Thomas Joseph Tobin

After his ordination, Tobin served as an assistant pastor at St. Vitus Parish in New Castle, Pennsylvania, for six years.

In November 2009, US Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy said Tobin told him not to take communion in the diocese because of his support for abortion rights for women.

Many Rhode Island lawmakers criticized Tobin for his words, both on abortion and homosexuality, with one alleging that his tone was "not very Christian-like."

Tobin later defended himself, referring to his comments as "little concerns," adding that he had said "a lot of nice things" about Francis.

On a separate occasion, he asked, "Is an ‘easy’ church, devoid of any moral imperatives or challenge, being faithful to its mission?

"[6] When President Barack Obama announced support for same-sex marriage, Tobin said it was "a sad day in American history".

He also stated: ... the Catholic Church has respect, love and pastoral concern for our brothers and sisters who have same-sex attraction.

I sincerely pray for God’s blessings upon them, that they will enjoy much health, happiness and peace.... Our respect and pastoral care, however, does not mean that we are free to endorse or ignore immoral or destructive behavior, whenever or however it occurs.

'[9] Tobin received both backlash and support for the tweet, and as reported by the Catholic News Agency and others, of the over 88,000 responses and comments, most were critical.

[13][14] The Boston Globe and The Providence Journal quoted a diocese spokesperson: "Motif Magazine published and embraced an open letter which does not comply with our venue’s policies.

McVinney Auditorium did not have a signed contract in place for this event and felt it in the best interest of both parties to not host the magazine’s award ceremony this year.

[17] On October 21, 2020, Tobin expressed opposition to civil unions for same-sex couples after a documentary claimed that Pope Francis offered support for them.