Robert Joseph Banks (born February 26, 1928) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay in Wisconsin from 1990 to 2003.

A protegee of Cardinal Bernard Law, Banks was questioned about his role in the sex abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston in the early 2000s.

[1] On December 20, 1952, Banks was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Luigi Traglia for the Archdiocese of Boston in the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome.

[2] Banks received his Licentiate in Theology in 1953 and his Doctor of Canon Law degree from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome in 1957.

The complaint stated that Birmingham had sexually abused a large number of boys during his assignments to various parishes, dating back to 1963.

[4] On February 2, 1990, Banks wrote a reference letter to the Diocese of San Bernardino in Southern California for Reverend Paul Shanley, then a priest in the Archdiocese of Boston.

In an interview years later, Banks denied knowing about any prior allegations against Shanley could not remember checking his personnel file.

[1] On February 26, 2003, Bank's 75th birthday, he submitted his letter of resignation as bishop of Green Bay to Pope John Paul II.