Thomas Olmsted

[2] After his ordination, Olmsted served as an associate pastor at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ Parish until 1976, when he began his doctoral studies in Rome.

[1] Olmsted earned a Doctor of Canon Law summa cum laude in Rome from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1981, and served as an official in the Vatican Secretariat of State from 1979 to 1988.

[2] He was installed on December 20, 2003, replacing Bishop Thomas O'Brien, who resigned after being arrested for his involvement in a fatal hit-and-run car accident.

[5] In 2008, after the diocese had spent several million dollars to settle about 20 lawsuits, Olmsted led an initiative to shield diocesan assets from further sex abuse claims by incorporating local parishes individually.

[2] Under Olmsted, the Diocese of Phoenix researched and cataloged an index of its clergymen accused of sexually abusing children and released some of their identities to the public.

[10] Olmsted, despite his retirement, was to remain apostolic administrator of the Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Protection of Mary of Phoenix.

[15] The pope replaced Olmsted as apostolic administrator on January 1, 2023, with Bishop Kurt Burnette from the Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Passaic in New Jersey.

[16] In May 2010, Olmsted declared that Sister Margaret McBride, a member of the ethics committee of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, was automatically excommunicated after permitting a patient to undergo an abortion there.

"[24]On March 10, 2009, Olmsted spoke against President Barack Obama's decision to reverse restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, saying, "American taxpayers will now be paying for the killing of human beings at a very early stage in their lives (as embryos), so that scientific research can make use of them for experiments that may or may not yield positive results.

[25] In March 2009, Olmsted criticized the University of Notre Dame for selecting Obama as the commencement speaker for its graduation ceremony and awarding him an honorary doctoral degree, calling the choice a "grave mistake."