Early life Daniel Thomas was born on June 11, 1959, in the
Manayunk section of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Francis and Anna (née Weber) Thomas. He went to Holy Family Parish Elementary School and then
Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia.
Priesthood Thomas was
ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia by Cardinal
John Krol at the
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia on May 18, 1985. After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned him as
parochial vicar of Saint Joseph's Parish in
Aston, Pennsylvania. Two years later, in 1987, Thomas was sent to Rome to study
dogmatic theology while residing at the
Pontifical North American College in Rome. He received a
Licentiate of Sacred Theology from the
Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1989. On December 28, 2016, Francis named Thomas as
apostolic administrator of the
Diocese of Cleveland. He served this additional assignment until Bishop
Nelson Perez was installed on September 5, 2017. 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. 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. In August, 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. == Viewpoints ==