Thomas Tobin

Personal

Vocation

American ecclesiastic, a Roman Catholic Bishop who gained great publicity after Congressman Patrick Kennedy from Rhode Island made public Tobin's stance against Kennedy's right to receive Communion, an important Catholic rite. As Bishop of Providence, RI, Tobin had evidently prohibited Kennedy from Communion in 2007 because of Kennedy's political stance on women's reproductive rights. Kennedy's pro-choice position goes against the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church which prohibit abortion. Tobin insisted that he meant for their correspondence to be private but Kennedy made it public in November 2009 and the issue was covered in major news outlets. Tobin appeared on "Hardball," the cable news television show on November 23, 2009 to explain his position. The host of the program, Chris Matthews, also a Catholic, tore into the Bishop's arguments, making the point that the Bishop had no right to interfere with the law-making process in which Kennedy is engaged as congressman. Growing up in Pennsylvania Tobin attended a seminary high school and continued his liturgical studies through his Master's degree program. He was ordained a priest on July 21, 1973 and worked his way up from parish priest to administrator. He was given the title of Bishop on December 27, 1992 and a few months later was installed as Bishop of Youngstown. He was appointed to Providence, RI and installed as Bishop there on May 31, 2005. Link to Wikipedia biography