PROVIDENCE — In 10 years as shepherd of the Diocese of Providence, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin feels the diocese has accomplished much in the way of advancing the Church’s mission to help the less fortunate, evangelize the Gospel, protect life and honor the contributions of those faithful who have come before us.
The bishop reflected on his first 10 years of leading the diocese in an interview last week with Rhode Island Catholic, one in which he also acknowledged some of his disappointments as leader of the Roman Catholic faith community, such as the passage of same-sex marriage in the most densely Catholic state in the union, and the challenges that lay ahead.
Among the accomplishments he is most pleased with is the level of charitable outreach the diocese has done over the last decade, especially the $2.2 million in support offered to 9,173 households across the state having trouble paying their heating bills in the winter through the “Keep the Heat On” program, as well as the opening of the Emmanuel House Homeless Shelter to provide those with nowhere else to go a safe place to sleep at night as they get their lives back on track.
“That, I think is a very tangible expression of the presence and the work of the church, and it really does make a difference for lots of people around the state,” Bishop Tobin said, noting also the important work the diocesan Immigration Office staff do in teaching citizenship classes and welcoming refugees from Africa, Asia and other areas of the world, and the support provided to parish soup kitchens and food pantries to help the less fortunate.
“We’ve been able to emphasize and increase the charitable outreach of the diocese,” he said.
And that certainly has not been an easy task given the economic recession that has been slow to improve in the Ocean State.
“On one hand, I’m pleased that the diocese was able to weather that storm relatively well,” Bishop Tobin said. “We didn’t have to make any massive cutbacks, we didn’t have to raise assessments or fees significantly, and we were able to carry on the fundamental work of the Church during all of that time. On the other hand, I recognize fully that it had a huge impact on many of our families, especially when the unemployment rate was so high. That was very, very difficult and continues to be difficult for many of our families.”
While the diocese may have been able to weather the storm through very careful stewardship of its resources, a negative impact was definitely felt in its parishes and schools, with parents finding it difficult to afford the cost of tuition, and parishioners finding it a struggle to maintain the level of financial support they gave to their churches.
But despite that downturn in the economy, the diocese has remained financially sound throughout, continually paying down its one-time $15 million line of credit to just about $3.5 million, and confidently undertaking large capital projects such as the renovation of the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul as it celebrated its 125th anniversary, along with the long vacant Bishop McVinney Auditorium, which has now been upgraded to a state-of-the-art theatre facility.
“Even in the midst of all this, the work of the Church has gone on and we’ve been able to make some progress and improvements, but only because of our careful stewardship and generous people,” Bishop Tobin said.
Last year, the Catholic Charity Appeal set a record, bringing in more than $8 million, which has helped the diocese avoid any cutbacks in the services it provides.
The bishop has also supported the advancement of major projects at Catholic senior nursing facilities including a major $20 million renovation at St. Clare in Newport, and the dedication of the new Easy Street Rehabilitation facility at Saint Antoine Home in North Smithfield.
Last year also brought about a seismic shift in the local healthcare landscape with the Vatican-approved merger of CharterCARE Health Partners, corporate parent of Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and St. Joseph Health Center with Prospect Medical Holdings Inc., of California.
The transition was a smooth one for the diocese, which has guaranteed assurances from the new corporation that Fatima Hospital will in perpetuity retain some of its Catholic character. The facility will maintain its well-used chapel, and a team of chaplains will still be available to minister to patients and their families.
For over 100 years the diocese was a sponsor of providing direct health care through St. Joseph Health Services, and through the merger, for the first time in generations, the diocese is no longer directly involved in providing healthcare.
“That was a big change for us,” the bishop said, “but it went very smoothly. We’re very pleased that Fatima Hospital in particular retains its Catholic character, even though corporately and financially it’s not Catholic. We’re no longer the sponsors of that. Fatima in many ways continues to have a Catholic atmosphere and that’s important for us.”
Among other positive developments that Bishop Tobin has been proud of over the last 10 years is a very active Human Life Guild, which he began soon after coming to lead the Providence Diocese from Youngstown, where he previously served as Bishop.
He has often led members in prayer for the unborn outside local abortion clinics or during annual Masses for Life.
“Anything we can do to reduce the number of abortions and their consequences is a good thing,” he said.
While initially following the election of Pope Francis, Bishop Tobin expressed some disappointment that the Holy Father hadn’t spoken much publically on the topic of abortion, he has been very pleased with the pope’s teachings on the evils of abortion ever since.
“Since then, he’s been spectacular. I think he’s made some very powerful and insightful and compelling statements about the evil of abortion,” Bishop Tobin said. “I certainly have nothing but appreciation and admiration for Pope Francis’ very clear commitment and expressions for the dignity of human life. He’s been very strong and very clear on that. I appreciate that and I admire that.”
The bishop is very pleased that a diocesan initiative in organizing a group to travel to Philadelphia in September to attend the World Meeting of Families, which Pope Francis is also slated to attend, has so far attracted 400 participants.
“I’m so very pleased the diocese will be well-represented for that,” he said.
Among Bishop Tobin’s disappointments is the passage of same-sex marriage on his watch.
How did the Church lose that fight?
