Real Catholic Blog

Last night, Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Diocese of Providence, R.I., appeared on The O’Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel to dispel myths and misstatements about his role as Bishop in dealing with Church Scandal — that is, the misrepresentation of Church Teaching by one who claims to be of the Faithful. In this case, that someone is a public and powerful person, U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) (see Yahoo! News), who publicly claims it is fine to be pro-abortion-on-demand and be a Catholic in good standing.

Something new to me in watching the interview is that Bishop Tobin is the author of the new book, Effective Faith. I hope to have more on this in the near future. The interview itself was excellent. Bill O’Reilly was thorough in his questions and effectively took the opposing angle. Bishop Tobin’s responses regardig why Rep. Kennedy should not receive Holy Communion were grounded in the Truth, so it was no surprise he was unruffled, firm and unapologetic, while laying out the Church’s teachings cogently, logically and theologically precise.

In addition to the interview, below, here is a link to its coverage on WPRI-TV/12 in Rhode Island. Also, Bishop Tobin was a recent guest on Hardball With Chris Matthews on MSNBC. Matthews was utterly offensive and disrespectful and Deacon Keith Fournier of Catholic Online calls for his firing. 

Here’s the interview. Let me know what you think of it.

Bishop Thomas Tobin honesty and steadfastness for the Truth was a natural on the “no spin zone” last night.

Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Diocese of Providence, R.I., will give an exclusive interview to Bill O’Reilly on The O’Reilly Factor tonight on the Fox News Channel (8:00 Eastern, repeated at 11:00 and throughout the night). Bishop Tobin has been in the news of late because U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, and an adamant pro-abortion proponent, has made public Bishop Tobin’s correspondence to him.

Yesterday, the congressman released a 2007 letter in which Bishop Tobin requested that Rep. Kennedy refrain from receiving Holy Communion because of his abortion on demand positions and misrepresenting the Faith. Currently, the two have disagreed publicly on the congressman’s support of the abortion provisions in the health care bill.

Each time Bishop Tobin as counseled him on the teachings of the Church, all in private, Rep. Kennedy has gone public with the release of the personal, pastoral letters. But Bishop Tobin has responded with clarity and grace, despite the breach of confidentiality. While a Bishop/member-of-the-flock feud rarely becomes public, there are great lessons to be learned about this — namely, that public figures cannot bring scandal upon the Church by misrepresting Church teaching and expect those pledged to uphold The Truth let them continue misleading the faithful.

The interview should be of utmost interest. I hope all Real Catholic Blog readers will get a chance to view it. Then, please leave your comments and impressions of the interview and the controversy in general. Also, here is a link to an online poll from NBC10 in Providence. Please take the time to vote in it.