Tobin was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Vincent Leonard for the Diocese of Pittsburgh on July 21, 1973. After his ordination, Tobin served 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.[1]
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 in Loretto, Pennsylvania.[1]
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. [1]
He also maintains a column for his diocesan newspaper, Without a Doubt. These columns have been published in two volumes: Without a Doubt: Bringing Faith to Life and Effective Faith: Faith that Makes a Difference.[2] Tobin is an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and displays 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".[3]
Pope Francis accepted Tobin's resignation as bishop of Providence on 1 May 2023.[4]
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."[5]
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. Later in 2013, he criticized Pope Francis on multiple occasions. After the pope reprimanded Catholics who "obsess" over abortion, Tobin, without mentioning the Pope 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?"[6]
... the Catholic Church has respect, love and pastoral concern for our brothers and sisters who have same-sex attraction. I sincerely pray for God’s blessings upon them, that they will enjoy much health, happiness and peace.... Our respect and pastoral care, however, does not mean that we are free to endorse or ignore immoral or destructive behavior, whenever or however it occurs. Indeed, as St. Paul urges us, we are required to “speak the truth in love.” (Eph 4:15). At this moment of cultural change, it is important to affirm the teaching of the Church, based on God’s word, that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered,” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2357) and always sinful. And because “same-sex marriages” are clearly contrary to God’s plan for the human family, and therefore objectively sinful, Catholics should examine their consciences very carefully before deciding whether or not to endorse same-sex relationships or attend same-sex ceremonies, realizing that to do so might harm their relationship with God and cause significant scandal to others.[8]
On June 1, 2019, Tobin tweeted:
Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ "Pride Month" events held in June. They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals. They are especially harmful for children.'[9]
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.[10][11] After MotifMagazine published a critical open letter to Tobin in response to the tweet,[12] 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.[13][14]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."[15][16]
On August 12, 2020, Tobin suggested on Twitter that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, a confirmed Catholic who regularly attends mass, was not a true Catholic.[17] On October 21, 2020, Tobin expressed opposition to civil unions for same-sex couples after a documentary claimed that Pope 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.[18]
Social networks
After being a major Catholic influencer on various social media platforms for years, Tobin has retired from most of these platforms and has described social networks and Twitter in particular as an occasion of sin.[19]
