Daniel Edward Thomas (born June 11, 1959) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

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 ...

. Since 2014, he has served as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Toledo in Ohio. Thomas previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well a ...

in Pennsylvania from 2006 to 2014.

Biography

Early life

Daniel Thomas was born on June 11, 1959, in the Manayunk section of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, to Francis and Anna (née Weber) Thomas. He graduated from

Roman Catholic High School , motto_translation = Faith and Knowledge , accreditation = MSA , nickname = The Cahillites , conference = Philadelphia Catholic League , colors = Purple & Gold , yearbook ...

in Philadelphia in 1977, and then attended St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.

Priesthood

Thomas was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia by Cardinal

John Krol John Joseph Krol (October 26, 1910 – March 3, 1996) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1961 to 1988, having previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland (1953� ...

on May 18, 1985. His first assignment after ordination was as

parochial Parochial is an adjective which may refer to: * Parishes, in religion ** Parish churches, also called parochial churches * Parochial schools, primary or secondary schools affiliated to a religious organisation * Parochialism Parochialism is the ...

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of Saint Joseph's Parish in

Aston, Pennsylvania Aston Township is a township (Pennsylvania), township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 16,592 at the 2010 census. History Aston was first settled in 1682 as a municipality and was ...

. In 1987, Thomas started graduate studies in

dogmatic theology Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Ch ...

at the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Pri ...

in Rome, earning his

Licentiate of Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus; abbreviated STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theol ...

from the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in 1989. Thomas was an official of the

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usually followed. The Dic ...

in the Roman Curia from 1990 to 2005, while also serving as

spiritual director Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the di ...

to the seminarians of the North American College. After returning to Philadelphia, Thomas became pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Strafford, Pennsylvania on November 19, 2005. He was raised to the rank of

honorary prelate A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.

Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia

On June 8, 2006, Thomas was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and titular bishop of Bardstown by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

on July 26, 2006, from Cardinal

Justin Rigali Justin Francis Rigali (born April 19, 1935) is an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the eighth Archbishop of Philadelphia, having previously served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 1994 to 2003, and was elevated to the ca ...

, with Archbishops John Foley and

Edwin O'Brien Edwin Frederick O'Brien (born April 8, 1939) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been a cardinal since 2012 and headed the Order of the Holy Sepulchre from 2011 to 2019. O'Brien served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of ...

serving as co-consecrators, in the

Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, head church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is located at 18th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, on the east side of Logan Square in Philadelphia. It was built between ...

in Philadelphia. Thomas adopted as his episcopal

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

: ''Dominus Meus Et Deus Meus'' ('My Lord and my God') from John 20:28. Thomas headed the Secretariat of Clergy in the

archdiocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

, and oversaw St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and the archdiocese's Vocation Office, the Office for Communications and its newspaper, ''The Catholic Standard and Times''.

Bishop of Toledo

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. ...

named Thomas as bishop of the Diocese of Toledo on August 26, 2014. He was installed on October 22, 2014. He replaced Bishop Leonard Blair, who became the archbishop of the

Archdiocese of Hartford The Archdiocese of Hartford is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Hartford, Litchfield and New Haven counties in the U.S. State of Connecticut. The archdiocese includes about 470,000 Catholics, more ...

in December 2013. Pope Francis named Thomas as apostolic administrator of the

Diocese of Cleveland The Diocese of Cleveland ( la, Dioecesis Clevelandensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. Pope Pius IX erected the diocese April 23, 1847, in te ...

on December 28, 2016. He served this additional assignment until Bishop Nelson Perez was installed on September 5, 2017. In 2018, Thomas reflected on his handling of a

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

allegation as auxiliary bishop in Philadelphia. The incident had been reported in a 2011

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

investigation of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. In 2007, a man known as "Ben" reported to the archdiocese that he had been sexually abused when he was a child by Joseph J. Gallagher, a priest in archdiocese. Gallagher was already the focus of similar allegations. However, the archdiocese review board found Ben's allegations to be unsubstantiated. Thomas approved the findings and sent them to the archbishop. Less than a year later, Ben committed suicide. Thomas had this comment:

In hindsight, perhaps I would have asked if there was more information we could determine and make a final determination on... Well I think that I feel guilty not just for myself but for any Bishop and priest who has in any way learned and known of any abuse taking place.

On August 20, 2020, Thomas announced that Michael Zacharias, a priest at St. Peter's Parish in

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Ohio, United States. Located midway between Columbus and Cleveland via Interstate 71, it is part of Northeast Ohio region in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau. The city ...

, had been arrested by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

on sexual abuse charges. On hearing the news of Zacharias' arrest, Thomas immediately suspended him from all priestly functions.On June 24, 2022, Thomas released a statement supporting the verdict in the

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', , is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The court's decision overruled both ''R ...

which overturned

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...

, greatly limiting abortion access for women in the United States.

This historic moment moves us a step closer to establishing a culture of life where every life is valued, where the dignity of every person born and pre-born is respected, and where each human person is treasured as created in the image and likeness of God.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo Official SiteUSCCB Office of Media RelationsOur Lady of the Assumption ParishOffice of the Bishop- Diocese of Toledo in America

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Daniel Edward 1959 births Living people Clergy from Philadelphia Roman Catholic bishops of Toledo 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States St. Charles Borromeo Seminary alumni