Charles Coleman Thompson (born April 11, 1961) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in Indiana since 2017. He previously served as the bishop of the Diocese of Evansville in Indiana from 2011 to 2017.

Career

Early life

Thompson was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He attended Bellarmine College, graduating with a Bachelor of Accounting degree. Thompson earned a Master of Divinity degree at Saint Meinrad School of Theology in St. Meinrad, Indiana and a Licentiate of Canon Law at

St. Paul University Saint Paul University (french: Université Saint-Paul) is a bilingual Catholic Pontifical university federated with the University of Ottawa since 1965. It is located on Main Street in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, Ontario. Fully bilingual, it ...

in Ottawa, Ontario.

Priesthood

On May 30, 1987, Thompson was ordained into the priesthood for the

Diocese of Louisville The Archdiocese of Louisville is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that consists of twenty-four counties in the central American state of Kentucky, covering . As of 2018, the archdiocese contains ap ...

by Archbishop Thomas Kelly. After his ordination, he served until 1990 as associate pastor at St. Joseph Pro-Cathedral Parish and as chaplain at Bethlehem High School, both in Bardstown, Kentucky. In 1992, he resumed work part-time as an associate pastor at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Louisville. In 1993, Thompson was named metropolitan vicar and director of tribunals for the diocese. He administered St. Peter Claver Parish in Louisville from 1994 to 1996 and also served as a chaplain for the Presentation Academy in Louisville from 1995 to 1997. In 1996, Thompson was assigned as pastor at St. Augustine Parish in Lebanon, Kentucky. He was named defender of the bond and judge of the Diocesan Tribunal in 1998. Thompson was appointed pastor in 2002 of Holy Trinity Parish and chaplain of Sacred Heart Academy, both in Louisville. In addition to his pastoral work at Holy Trinity, Thompson was appointed vicar general in 2008.

Bishop of Evansville

Coat of arms of Charles Coleman Thompson

Pope Benedict XVI appointed Thompson as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Evansville on April 26, 2011. He was consecrated by Archbishop Joseph Kurtz on June 29, 2011, at Roberts Municipal Stadium in Evansville. The co-consecrators were Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein, Archbishop

Thomas C. Kelly Thomas Cajetan Kelly (July 14, 1931 – December 14, 2011) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. A member of the Dominican Order, Kelley served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville in Kentucky from 1982 until his retire ...

, and Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger.

Archbishop of Indianapolis

Pope Francis appointed Thompson as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis on June 13, 2017. He was installed on July 28, 2017. Thompson was the youngest American archbishop at the time of his installation. Soon after his installation, Thompson ordered three Catholic high schools in the archdiocese to terminate three employees who had entered into same-sex marriages: *

Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School (BJPS) is a private college-preparatory school founded by the Jesuits and located on the northwest side of Indianapolis. It is a part of the Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus and geographically located w ...

refused to fire Layton Payne-Elliot, a male teacher who married Joshua Payne-Elliot in 2017. After a period of fruitless negotiations, Thompson suspended the Catholic status of Brebeuf in June 2019.. The Jesuits appealed his decision to the Congregation for Catholic Education in Rome, which temporarily rescinded Thompson's order. In 2020, the Holy See assigned Cardinal Joseph Tobin to mediate the dispute. * Roncalli High School fired two guidance counselors, Shelly Fitzgerald and Lynn Starkey, both of whom had married other women. Fitzgerald and Starkey sued the archdiocese and Thompson in separate cases, alleging

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

and retaliation. On August 11, 2021, the US Southern District of Indiana dismissed the Starkey lawsuit. * Cathedral High School fired Joshua Payne-Elliot, a teacher who married Layton Payne-Elliot in 2017. In a statement, Cathedral said that defying the archbishop could have meant losing its non-profit tax status. Payne -Elliot ued the archdiocese, but the case was dismissed in Marion County Superior Court on May 20, 2021.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Charles C. 1961 births Living people 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Evansville Bellarmine University alumni Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology alumni University of Ottawa alumni Religious leaders from Louisville, Kentucky Catholics from Kentucky