Thomas J. Tobin

Thomas Joseph Tobin (born April 1, 1948) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was bishop of the Diocese of Providence in Rhode Island from 2005 to 2023. Tobin previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown in Ohio from 1996 to 2005 and as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania from 1992 to 1995.

Biography

Early life

Thomas Tobin was born on April 1, 1948, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He studied at St. Mark Seminary High School and Gannon University, both in Erie, Pennsylvania. He then entered St. Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1969.

Tobin went to Rome to reside at the Pontifical North American College while studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He also pursued his graduate studies at the Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselm in Rome.

Priesthood

Tobin was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Vincent Leonard for the Diocese of Pittsburgh at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Pittsburgh on July 21, 1973. After his ordination, the diocese assigned Tobin as an assistant pastor at St. Vitus Parish in New Castle, Pennsylvania, for six years. In 1979, he was appointed assistant pastor at St. Sebastian Parish in Ross Township. Pennsylvania, serving there until 1984.

Tobin was named administrative secretary to Bishop Anthony Bevilacqua, then associate general secretary of the diocese in 1987, and vicar general and general secretary in 1990.

Bishop

Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh

On November 3, 1992, Tobin was appointed as auxiliary bishop of Pittsburgh and titular bishop of Novica by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on December 27, 1992, at Saint Paul Cathedral from Bishop Donald Wuerl, with Bishops Anthony Bosco and Nicholas C. Dattilo serving as co-consecrators.

Bishop of Youngstown

John Paul II appointed Tobin as bishop of Youngstown on December 5, 1995. He was installed on February 2, 1996.

In 1997, Tobin received an honorary doctorate from Saint Francis University.

Bishop of Providence

John Paul II appointed Tobin as bishop of Providence on March 31, 2005. He was installed on May 31, 2005. Tobin was a board member of Providence College in Providence and of Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island.

Tobin wrote a column for his diocesan newspaper, ''Without a Doubt''. These columns were published in two volumes: ''Without a Doubt: Bringing Faith to Life'' and ''Effective Faith: Faith that Makes a Difference''. Tobin has been an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and displayed a Steelers banner on his residence during each game day.

When the 2018 Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report on Sexual Abuse detailed sexual abuse in the Diocese of Pittsburgh during Tobin's tenure as auxiliary bishop, Tobin said he "became aware of incidents of sexual abuse when they were reported" but did not report them to local authorities or to parishioners. Tobin explained that he was "...not primarily responsible for clergy issues … Issues involving clergy were handled directly by the Diocesan Bishop with the assistance of the clergy office”. He also said that he carried out "other administrative duties such as budgets, property, diocesan staff, working with consultative groups".

Retirement and legacy

Pope Francis accepted Tobin's resignation as bishop of Providence on May 1, 2023.

Views

Abortion

In November 2009, US Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy said Tobin told him not to take communion in the diocese because of his support for abortion rights for women. Tobin said he had written Kennedy in confidence in 2007 and never intended a public discussion, adding:

"At the same time, I will absolutely respond publicly and strongly whenever he attacks the Catholic Church, misrepresents the teachings of the Church, or issues inaccurate statements about my pastoral ministry."

In August 2013, Tobin announced that he had changed his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican, citing the Democratic Party's support for abortion rights as his primary motivation. In December 2013, he criticized Pope Francis on multiple occasions. After Francis reprimanded Catholics who "obsess" over abortion, Tobin, without mentioning Francis by name, called the abortion issue "a very important obsession". "It’s one thing for him to reach out and embrace and kiss little children," Tobin said. "It would also be wonderful if in a spiritual way he would reach out and embrace and kiss unborn children." He added that he was "a little disappointed in Pope Francis."

Many Rhode Island lawmakers criticized Tobin for his words, both on abortion and homosexuality, with one alleging that his tone was "not very Christian-like." Many publicly stated that they preferred Francis's less dogmatic approach. Tobin later defended himself, referring to his comments as "little concerns," adding that he had said "a lot of nice things" about Francis. On a separate occasion, he asked, "Is an ‘easy’ church, devoid of any moral imperatives or challenge, being faithful to its mission?"

LGBT rights

When US President Barack Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage, Tobin said it was "a sad day in American history". He stated that that voting for an abortion rights supporter, feminist, or pro-LGBTQ candidate was morally unacceptable. Tobin also stated:

On June 1, 2019, Tobin tweeted:

Tobin received both backlash and support for the tweet, and as reported by the ''Catholic News Agency'' and others, of the over 88,000 responses and comments, most were critical. After ''Motif'' ''Magazine'' in June 2019 published a critical open letter to Tobin in response to the tweet, the diocese withdrew permission for the State Theater Awards, hosted and sponsored by ''Motif'', to be held at the church-owned McVinney Auditorium in Providence. ''The Boston Globe'' and ''The Providence Journal'' quoted a diocese spokesperson:

"''Motif Magazine'' published and embraced an open letter which does not comply with our venue’s policies. McVinney Auditorium did not have a signed contract in place for this event and felt it in the best interest of both parties to not host the magazine’s award ceremony this year."

On August 12, 2020, Tobin suggested on Twitter that the Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Joe Biden, a confirmed Catholic who regularly attended mass, was not a true Catholic. On October 21, 2020, Tobin expressed opposition to civil unions for same-sex couples after a documentary claimed that Francis offered support for them. He said that it:

...clearly contradicts what has been the long-standing teaching of the Church. Individuals with same-sex attraction are beloved children of God and must have their personal human rights and civil rights recognized and protected by law. However, the legalization of their civil unions, which seek to simulate holy matrimony, is not admissible.

Social networks

After being a major Catholic influencer on various social media platforms for years, Tobin retired from most of them in October 2021. He has described social networks and Twitter in particular as an occasion of sin.

See also

* Catholic Church hierarchy
* Catholic Church in the United States
* Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
* List of Catholic bishops of the United States
* Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence Official SiteBook: Effective Faith: Faith that Makes a Difference

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobin, Thomas Joseph
1948 births
Living people
Roman Catholic bishops of Providence
Roman Catholic bishops of Youngstown
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
Gannon University alumni
Saint Francis University alumni
Religious leaders from Pennsylvania
Rhode Island Republicans
Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II