“I’m not sure how we lost that, I don’t know all of the factors that went into that. It’s one of my great disappointments in my 10 years that it did pass,” Bishop Tobin said.
“In some ways I think we got swept up into the tidal wave of that change taking place around the country but I’m disappointed and embarrassed that it took place in Rhode Island, which is strongly Catholic. I think we did our best to wage a good fight, and I think we were faithful to our mission. Win or lose, we did our best.”
When asked, the bishop said he often thinks about things he may have done differently to prevent the passage of same-sex marriage.
“When that debate, that battle was going on, I thought about should I have tried to have more individual contact with the Catholic members of the General Assembly? Should I have tried to organize some mass Catholic rally at the State House, getting people from around the state?
I even toyed at one point about doing some personal prayer vigil or even a little hunger strike, that entered my mind at one point, just to make a point.
I don’t know if I could have done more.”
The bishop was asked if he had ever considered testifying before the committees considering the bills at the State House.
“I was willing to do that but I was encouraged not to with the thought that I would become the issue, I would have been more of a distraction than a positive contributor,” he said he was advised.
Some other disappointments for the bishop include the closing of parishes and schools, the lack of significant numbers of new vocations to the priesthood, and the allegations of sexual abuse against the clergy.
“I think the diocese has a very strong record of responding to sexual abuse crisis, but whenever those allegations come forward, it’s heartbreaking,” Bishop Tobin said. “We always think about the pain and suffering that the victims and the families have endured whenever that takes place. We’ve done our very best to respond in a responsible and transparent and open way to these allegations whenever they occur, and each case is different.”
Bishop Tobin has often made headlines at home, around the diocese and even across the world for his vigorous defense of the unborn and for admonishing politicians who deride church doctrine.
“Even in those circumstances where he has made the headlines, it is because he’s had to react to a particular challenge to the faith, or to a statement made by others that does not reflect well on Church teaching, so he’s had to come to the floor to explain what the Church is teaching, or the Church discipline is,” said Auxiliary Bishop Robert C. Evans, a classmate of Bishop Tobin’s from their seminary days in Rome, who was ordained by the Bishop to assist him in December 2009.
“He does not go looking for a fight, but because of his position as the bishop, he cannot let certain things go unremarked or unanswered. In other words, he’s a true Apostle, proclaiming the faith and defending the faith.”
Bishop Tobin describes his ordination of his friend and former classmate as a “wonderful experience for me and a great blessing for the diocese.”
“To this point he’s the only bishop I’ve had the privilege of ordaining,” Bishop Tobin said. “The fact that Bishop Evans was a classmate from the seminary made it even more special. I’m just so pleased that he’s here and doing such a great job. He offers me a lot of personal support and administrative support as well. It was very exciting and very rewarding.”
As the Eighth Bishop of Providence, Bishop Tobin acknowledges the great legacy that his ministry is built upon here.
In December 2006, the bishop moved the tomb of the First Bishop of the Diocese of Providence, Bishop Thomas Francis Hendricken from the basement of the cathedral to a place of greater prominence near the sanctuary
“We certainly want to keep their memories and contributions alive,” Bishop Tobin said of his deep respect for the history of the diocese and its leaders.
“Some of the work we’ve been able to do really builds on the great work and the legacy of my two immediate predecessors, Bishop Robert Mulvee and Bishop Louis Gelineau, and I’m so grateful for their contributions. In some ways they’ve made my job relatively easy because they gave me a great foundation and put the diocese in the right direction. I owe a great deal of gratitude to them.”
“I’m number eight, there were seven before me and they all made great contributions. I say this very sincerely, I’m the least of the eight. We’ve had a history of great bishops here.”
Despite a change in the media landscape through the years, with many more outlets moving to a digital platform to reach new consumers or save on printing costs, the bishop still has an affinity for his diocesan newspaper in its printed form.
“I still think our diocesan newspaper in its printed form is really important because it does reach still a very large portion of people in our diocese, Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Increasingly, in the last couple of years, I think the Rhode Island Catholic has become a force in the public discussion, more now than ever before. The Rhode Island Catholic has become well-known, and I think is an important voice in public affairs,” Bishop Tobin said.
Another successful initiative that began in the diocese a couple of years ago was the active Door-to-Door visits many parishes held to welcome people back to the Church during the Year of Evangelization.
“I thought it brought a lot of activity, a lot of excitement to the diocese,” he said. “We had a year of evangelization, but that’s something that should happen every year, the revitalization of our parishes, and trying to make them more open, involved and welcoming.”
Overall, Bishop Tobin said that although he has faced many challenges in his first decade as shepherd of the Diocese of Providence, the experience has been rewarding and enjoyable for him.
“The last 10 years have been a wonderful time in my life. They’ve been challenging, they’ve been rewarding, and I have to say very clearly that anything I’ve been able to accomplish certainly has not been by myself. It’s been with the support of our faithful parishioners, and the members of the clergy and religious, and in a very particular way our diocesan staff. We have great people in this diocese, and that’s a blessing for me, so I’m mindful every day that I cannot do anything by myself, but only with the help of many, many other people, and ultimately of course, God’s grace. That’s’ something that allows me to sleep at night that I’m working very hard and doing my very best, and God has to do everything else.”
