Roger Joseph Foys

Pope Francis accepted Foys' resignation as bishop of Covington on July 13, 2021.

After the incident at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. in January 2019 between students from Covington Catholic High School and Native American activist Nathan Philips, the diocese and the high school initially released a joint statement condemning the actions of the Covington students. However, after further details emerged, Foys retracted the statement. He apologized to the students, claiming that the diocese was "bullied and pressured into making a statement prematurely." Foys stated that "I especially apologize to Nicholas Sandmann and his family, as well as to all CovCath families who have felt abandoned during this ordeal."

The number of priestly vocations in the diocese dramatically increased under Foys' tenure. It was speculated that Foys experience as a vocation director in Diocese of Steubenville was a factor, along with more diocesan resources to vocation promotion. As of 2013, the diocese had 28 seminarians studying for the priesthood.

Roger Joseph Foys is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Covington in Kentucky from 2002 to 2021.

On May 31, 2002, John Paul II appointed Foys as bishop of the Diocese of Covington. Foys was consecrated at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington on July 15, 2002.

Foys was appointed vicar general in 1982 and was made a monsignor in 1987. He also taught canon law for one year at St. John Vianney Seminary. Pope John Paul II made Foys a prelate of honor in 1986 and a protonotary apostolic in 2001.

On May 16, 1973, Bishop Anthony Mussio ordained Foys as a priest in Holy Name Cathedral in Steubenville, Ohio. During his years with the diocese, Foys served as diocesan treasurer, chairman of the diocesan Presbyteral Council, and moderator of the curia.

Foys eventually met with over 70 victims of abuse personally and agree to create a system of payment where victims who were abused between 1948 and 1998 could receive compensation while not having to undergo the process of a trial.The settlement eventually cost the diocese $120 million. Each victim received between $5,000 and $450,000, depending on the severity of their case. Foys remarked:

On July 27, 1945, Roger Foys was born in Chicago, Illinois. He began his religious studies for the Diocese of Steubenville at St. John Vianney Seminary in Bloomingdale, Ohio. Foys completed his graduate studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.