Martin John Amos was born on December 8, 1941, in Cleveland, Ohio. He was the oldest of six children born to Martin and Mary Amos.[1] He grew up in a working-class neighborhood on the west side of Cleveland, attending Our Lady of Good Counsel Church. Amos was educated at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School and James Ford Rhodes High School, both in Cleveland. [2]
Amos then attended Borromeo Seminary College in Wickliffe, Ohio and St. Mary Seminary in Cleveland. Amos graduated from St. Mary in 1968 with a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree. He was awarded a Master of Science in Education degree in 1975 from St. John's College in Cleveland[2]
In 1973, Amos became a teacher at Borromeo Seminary High School. While teaching at Borromeo, he also attended John Carroll University to obtain teaching and administration certifications. With the closing of the high school in 1976, Amos was appoint academic dean of Borromeo College. He taught Latin and scripture, staying at the college until 1988.[2] In 1983, Amos was also appointed assistant pastor of St. Dominic Parish in Shaker Heights, Ohio, becoming pastor there in 1985. He would remain at St. Dominic until his appointment as auxiliary bishop.[2]
Two days before Amos assumed office, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. As a result of the bankruptcy, the diocese was forced to sell off property, including the bishop's residence, to pay for a financial settlement to sexual abuse victims.[6] Amos had previously requested a small fixer-upper house to live in, believing the bishop's residence too big for him.[7] The diocese sold the chancery building, the St. Vincent Center, and the surrounding property to St. Ambrose University in May 2009. In March 2010, the diocese bought back the St. Vincent Center and five acres of land.[8] A $22 million capital campaign was also initiated in 2009 to replenish diocesan finances and to provide the finances for other projects.[9]
In 2007, Amos announced that the board of trustees of St. Ambrose University had decided to remove the name of Bishop Gerald O'Keefe from the school library. O'Keefe had covered up sexual abuse crimes by priests in the diocese.[7] On July 1, 2010, the diocese re-established the diocesan branch of Catholic Charities. The organization was introduced into the diocese in 1929 by Bishop Henry Rohlman, but was discontinued in 1968.[10]
In May 2012, Amos rescinded an invitation to a representative of the Rich Eychaner Charitable Foundation to present a scholarship to Keaton Fuller, a student at the Prince of Peace Catholic School in Clinton, Iowa. The Eychander Foundation promotes anti-bullying legislation and seeks to promote tolerance and non-discrimination for LBGTQ+ youth. Amos and the foundation reached a compromise in which a foundation representative from the foundation would award the statue to Fuller and a diocesan representative would deliver a pre-approved statement from the foundation.[11]
After the sudden death of Bishop George Murry from the Diocese of Youngstown in Ohio on June 5, 2020, the Vatican assigned Amos to assist Monsignor Robert Siffrin in running the diocese until a new bishop was installed. Amos' role was to ordain priests, deacons and transitional deacons in the diocese. On Tuesday, January 12, 2021, Amos was invited to the installation mass of the new Youngstown bishop, Reverend David J. Bonnar.[citation needed]
