Tobin criticizes Obama and Reed; won’t back Chafee on Pleau
May 10th, 2012 at 11:10 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
The leader of Rhode Island’s Roman Catholics didn’t hold back Thursday in strongly criticizing President Obama and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed for supporting same-sex marriage, but he declined to take a stand on Governor Chafee’s legal fight to avoid accused murderer Jason Pleau facing the death penalty.
“I think the whole group are driven by the Democratic agenda,” Bishop Thomas Tobin told WPRO’s John DePetro. “We’re getting closer to an election cycle.”
“It’s a very, very strange evolution,” Tobin said of Obama’s change of heart. “The man has no real foundation, moral compass. This is clearly politically driven.” He later added: “The fact that he used his daughters as a reason to support same-sex marriage was, to me, disturbing, even a little bit creepy.”
Tobin was less explicit in his criticism of Reed, who is Catholic, saying that he’d been following the senior senator’s public statements and had “a general sense” he’d take that position. “I’m not surprised,” Tobin said. “It’s very predictable but enormously sad.”
Tobin shied away from commenting on the governor’s legal battle over whether Pleau should be surrendered to federal custody, where he could face the death penalty, calling the original crime “very, very disturbing” and expressing sympathy for the family of victim David Main.
“While we certainly reject the use of capital punishment in our society and our culture today … this is a very complex issue that involves law and the Constitution on one hand, but very deep and personal issues on the other hand, and it’s enormously difficult to balance the two,” the bishop said.
“I’ve intentionally stayed away from this particularly issue because it does get involved in technical, legal issues that I’m not really qualified to address,” he said. The New York Times editorial board reiterated its support for Chafee’s position in Thursday’s newspaper.
The Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies reported this month that Massachusetts has replaced Rhode Island as the most Catholic U.S. state. Catholics make up 44% of Rhode Islanders, down 14% since 2000, the survey found.
Tags: barack obama, bishop tobin, democrats, gay marriage, jack reed, politics
Nesi's Notes covers politics and the economy in and around Rhode Island for WPRI.com. (Twitter: 
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The contrast between the Bishop’s statements on the two issues could not be more striking.
Im sorry but am I missing something here.
Gays and gay marriage aside WHERE WAS TOBIN AND THE CHURCH WHEN PROSTITUTION “INDOORS” ( wink, wink ) WAS LEGAL in lil Rhodie for years? (until 2010)
Hypocrite
How deeply saddened that Bishop Tobin will not support Governor Chafee in the Pleau case.
How dreadful—the selectivity of him on life issues. Obviously, Tobin is Pro Birth, not Pro Life!!
Why is the hierarchy 1)So out of touch with the rest of the Catholic Church members when it comes to personal, sexual issues? Why are they so obsessed with sex? Could women priests, married priests help balance their obsessions out?
2) Why do the Catholic hierarchy feel they can be selective in their positions(ignoring the death penalty but beating up members especially the women, on contraception, abortion etc) when they want all of us to tow the line on their narrow priorities?
The hierarchy of the Catholic Church are so out of touch with reality that the majority of us catholics now ignore what they talk about. Some of us pity them, too, for being so irrelevant.
The Pope, Cardinals, Bishops need to get out of their comfortable houses/mansions, see first hand the struggles of people all over the world, and then commit themselves to changing the sins of our time–poverty, war, violent crimes against humanity, especially women and children
I’m deeply disturbed by the lack of response from the Bishop on the issue of the death penalty. A short time ago it was the in state tuition for poor children of illegal immigrants. No response.!! These are life issues . .
The concern over the Holiday tree seemed more imortant to him .
I’m appalled by the language used by the Bishop and the RI Catholic as to the President of the US. You may disagree but to use inflammatory words , to me, is contrary to the Gospel.
[...] The debate over gay marriage got considerable attention this week, both nationally and locally. The best take on the politics of it came from the always-savvy Ron Brownstein, who [...]
Gay marriage is not a religious issue. It is an issue involving the culture and moral fibre of our nation. Gay people deserve civil rights but marriage is defined by two people of the OPPOSITE sex entering into a union. We are messing with natural law and that is very dangerous terrain. Children deserve a mother and a father… it is the GOLD STANDARD. Those who place the burden on a child which would deny them either a mother or a father are acting out of selfishness and narcissism… it’s just another attempt at “fulfillment.” Children can only be conceived by man and woman… this is the creational design and man’s interference with it wrong. W R O N G.
Gee….. a pedophile hiding, purple dress wearing, catholic priest find something about Obama “creepy”.
I guess that would be good news for Obama no?
Let’s see here……Tobin never been married…..can’t marry….prob doesn’t want to marry……and he’s an expert on who should marry?
Only in the catholic church can this reason ever pass as logic.