Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of the Diocese of Providence said that he was aware of allegations of sexual abuse during his time in Pennsylvania, but could not act on them.

In a statement to the Providence Journal, Tobin said he learned of the allegations while working as an auxiliary bishop, in Pittsburgh, in the 1990s.

However, he said he was unable to take action because he was not responsible for clergy issues.

Tobin said he had an administrative role in the church, such as handling budgets and property.

“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 ProJo.

Last week, a Pennsylvania grand jury uncovered hundreds of cases of sex abuse in the church were covered up.

“With the recent allegations of incidents of sexual abuse committed by Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, former Archbishop of Washington, D.C., and the release of a Grand Jury Report involving several dioceses in Pennsylvania, and similar reports coming from other dioceses across the globe, the sad spectacle of the sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church has once again resurfaced,” according to a recent press release from the Diocese of Providence. “We cannot but feel profound shame, regret and remorse for the immeasurable harm these incidents, even if from the distant past, have caused the victims/survivors and their families, and we mourn the incalculable harm these incidents have inflicted upon the Church, the Body of Christ.”

The release went on to note that “incidents of sexual abuse of minors in the Church -- or wherever they occur -- must be aggressively addressed, eliminated, and punished. In light of the news of recent days, in our country and around the world, the Diocese of Providence renews its commitment to provide a safe environment for children and youth. We are equally determined to purge the Church of these horrible acts, and to respond compassionately to all those who have been harmed. May God forgive us our sins and grant us the grace to follow a path of reform and renewal.”