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	The Installation of Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin By Richard C. Dujardin Providence Journal [Providence RI] June 1, 2005 PROVIDENCE -- In a joyous and majestic ceremony, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin assumed his seat yesterday as the new spiritual leader for Catholics in Rhode Island, telling his new flock "if our faith is strong, then hope must prevail." The 57-year-old Tobin, who had been the bishop of Youngstown, Ohio, for nine years and an auxiliary in Pittsburgh before that, received word in March that Pope John Paul II had selected him as the eighth bishop of Providence and successor to the retiring Bishop Robert E. Mulvee. Although thunder, lightning and rain greeted the new bishop's arrival when he came into the Ocean State after a 9 1/2-hour drive in a rented van late Sunday afternoon, his arrival inside the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul yesterday was more sweetness and light -- due largely to a combined 80-voice choir, an orchestra, and even a new song specifically composed for the bishop's installation, by the cathedral rector, the Rev. Anthony Mancini. With more than 300 deacons and priests, some 36 bishops, an array of leaders from other faiths, and most of the state's top political leaders on hand for the welcoming, Bishop Tobin noted that he had received many letters from Rhode Islanders in recent weeks, including notes from students at St. Pius School in Providence. Bishop Thomas J. Tobin greets longtime friend Joseph Donnelly, left, of Southbury, Conn., outside the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul yesterday after the bishop's installation as head of the Providence diocese One student wrote: "Dear Bishop Tobin, welcome to Rhode Island, home of the really good lobster." And another wrote: "Welcome to Rhode Island. God bless you and rock on." But the new bishop acknowledged yesterday, not all the letters were so friendly. One youth wrote: "I heard you are a Steelers fan. I am a Pats fan. We are all Pats fans. Too bad for you." "Obviously," the bishop said, "I have a lot of work to do." Prior to their arrival into the cathedral, the priests and bishops had to walk past a group of about 12 protesters, most from the Boston area, who assembled in Cathedral Square to remind the church's leaders that as far as they were concerned they had not yet completely addressed the clergy sexual-abuse crisis. Bishop Tobin referred only obliquely to the scandal in his homily, telling the audience that "if we focus on the failures of members of the church and the problems we face -- failures and problems that are real nonetheless -- it's easy to become tired and discouraged." He quoted one theologian as saying "People look upon the church and say, 'She is about to die. Soon her very name will disappear. There will be no more Christians; they have had their day.' " It's instructive to note, he said, that the words were from St. Augustine, 1,600 years ago, a reminder that the church has known struggles and failures in every age. Wearing a pectoral cross that Pope John Paul had given him last year under his vestments, the new bishop devoted most of his first homily to values that "we believe and proclaim" as followers of Christ. Among those values, he said, is "an unconditional commitment to the sanctity of human life, from the moment of conception till the time of natural death" and "our nonnegotiable belief in Holy Matrimony as designed by God and blessed by Jesus -- a union of one man and one woman joined together in a lifetime commitment of life and love." There were other values, too: the desire to promote common decency in entertainment, art and culture; to shield individuals, families, and children from the corrupting influence of pornography and obscenity; and a commitment and concern for the poor, the weak and the needy. He spoke of the need to follow and keep the Ten Commandments, and for Catholics to go to confession and to regularly receive the Eucharist at Sunday Mass. The actual transfer of power came early in yesterday's ceremony when the papal nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, read Pope John Paul's letter appointing Tobin as Providence's new bishop. After the 10 priests who serve as the diocese's consultors agreed to the contents, Hartford Archbishop Henry J. Mansell invited Bishop Tobin to take his chair as head of the diocese. At that, the choir burst into a rendition of Joseph Noyan's "Christus Vincit, Christ has Conquered." Those on hand included Governor Carcieri and his wife, Sue; Lt. Gov. Charles J. Fogarty; Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch; Sen. Jack Reed; U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin; Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, along with the mayors of Johnston, Pawtucket, Warwick and Cumberland, and judges and lawmakers. Included, too, were 60 people from the Dioceses of Youngstown and Pittsburgh, 40 of them priests. Carcieri said after the service that he had spoken to Bishop Tobin a month ago, and was convinced he will do "a great job." "He's a terrific young man. I say that because he's younger than me," Carcieri said. "He's articulate, he's interested and a very warm person. I could tell that just from the short conversation I had with him." Among the ecumenical and interfaith leaders greeting the bishop during the service were the Rev. John Holt, of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches; Rabbi Marc Jagolinzer, of Temple Shalom in Middletown; Maj. Mark Pfeiffer, of the Salvation Army; the Rev. Andrew G. George, of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Cranston, and Imam Farid Ansari, of the Muslim American Dawah Committee of Rhode Island. Mr. Holt, who seemed to have an animated conversation with the new bishop, said later that he pointed out to Bishop Tobin that he, too, is from Pittsburgh and that "we may be the only two Steelers' fans in this building." Earlier in the day, those from outside of Rhode Island who had come for yesterday's ceremony were singing the new bishop's praises. Lou Jacquet, editor of Youngstown's diocesan biweekly paper, the Catholic Exponent, said Bishop Tobin was a very good writer who wrote more than 200 columns. A readership survey two years ago, he said, showed that the bishop's column was the most read part of the paper. "I've worked for five bishops. Some of those guys would give you a few scraps of paper and tell you to write their stuff for you. Bishop Tobin, he'd send beautiful plain copy on a disk." He and numerous other visitors from Ohio and Pennsylvania described Bishop Tobin as someone who has always been extremely well-organized, who doesn't "dither" about things, but makes decisions quickly and then moves on. "He's very efficient," said the Rev. Lou Vallone, a former classmate of Bishop Tobin's who this week is ending a 12-year stint as pastor of St. Mary of the Mount Church in Pittsburgh. The priest, who had dealings with Bishop Tobin when Tobin was Pittsburgh's auxiliary bishop, remarked that he was a "very understanding person" who can be persuaded by logic, yet for whom pastoral aspects are part of the logical equation. The Rev. Lawrence DiNardo, the vicar for canonical affairs in Pittsburgh, said he and Bishop Tobin go back to when they were working in the same parish in New Castle. "He's the first person I ever met who has a clean desk all the time," the priest remarked. "He listens a lot but then makes decisions pretty quick." Although he had planned to leave town immediately after yesterday's ceremony, Bishop Mulvee said yesterday that he planned to stay on for two more days in order to officiate at the funerals of artist Angelo Rosati, whom he had known for many years, and for the Rev. William R. Jenkinson, the pastor of St. Luke Church in Barrington. By Thursday, Bishop Mulvee plans to drive out to Cape Cod, where he and another priest have a small cottage.