Good for Bishop Tobin. I can’t stand pro-abortion politicians using the presence of bishops as an imprimatur for their pro-death politics.
Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin said Monday he rejected an invitation this past weekend to attend Governor-elect Gina Raimondo’s inauguration, because of her stance on “the grave moral evil” of abortion.
“Over the weekend I did receive a formal written invitation to the Inauguration, the courtesy of which I appreciated,” Tobin wrote in an email Monday night in response to a Providence Journal inquiry.
“However, as previously announced I will be offering Holy Mass at the Cathedral at that same time to ask for God’s blessings upon our state and nation and our public servants.
“I should add, though, that in conscience, it would always be a problem for me personally to attend the inauguration of any public official who promotes or supports abortion, which we consider to be a very grave moral evil,” the bishop wrote.
Tobin had sharply criticized Raimondo during her campaign for her support for abortion rights.
A Raimondo spokeswoman could not be reached for a response Monday before deadline.
As he did four years ago, Tobin will offer a noon Mass at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul to offer prayers for newly elected leaders, as “a Prayer to Our Nation.”
A poll at the Providence Journal asks whether Bishop Tobin should have accepted the governor’s invitation and it’s currently 3,000 to 1,000 saying that he should attend. Well, let’s thank God that Bishop Tobin is the bishop and not the 3,000 newspaper readers.
Raimondo is Catholic and in fact, her daughter is an altar server at her local parish. Bishop Tobin suggested that Catholic voters, instead of voting for Raimondo or other pro-abortion candidates write in “Mother Teresa” rather than cast a vote. He called the election “a pathetic spectacle.”
