We can take a lesson from the early church. The emperor Valens ruled the eastern half of the Roman Empire in the AD 360s. He was a brutal man at a time of bitter political and religious turmoil, and he sought to destroy the rightful faith in Christ. Saint Basil the Great, then the bishop of Caesarea, confronted him face-to-face about his policies. ‘Never has anyone dared to speak to me with such freedom,’ Valens said. Basil replied, ‘Obviously you have never met a bishop before.’”
Keep in mind, one and all, that Bishop Thomas J. Tobin's great virtue is that he's really a Catholic bishop.
And Rep. Patrick Kennedy's glaring failing is that he's not Catholic enough.
When one sees bishops like Tobin acting in such a manner it raises the obvious question; "where were O'Malley and Law when Teddy was running amok?"
It highlights the inaction of the more high profile prelates in that part of the world.
I doubt if Cardinal Sean is enjoying Tobin's assertiveness.