text: There have been many instances, going back to at least 2004, of various Catholic bishops acting in support of the Republican party or Republican candidates, some fairly explicit, some less so.  None was more explicit than Thomas Tobin (R-RI), the Republican bishop of Providence (not to be confused with the cardinal-designate of Indianapolis.)  In 2013, RI Tobin addressed a group of Young Republicans, announced that he had registered as a Republican, and displayed his baptismal certificate along side his party registration.  
  
  So now you cannot say that you've never heard of a bishop endorsing one party over another.  You can read about Tobin's very well-publicized announcement of his party affiliation here, among other places:
  
  http://wpri.com/blog/2013/08/13/bishop-thomas-tobin-says-hes-now-a-registered-republican/