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Catholic Bishop At Odds With Rhode Island's New Governor

By Howard M. Friedman

Tension seems to be developing already between Providence, Rhode Island Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin and Rhode Island's newly-inaugurated governor, Lincoln Chafee. According to the Providence Journal, last week, for the first time in at least 20 years, no Catholic bishop offered a prayer at the governor's inauguration ceremony.  In a column published two days later in The Rhode Island Catholic, Bishop Tobin took issue with the reason for Chaffee's decision not to begin inauguration day with a public prayer service. Chaffee's spokesman said that the decision was made out of respect for the principle of separation of church and state. Bishop Tobin complained:

The point is this: religion has an important, indeed a unique contribution to make to the governance of our society. Can we, once and for all then, put to rest the bogus interpretations of the ?separation of church and state? so often cited these days?

The Governor's spokesman later said that had misspoken.  He meant to say that the governor believed individuals should pray in their own ways instead of in a prayer service organized by the governor's office. Within days, Bishop Tobin again criticized Gov. Chaffee, this time for his support for a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Rhode Island. According to the Providence Journal, a gay-marriage bill supported by the governor was introduced in the legislature last Friday.  Tobin called the bill morally wrong and divisive.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on January 11, 2011 (boomark / email).