Thomas Kiely Gorman (August 30, 1892 – August 16, 1980) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Reno in Nevada from 1931 to 1952 and as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Dallas in Texas from 1954 to 1969.
Gorman was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles on June 23, 1917.[1] After his ordination, he went to Washington, D.C. to study at Catholic University of America for a year. Gorman returned to California to perform and did pastoral work in the diocese until 1922. Gorman then traveled to Leuven, Belgium to attend the Catholic University of Louvain, graduating in 1925 with a Doctor of History degree. He returned to Los Angeles to become editor of Tidings, a diocesan newspaper in 1926.[3]
Under Gorman, the diocese opened soup kitchens and homeless shelters in Reno in the 1930s as a response to the Great Depression.[6] During World War II, he created USO centers for soldiers on leave, African-American wartime workers and residents in Boulder City, Nevada.[6]
Despite his original support for their ecumenical work, Gorman relieved four Texan Paulist priests of their duties in 1967 for purportedly neglecting their responsibility of servicing the Newman Clubs at local colleges.[4] His decision met widespread opposition, but he refused to reverse it.[4]
Retirement and legacy
On August 22, 1969, Pope Paul VI accepted Gorman's resignation as bishop of Dallas and named him titular bishop of Pinhel; he resigned from that title on January 21, 1971.[1]
Gorman, Thomas K. (1925). America and Belgium, a Study of the Influence of the United States Upon the Belgian Revolution of 1789–90. London: T. Fisher Unwin, Ltd., Adelphi Terrace.[5]
Gorman, Most Rev. Thomas K. (1935). Seventy-Five Years of Catholic Life in Nevada. Reno, Nev.: Journal Press.[7]
