On November 3, 1992, Tobin was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh and Titular Bishop of Novica by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on December 27, 1992, from Bishop Donald Wuerl, with Bishops Anthony Bosco and Nicholas C. Dattilo serving as co-consecrators. When a 2018 grand jury report detailed sexual abuse in the Diocese during his time there from 1992 to 1995, Tobin said he "became aware of incidents of sexual abuse when they were reported" but was "not primarily responsible for clergy issues … Issues involving clergy were handled directly by the Diocesan Bishop with the assistance of the clergy office”. He also said that he carried out "other administrative duties such as budgets, property, diocesan staff, working with consultative groups".
Tobin was named Bishop of Youngstown, Ohio on December 5, 1995, and installed there on February 2, 1996. In 1997, he was given an honorary doctorate from his alma mater of St. Francis University.
Pope John Paul II appointed Tobin Bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, on March 31, 2005 as one of his last appointments of a bishop during the pope's 26-year reign; he was installed on May 31, 2005. Bishop Tobin sits on the Board of Trustees of Providence College and of Salve Regina University. He also maintains a column for his diocesan newspaper, Without a Doubt. These columns have been published in two volumes: Without a Doubt: Bringing Faith to Life and Effective Faith: Faith that Makes a Difference.
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In November 2009, Rhode Island Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy said Tobin told him not to take Communion because of his support for the legalization of access to abortion. Tobin said he had written Kennedy in confidence in 2007 and never intended a public discussion, adding "At the same time, I will absolutely respond publicly and strongly whenever he attacks the Catholic Church, misrepresents the teachings of the Church, or issues inaccurate statements about my pastoral ministry." Tobin is an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and displays a Steeler banner on his residence during each game day. When President Obama announced support for same-sex marriage, Tobin said it was "a sad day in American history". His views on Catholic morality and voting have included the concept that voting for a pro-choice, feminist, or pro-LGBTQ candidate is morally unacceptable. He also stated: In August 2013, Tobin announced that he had changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, citing the Democratic Party's support for abortion access as his primary reason for doing so. Later in the year, he criticized Pope Francis on multiple occasions. After the Pope reprimanded Catholics who "obsess" over abortion, Tobin, without mentioning the Pope by name, called it "a very important obsession". "It’s one thing for him to reach out and embrace and kiss little children," Tobin said. "It would also be wonderful if in a spiritual way he would reach out and embrace and kiss unborn children." He added that he was "a little disappointed in Pope Francis." Many Rhode Island lawmakers criticized Tobin for his words, both on abortion and homosexuality, with one alleging that his tone was "not very Christian-like." Many publicly stated that they preferred Francis's less dogmatic approach. Tobin later defended himself, referring to his comments as "little concerns," adding that he had said "a lot of nice things" about the Pope. On a separate occasion, he asked, "Is an ‘easy’ church, devoid of any moral imperatives or challenge, being faithful to its mission?" On June 1, 2019, Tobin tweeted: He received both backlash and support for the tweet, and as reported by the Catholic News Agency and others, of the over 88,000 responses and comments, most were critical. After the RI arts magazine Motif published a critical open letter to the bishop as a signed op-ed in response to the tweet, the diocese withdrew permission for the state Theater Awards, hosted and sponsored by the magazine, scheduled to be held only two months later at church-controlled McVinney Auditorium where the event had been held previously, with both The Boston Globe and The Providence Journal quoting a spokesperson for the Diocese of Providence citing the op-ed as the reason for canceling the booking: "Motif Magazine published and embraced an open letter which does not comply with our venue’s policies. McVinney Auditorium did not have a signed contract in place for this event and felt it in the best interest of both parties to not host the magazine’s award ceremony this year."
