A Hemorrhaging Church: Evangelization and the Neocatechumenal Way
Robert V. Thomann was born in New York City in 1934 and married Joan P. Coyle in 1957. They have 7 children (6 are alive today) and 18 grand children. He was ordained in 1977 as a permanent deacon for the Archdiocese of Newark NJ and has ministered in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Ridgewood, New Jersey. He holds a Doctor of Ministry from Fordham University (2011), a Master’s in Systematic Theology from Seton Hall University (2007), a Ph.D. in Oceanography from New York University (1963), a Master’s in Civil Engineering from NYU (1960) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Manhattan College (1956) and is currently Professor Emeritus of Environmental Engineering at Manhattan College, Bronx NY. He has taught in the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Guam and in the diaconate programs of the Dioceses of Newark and Paterson, New Jersey. Previous assignments included Director of the RCIA for the parish for almost two decades as well as the ministry of Marriage Preparation. He previously held a position of Associate Director for Deacon Formation for the Archdiocese for 7 years. He is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering and has published extensively in environmental engineering and science. He and his wife walk in a small community of the Neocatechumenal Way in his parish and reside in Ridgewood, NJ.