Thomas John Curry

Thomas John Curry (born January 17, 1943) is an Irish-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Curry served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California from 1994 to 2018. From 1994 to 2013, he was episcopal vicar of the Santa Barbara Pastoral Region of the archdiocese.

Curry was forced to resign in 2013 as vicar due to his role in attempting to maintain the secrecy of sexual abuse allegations against priests in the archdiocese.

Biography

Early life Thomas Curry was born on January 17, 1943, in Drumgoon in County Cavan, in the Republic of Ireland. He attended University College Dublin, graduating in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in history.

Priesthood On June 17, 1967, Curry was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop John Scanlan in Ireland at All Hallows College for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. After his ordination in 1967, Curry moved to the United States, where he started serving as an associate pastor at St. Bernardine of Siena Parish in Woodland Hills, California.

In 1970, Curry started teaching at Pius X High School in Downey, California. During this time, Curry studied at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, receiving a Master of History degree in 1973.

The Vatican named Curry as chaplain to his holiness in 1984 and prelate of honor in 1988. In 1991, he was named director of the Secretariat for Church Ministerial Services. In the book, Curry defined Christendom as "the system dating from the fourth century by which governments upheld and promoted Christianity". He stated that the end of Christendom came about because modern governments refused to "uphold the teachings, customs, ethos, and practice of Christianity". Curry argued that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom were two of the most important documents setting the stage for the end of Christendom.

Retirement In January 2018, Curry turned age 75 and submitted his resignation as auxiliary bishop to the Vatican, according to the procedures in canon law. On April 3, 2018, Pope Francis accepted his resignation.