Thomas is a Catholic convert (like me). He has written about it.
Actually, Thomas is a "revert." He was raised Catholic and actually considered becoming a priest at one point. He studied at a seminary in Missouri (Immaculate Conception??? not sure of the name), but decided the priesthood wasn't for him. He got mad at the Church in the 60's while attending college and stopped attending. He reconciled with the Church sometime around the time he married his current wife. He writes about all this in his memoir, My Grandfather's Son.
Interesting. When did he convert?
Welcome home BTW!