Catholic bishop: I switched to Republicans because Democrats' social agenda 'just awful'

Bishop Thomas Tobin, the Roman Catholic leader of Rhode Island, said Tuesday night he recently switched his political affiliation to Republican after 44 years of being a Democrat.

Speaking at a Rhody Young Republicans event in Providence, Tobin explained that he could no longer consider himself a Democrat because of the party's support for marriage equality and reproductive rights.

"The a-ha moment for me was the 2012 Democratic National Convention. It was just awful," Tobin said, according to WPRI.

"I just said I can't be associated structurally with that group, in terms of abortion and NARAL [Pro-Choice America] and Planned Parenthood and [the] same-sex marriage agenda and cultural destruction I saw going on," he added. "I just couldn't do it anymore."

Tobin was a vocal opponent of Rhode Island's successful campaign to legalize same-sex marriage. He told lawmakers allowing same-sex couples to receive the same marriage benefits and protections as opposite-sex couples was “immoral and unnecessary.” Tobin also warned Catholics that attending same-sex marriage ceremonies "might harm their relationship with God."

Though the bishop now considers himself a Republican, Tobin admitted he still supported the abolishment of the death penalty, environmental regulations, fair wages, and unions.

Watch video, uploaded to YouTube by WPRI, below: