Thomas John Curry (born 17 January 1943) is an Irish-born American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Curry served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Los Angeles The Archdiocese of Los Angeles ( la, Archidiœcesis Angelorum in California, es, Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in th ...

from 1994 to 2018. From 1994 to 2013, he was the episcopal vicar of the

Santa Barbara Pastoral Region The Santa Barbara Pastoral Region is a pastoral region of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Archdiocese of Los Angeles in the Roman Catholic Church. It covers Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara and Ventura County, Californ ...

. He was forced to resign as vicar due to his role in attempting to maintain the secrecy of sexual abuse allegations against priests in the archdiocese.

Biography

Early life

Curry was born in 1943 in Drumgoon in County Cavan, in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. He attended

All Hallows College All Hallows College was a college of higher education in Dublin. It was founded in 1842 and was run by the Vincentians from 1892 until 2016. On 23 May 2014, it was announced that it was closing down, due to decreasing student numbers. The sale o ...

in Dublin then

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

, graduating in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in history.

Priesthood

On June 17, 1967, Curry was ordained to the priesthood in Ireland at All Hallows College for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. After his ordination in 1967, Curry served as an associate pastor at St. Bernardine of Siena Parish in

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

. In 1970, he started teaching at Pius X High School in Downey, California. During this time, Curry studied at

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

, receiving a master's degree in history in 1973. In 1976, Curry was appointed director of the archdiocese Office of Continuing Education for Clergy. In 1978, he was a teacher for one year at St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs, California. He received a doctorate in history in 1983 from

Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges which includes five undergraduate (Pomona College, Claremont McKenna Co ...

. In 1985, Curry was appointed as vicar for clergy. In 1991, he was named director of the Secretariat for Church Ministerial Services. In 1987, Curry wrote a memo to Cardinal

Roger Mahony Roger Michael Mahony (born February 27, 1936) is an American cardinal and retired prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 to 2011. Before his appointment, he served as Auxiliary Bishop of Fresno from 1 ...

discussing how to keep secret acts of sexual abuse by priests, saying that they constituted privileged information. The memo mentioned Michael Wempe, a priest in

Ventura County Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxnar ...

, who was accused of "some sexual touching". Wempe later admitted to abusing 13 boys.

Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles

On February 8, 1994, Curry was appointed as titular bishop of Ceanannus Mór and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He was consecrated on March 19, 1994, by Cardinal Mahony; his principal co-consecrators were Bishops

James Ward James Ward may refer to: Military *James Ward (Medal of Honor, 1864) (1833–?), American Civil War sailor * James Ward (Medal of Honor, 1890) (1854–1901), American Indian Wars soldier *James Allen Ward (1919–1941), New Zealand pilot and Vi ...

and Armando Ochoa. Within the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

(USCCB), Curry was chairman of the Committee for Catholic Education and consultant to The Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy. In 2000, he signed up for the USCCB's ''Encuentro 2000''. On 28 January 2001, Curry co-celebrated a Mass of Dedication for San Roque Church's new altar in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

with Cardinal Mahony as the principal celebrant.News: March 2001, Los Angeles Mission website
. Retrieved 13 March 2010 In 2001, Curry wrote ''Farewell to Christendom: The Future of Church and State in America'', in which he defined

Christendom Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...

as "the system dating from the fourth century by which governments upheld and promoted Christianity" and stated that the end of Christendom came about because modern governments refused to "uphold the teachings, customs, ethos, and practice of Christianity". He argued the

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

to the United States Constitution and the Second Vatican Council's

Declaration on Religious Freedom ''Dignitatis humanae'' (''Of the Dignity of the Human Person'') is the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom. In the context of the council's stated intention "to develop the doctrine of recent popes on the inviolable rights ...

were two of the most important documents setting the stage for its end. On January 23, 2013, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles released 3,000 pages of church personnel files as required by a legal settlement of a lawsuit in 2007. The files showed that Curry had repeatedly worked to suppress the public release of information on archdiocesan priests accused of

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

. Curry released a statement of apology the day after the files were released. On February 1, 2013, Archbishop José Horacio Gómez announced the resignation of Curry as head of the Santa Barbara pastoral region. This was in response to Curry's role in aiding Cardinal Mahony in attempting to maintain the secrecy of records on abusive priests in the archdiocese.

Retirement

In January 2018, Curry turned 75 and submitted his resignation as auxiliary bishop to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, according to the procedures in Canon Law. On April 3,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

announced the acceptance of Curry's resignation.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles official website

NBC/Los Angeles {{DEFAULTSORT:Curry, Thomas John Alumni of All Hallows College, Dublin Irish emigrants to the United States People from County Cavan 1943 births 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Living people 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops