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  Rhode Island Catholics Welcome New Bishop

By Richard C. Lewis
Associated Press, carried in NEPA News [Providence RI]
May 31, 2005

Thomas Tobin was installed on Tuesday as bishop of Providence, becoming the spiritual leader of the nation's most Catholic state.

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In his first address, Tobin urged Catholics to be disciples in the tradition of Jesus, and dwelt on the church's fundamental principles, including preserving human life at all stages and a commitment to heterosexual marriage.

Tobin called the debate over the issues surrounding human life "the great moral challenge of our time," adding, "future generations will judge us on how we responded to the threats against life." He did not mention specific issues such as abortion or embryonic stem cell research.

Sixty-four percent of Rhode Islanders identify themselves as Catholic.

Rows of clergy dressed in white garments with various colored sashes joined church officials from the Providence diocese, representatives from Connecticut and other churches at the two-hour Mass at the Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul. Gabriel Montalvo, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, read a letter from the late Pope John Paul II offering prayers and blessing to the new bishop.

John Paul II appointed Tobin in March to succeed retiring Bishop Robert Mulvee, who led the Providence Diocese for eight years. In an interview earlier in the day, Tobin said his "first goal is to listen and to learn," and to "get around the diocese as much as I can and as quickly as I can."

He compared the diocese to the one he's leaving behind in Youngstown, Ohio, a community that has struggled with urban renewal, population decline, the viability of Catholic schools and a declining number of men entering the priesthood. He expects to encounter some of the same problems in Rhode Island.

"In some ways, the work of the church is the same in every diocese, in every place," Tobin said.

Considered a theological conservative, the 57-year-old Pittsburgh native was praised during his years in Ohio for his handling of the clergy sex abuse crisis and his dedication to the church.

Outside the church before the service began, a handful of people silently held signs with the pictures of young men who they say were abused by Catholic priests. Patricia Shanley, a practicing Catholic from Providence, said she wanted the new bishop to forthrightly deal with the clergy abuse scandal and be committed to reform agreed upon by Catholic leaders.

"We are the church," the 62-year-old Shanley said. "It's not just the hierarchy."

Tobin has said he sees the protection and preservation of human life as one of the church's chief priorities. And he was an ardent backer of an Ohio amendment banning gay marriage, which was approved at the polls in November. Bills for and against same-sex marriage are before the Rhode Island Legislature.

"I think it's the work of the church ... to show our understanding of marriage, as designed by God, as a union of one man and woman joined together in a lifetime commitment and love," Tobin said, calling the debate a moral issue involving "questions of right and wrong."