Thomas John Curry


Thomas John Curry is an Irish-born American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, who served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles until 2018. From 1994 to 2013, he was the episcopal vicar of the Santa Barbara Pastoral Region, before he resigned from all public duties. However, he continued to hold the title of Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles until his resignation was accepted formally by Pope Francis on Tuesday, March 3, 2018, becoming Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus.

Pastoral life

Thomas Curry studied at All Hallows College and was ordained a priest on 17 June 1967. On 8 February 1994, he was appointed Titular Bishop of Ceanannus Mór and Auxiliary Bishop of his home diocese. He was ordained a bishop on 19 March 1994. The principal consecrator was Cardinal Roger Mahony; his principal co-consecrators were Bishops James Ward and Armando Xavier Ochoa.

Committee appointments

Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Curry was Chairman of the Committee for Catholic Education and Consultant to . In 2000, he signed up for the USCCB's .

Accomplishments

On 28 January 2001, Bishop Curry co-celebrated a Mass of Dedication for San Roque Church's new altar in Santa Barbara, California with Cardinal Mahony as the principal celebrant. In 2005, he participated in the University of California Santa Barbara's by reading the mission statement of its endowment. He had previously held meetings with University of California Santa Barbara 's administration, faculty and students. In 2009, Curry praised the Notre Dame Task Force goal for its report on the participation of Latino children and families in Catholic schools.

Resignation from public duties

On 31 January 2013, Curry resigned his post as auxiliary bishop of the Santa Barbara Pastoral Region, in response to the Archdiocese's release of thousands of pages of files documenting sexual abuse by priests and efforts to cover them up. The files document decisions Curry made in his role as Vicar for Clergy in the years preceding his ordination as auxiliary bishop, which included reportedly interfering with police investigations into abuse claims. His resignation was accepted by Pope Francis and became effective on April 3, 2018.

Episcopal succession