After graduating from high school in 1977, Thomas decided to become a priest. He then entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. Thomas received a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Charles in 1981 and a Master of Arts degree in 1985.[1]
Thomas returned to Philadelphia in 2005; at that time, the archdiocese assigned him as pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Strafford, Pennsylvania. He was raised to the rank of honorary prelate by the Vatican that same year.[1]
While auxiliary bishop, Thomas headed the Secretariat of Clergy in the archdiocesancuria, 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 named Thomas as bishop of Toledo on August 26, 2014. He was installed on October 22, 2014.[3]
In 2018, Thomas reflected on his handling of a sexual abuse allegation as auxiliary bishop in Philadelphia. The incident had been reported in a 2011 grand jury 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 Reverend Joseph J. Gallagher. 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.[6] 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.[6]
Thomas announced that the Vatican had excommunicated Reverend Bev Bingle, a Toledo minister. Bingle had been ordained as a priest by the organization Roman Catholic Womenpriests in 2013. She had been ministering at Holy Spirit Catholic Community in Toledo since her ordination.[7]
On August 20, 2020, Thomas announced that Reverend Michael Zacharias, a priest at St. Peter's Parish in Mansfield, Ohio, had been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on sexual abuse charges. After hearing about Zacharias' arrest, Thomas immediately suspended him from all priestly functions.[8]
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.[9]
In December 2022, Thomas condemned a proposal by the Toledo City Council to use COVID-19 pandemic relief funds to pay for out-of-state travel by local woman seeing abortion procedures.[10]
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