s driver most of the time,” Calley Duffey from the IHM Communications Department said. “Sue has known Bishop Gumbleton since 1968. He was the celebrant at her first vows, and they got to be closer and closer friends over the years. She witnessed most of the areas she wrote about. Her part was about his life in Detroit, at St. Leo’s Parish.”
Sattler collaborated with Gumbleton on several projects through the years. Gumbleton’s ministry has involved several locations and issues, including Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, racism, discrimination, civil rights, labor and economic injustice, LGBTQ rights, nuclear weapons and the arms race, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti, and clergy sexual abuse, the IHM Communications Department said.
Gumbleton was named a bishop in 1968 by Pope Paul VI and eventually became known as the “peace bishop.” He began speaking out against the war in Vietnam following his work with young men who were morally opposed to the draft.
“Through his work at St. Leo’s Parish, Bishop Gumbleton experienced a dramatic change. He went from being a white middle-class clergy member with limited exposure to the African American community, to greatly valuing African American culture. He demonstrated this with an insistence that mass fully incorporate Black music and worship traditions that heretofore had been underappreciated,” Farrell wrote. “In addition, Bishop Gumbleton advocated for survivors of childhood clerical sexual abuse, and he is the first bishop to reveal that he was also a victim of clergy sexual abuse, a secret he kept for 60 years. Sister Sue has written about the bishop with a clarity that leaves the impression of a man who has journeyed, practiced civil disobedience and answered all those who needed something from him by providing whatever that something was, albeit guidance, money, direction or a listening ear.”
Sattler, the youngest of four children, was born in Toledo during World War II. Her formal education was in Catholic schools. After high school, she moved to Detroit to attend Marygrove College, where she met the IHM Sisters and joined the congregation after college graduation in 1965. Her ministry has included high school teaching, graduate work at the University of Michigan and work at the University of Detroit School of Law. As a member of the Michigan Bar, she practiced poverty law specializing in health care and aging policy. She’s also served on nonprofit boards for more than 40 years. For the last 25 years, Sattler has been involved in solidarity work with the people of El Salvador.
“Her next ministry will be working for immigrants, specifically undocumented Immigrants,” Duffey said.
“No Guilty Bystander: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Catholic Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit” is a 336-page softcover book with many black and white photos. A book launch party will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. July 27 at Sacred Heart Church, 1000 Eliot St. in Detroit. John Thorne, pastoral associate, will host the program, which will include a book signing. Gumbleton will attend. The book is available for $30; royalties go to the Kay Lasante Health Clinic in Haiti. The launch party also will be livestreamed at www.sacredheartdetroit.com.
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