Providence Bishop Thomas J. Tobin says abuse was outside his responsibility

Providence Journal
August 21, 2018

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20180821/providence-bishop-thomas-j-tobin-says-abuse-was-outside-his-responsibility

Tobin was auxiliary bishop of Pittsburgh at time of incidents covered in grand jury report on the Catholic Church’s cover-up of sexual abuse.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — During his earlier years in Pittsburgh, Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin acknowledges he “became aware of incidents of sexual abuse when they were reported to the diocese.”

But in response Tuesday to questions posed earlier about what he knew, when he knew it — and what he did about it, the Providence-based bishop says these allegations were outside his realm of responsibility.

Between 1992 and 1996, Tobin served as auxiliary bishop of Pittsburgh, one of six Pennsylvania dioceses covered in a scathing grand jury report on the cover-up by Catholic Church officials in Pennsylvania of decades of child abuse by more than 300 priests. The grand jury found more than 1,000 identifiable victims of sexual abuse by priests.

“My responsibilities as Vicar General and General Secretary of the diocese did not include clergy assignments or clergy misconduct, but rather other administrative duties such as budgets, property, diocesan staff, working with consultative groups, etc. Even as an auxiliary bishop, I was not primarily responsible for clergy issues,″ Tobin said in an email to The Providence Journal.

“Issues involving clergy were handled directly by the Diocesan Bishop with the assistance of the clergy office,″ he said.

“It is in recognition of that reality that I was not contacted by the [Pennsylvania] Grand Jury, interviewed, nor mentioned in their report,″ the bishop said.

“In my experience,″ he added, “the Diocese of Pittsburgh has been very responsible and transparent in responding to allegations of sexual abuse, and has been one of the leading dioceses of the country in that regard. That has been true for many years.”

The grand jury painted a darker picture of “sexual abuse of minors committed by dozens of priests and, in one case, an aspiring priest, in the Diocese of Pittsburgh ... The evidence also showed that Diocesan administrators, including the bishops, had knowledge of this conduct yet regularly placed the priests in ministry after the Diocese was on notice that a complaint of child sexual abuse had been made. This conduct was enabling to the offenders and endangered the welfare of children.”

The report also cited settlements with an unclear number of victims that forbade them to speak out about their abuse.