Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark to Undergo Surgery for Kidney Mass
Cardinal Joseph Tobin of the Archdiocese of Newark is scheduled to undergo surgery on October 29 to remove a mass discovered on his kidney. Medical professionals have expressed optimism, noting that the mass appears to be confined to the kidney. Following the procedure, doctors will perform an examination to determine the nature of the mass and decide if further treatment is necessary. Cardinal Tobin has expressed his gratitude for the medical care he is receiving and has requested prayers from the faithful during this time. He intends to return to his full archdiocesan duties within a few weeks following his recovery.
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Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, archbishop of Newark, is scheduled to undergo surgery Oct. 29 to remove a mass found in one of his kidneys. Doctors believe it is confined to the kidney and are optimistic about his outlook, but examination after surgery will determine what the mass is and whether further treatment is needed. 1
The Archdiocese of Newark announced the diagnosis on Oct. 28. Tobin said he was grateful to the medical professionals overseeing his care and asked for prayers, expressing hope that he could resume his full duties within a few weeks after surgery. 1
The archdiocese asked people to respect Tobin’s privacy and not contact him, his family, or archdiocesan staff for interviews or information. It said messages of support may be mailed to him through the archdiocese’s Office of Communications. 1
Tobin has served as Newark’s archbishop since January 2017, after leading the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Pope Francis named him a cardinal in November 2016, and Tobin has served on several Vatican bodies. 1
Christian understandings of illness, prayer, and pastoral leadership in the Catholic Church
Catholic Christianity does not treat illness as either merely a medical problem or a test of someone’s faith. It recognizes the reality of bodily and psychological suffering, encourages prayer for healing, and calls the Church to accompany the sick through sacramental care, practical service, and compassionate leadership. At the same time, it does not promise that prayer will produce a bodily cure: Christian hope rests ultimately in Christ’s presence amid suffering and in the resurrection.
Catholic teaching approaches health as more than the absence of disease. It considers the person as a whole: bodily, psychological, social, and spiritual. Healing, in this view, concerns the person’s well-being and communion with God and others, not simply whether symptoms disappear. This does not make medical treatment secondary; it means that medical care is one essential part of a wider concern for the human person.
The Christian interpretation of suffering is shaped by Christ’s Passion and Resurrection. The Church does not claim that illness is good in itself, or that Christians should passively accept avoidable suffering. Rather, it sees suffering in the light of Christ, who entered into human pain and whose Resurrection promises that suffering and death will not have the final word. A papal address warns against confusing Christian patience with fatalism: acceptance of suffering must go together with efforts to overcome or lessen it, both for oneself and for one’s neighbor.
This perspective can give suffering meaning without pretending to explain why a particular person becomes ill. The Church teaches that the sick can remain active members of the Christian community and, in union with Christ, contribute to its life. But that is not a demand that sick people conceal grief, feel cheerful, or regard their illness as deserved. The cited teaching offers a way to live through suffering; it does not supply a specific explanation for every case.
Prayer for healing is genuinely encouraged. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith notes that people in Scripture ask God for healing, that people approached Jesus for restoration, and that the Church itself prays for the health of the sick. Wanting recovery is described as “good and deeply human,” provided it is held in trust in God.
“Presuming the acceptance of God's will, the sick person's desire for healing is both good and deeply human, especially when it takes the form of a trusting prayer addressed to God.”
This teaching rules out two opposite mistakes. One is to treat prayer as improper—as though asking for a cure showed insufficient spiritual maturity. The other is to treat prayer as a guarantee that God will grant a particular physical outcome. The Church’s prayer expresses real hope for bodily healing, but the sacramental and pastoral sources also speak of healing and salvation in an integral sense, including spiritual strength and the hope of eternal life. The available texts affirm prayer and trust, but do not promise that every illness will be cured.
The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is central to this care. It is especially intended to strengthen people undergoing illness. Through the priest’s anointing and prayer, the Church commends the sick person to Christ; the sacrament also points toward the resurrection and the promised end of suffering. Thus it is not simply a ritual for the final moments of life, nor a substitute for medical treatment: it is sacramental support for the sick within the Church’s broader ministry of care.
The New Testament pattern described in the supplied texts makes pastoral care relational. The sick person is invited to call the Church’s elders, and priests are expected to respond. Pope Benedict XVI describes this as a shared responsibility: the sick person seeks the Church’s prayer, while the priest brings sacramental ministry and the community’s faith into the experience of illness. The sick person is therefore not merely a passive recipient of care.
That responsibility extends beyond the priest. Hospital chaplains, volunteers, relatives, health-care workers, and the wider community all have roles in caring for those who suffer. A papal address emphasizes that pastoral workers and medical professionals need to collaborate, while another highlights the contribution of chaplaincies and volunteers in sustaining people spiritually and practically.
Pastoral leadership also requires respect for the person’s dignity and circumstances. The Church’s care should not be reduced to religious words alone: it includes attentive presence, charity, and efforts to address suffering. In the case of infectious disease, for example, Pope Benedict XVI stresses closeness to sick people and rejects their segregation or humiliating stigmatization. This illustrates a broader pastoral principle in the supplied teaching: care should make the person more fully seen and accompanied, not treated as a problem to be avoided.
For someone who is ill, Catholic practice makes room for several responses at once: seeking competent medical care, praying for recovery, receiving the Anointing of the Sick when appropriate, and accepting the support of other people. These are not competing alternatives. The Christian tradition represented here calls for active efforts to reduce suffering while entrusting what cannot be controlled to God.
For pastoral leaders, the task is not to explain away suffering or to promise outcomes they cannot guarantee. It is to respond to requests for prayer and sacramental care, accompany the sick with sensitivity, and work alongside those providing health care and practical assistance. The central Christian claim is not that illness becomes easy or that every sufferer will be cured in this life. It is that the sick are not abandoned: the Church is called to stand with them, pray with them, serve them, and point toward the hope of life in Christ.