Denomination Catholic Role Priest Ordination April 19, 1986 | Name Thomas Rosica Education University of Toronto Books Words Made Flesh | |
Born 3 March 1959 (age 65)
Rochester, New York, US ( 1959-03-03 ) Alma mater St. John Fisher College, Regis College, Pontifical Biblical Institute, Ecole Biblique et Archeologique Francaise de Jerusalem | ||
Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB - Luke: Gospel of Tenderness and Mercy
Thomas Rosica, C.S.B. (born 1959) is a Canadian Catholic priest and Basilian Father. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Canada's Catholic Salt + Light Television network, and frequent national newspaper columnist.
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Early life
He was born in 1959 in Rochester, New York. After attending elementary and secondary school in Rochester, he received a Bachelor of Arts in Italian and French Language and Literature from St. John Fisher College in May 1980. He was ordained a priest in the Congregation of St. Basil on April 19, 1986 in Rochester.
Education
He holds advanced degrees in Theology and Sacred Scripture from Regis College in the Toronto School of Theology (1985), the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome (1991) and the Ecole Biblique et Archeologique Francaise de Jerusalem (1994).
Past positions
He lectured in Sacred Scripture at Canadian Universities in Toronto, Windsor and London from 1990-2008. From 1994-2000 he served as Executive Director of the Newman Centre Catholic Chaplaincy at the University of Toronto. From 1994-2006, he represented the Canadian Bishops on the Canadian Christian-Jewish Consultation.
In June 1999, he was appointed by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops as the Chief Executive Officer and National Director of the World Youth Day and the Papal Visit of Pope John Paul II, that took place in Toronto during July, 2002.
On July 1, 2003, he became the founding Chief Executive Officer of Salt and Light Television, Canada's first national Catholic Television Network. From 2003 – 2006, he also served as Master of Scholastics of the Basilian Fathers in Toronto. In August 2006, he was elected to the General Council of the Congregation of Priests of St. Basil and served for four years as Second Councillor.
From December 2011 until June 2015, he served as President and Vice Chancellor of Assumption University in Windsor, Ontario.
He was a judge of the 2015 Fisher's Net Awards, an organization awarding the best in website design for projects related to the Catholic church.
Current positions
He is a member of the Episcopal Commission for Communications for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. In October 2008, he was appointed by the Vatican as the English-speaking Media Attache of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican that focused on "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church." In February 2009, Pope Benedict XVI made him a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. The Vatican appointed him once again to be the English-speaking Media Attache of the Synod of Bishops on "The New Evangelization" that took place during October 2012 at the Vatican.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, the Board of Trustees of St. Thomas Aquinas College in Nashville, Tennessee and the Board of Trustees of St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York, and the Gregorian Foundation Board of the Pontifical Jesuit Universities in Rome. He serves as a consultor to the John Cardinal Foley Chair at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia.
Works
He is the author of several hundred articles and columns in numerous languages for various publications. He wrote a weekly column for the Toronto Sun for three years and a three-year cycle of biblical reflections for the Zenit International News Service. The first volume of the reflections "Word Made Flesh: Biblical Reflections for Year B" was published in English and French in December 2011 by the Publications Service of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Two other volumes, Years A and C will be published in the near future in English and French.
Following the announcement on February 11, 2013 of Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation, he was invited by the Vatican to join the staff of the Holy See Press Office and serve as one of the official spokespersons for the transition in the papacy that included the resignation, Sede Vacante, Conclave and election of the new Pope. At the end of the Papal transition in April 2013, the Vatican asked him to serve as English language assistant to the Holy See Press Office.
Awards
He has received significant awards from the Government of Italy, the State of Israel, and two Jubilee Medals from Queen Elizabeth for his work with young people. In 2003, he received the Papal Award "Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice" from Pope John Paul II for his leadership of World Youth Day 2002. In January 2014, he was awarded the John Carroll Medal from the John Carroll Society in Washington, DC. On May 9, 2015, he was awarded a Doctorate of Human Letters Honoris Causa by Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Lawsuit threat against David Domet
On February 17, 2015 Fr. Thomas Rosica issued a cease and desist letter against David Domet, of the Catholic blog "Vox Cantoris". In the letter issued from Folger, Rubinoff LLP, Domet is accused of having made false and defamatory statements about Rosica. Since 2010, David Domet has been critical of Fr. Thomas Rosica on both a personal level. The document from Folger, Rubinoff LLP, demanded that nine statements, made by Domet, be retracted from the blog with a public apology made to Rosica. It also noted that compliance with a retraction and apology may not necessarily remove the current or future threat of litigation, but may reduce claimed damages.
On March 4, 2015 Fr. Rosica announced in his blog that his intention was not to sue the blogger but to stop the blogger from making 'frivolous calumny' by issuing a "cease and desist" letter. He also claimed that the legal firm, offering its service pro bono to him, issued the letter on his behalf. No lawsuit was ever launched against the blogger, and the matter is now closed.