Gerbilling and the Episcopal Church

Gerbilling: a definition
For those of you still sitting on your hands, here's a definition: Gerbilling (sometimes known as gerbil-stuffing) is the practice, always attributed to gay men, of inserting a live rodent into one's rectum, or that of a partner, for erotic pleasure.
And what are the facts about gerbilling? In reality, it's not a "practice" of any group of people, gay or otherwise. And while the activity has surely been tried by someone, somewhere — maybe even more than once — it is not, if I may repeat myself, a common erotic pastime in any known culture or subculture.
The burden of proof is on those who claim otherwise.
If you ask me, these whispered accusations about gays and gerbils are purely homophobic in origin. The Internet, to name just one arena of popular culture, is rife with such whispers, always supplemented with comments to the effect of, "Believe it or not, homos really do this sort of thing!"
Oh, yeah? You know that for a fact? Based on what? Let's see some proof! Otherwise, it's just ignorance begetting ignorance.
Far be it from me to deny there are homosexuals who insert strange things into their rectums. The point is, there are plenty of proud heterosexuals who do precisely same thing. Despite what homophobics would have us believe, anal eroticism isn't unique to any one gender or sexual orientation. In terms of sexual activities generally, the difference between gays and straights isn't so much what they do, but with whom they choose to do it. Nor is there any evidence I'm aware of to indicate that homosexuals are more likely to sexually abuse animals than heterosexuals are. Correct me if I'm wrong.
End of lecture. On to Richard Gere. The rumor that started all this fuss goes something like this:
Many years ago, "they" say, Mr. Gere was admitted into the emergency room of a Los Angeles hospital with foreign object lodged in his rectum. Some say Gere was alone when he arrived, others say he was accompanied by a friend (e.g., former love interest Cindy Crawford). In any case, an x-ray was taken and it was determined that the foreign object was a gerbil (either alive or dead, depending on who tells the story). Mr. Gere was rushed to surgery, where it took an entire team of doctors to extract the animal from Gere's behind. Some variants say the gerbil had been shaven and declawed; others claim the animal had been placed in a special plastic pouch. Still others insist the poor creature was Gere's own beloved pet (aptly named "Tibet" in this variant). In any case, when the surgery was finally over the medical team was sworn to secrecy — unsuccessfully, we must conclude — and Gere went on his merry way, suffering no permanent harm other than to his reputation.
"Is it true?" you ask.