‘In a democracy, I think it’s important that voices be heard’
He won’t be a shrinking violet.
Archbishop Thomas Collins, who takes over as spiritual leader of the Archdiocese of Toronto’s 1.6 million Catholics early next year, told the Toronto Star he will be both visible and vocal on many of this country’s most divisive issues.
Currently serving as the archbishop of Edmonton, Collins was tapped by the Vatican last week to replace Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic, the quiet and often controversial 76-year-old intellectual, who critics say was a rigid follower of church teaching.
Yesterday at a packed St. Michael’s Cathedral, Ambrozic celebrated his last mass at noon. The Slovenian immigrant praised his successor as “a wise man, a man of faith and man who will look to the Holy Spirit for guidance and counsel.
“I have no doubt that he will be a responsible steward of the diocese, a faithful shepherd who will guide his flock for many years to come.”
Collins, described as easygoing, approachable and scholarly, has been busy brushing up on the issues of his new constituency since Saturday, when Pope Benedict XVI handed him the job of shepherding the country’s biggest, richest and most diverse archdiocese.
Catholics, who make up the biggest faith community in the GTA, will continue to hear the same message but can expect to have it delivered with a friendlier face.
Not surprisingly, in his seven years as archbishop in Edmonton, Collins has been an advocate on moral issues, such as opposition to abortion and same sex-marriage, positions he will continue to embrace.
He sees it as not only his job, but the job of all Catholics, to be “very much engaged in the wider society in which we find ourselves. I think that’s essential.”
“This doesn’t mean supporting this or that political party,” Collins said in a telephone interview from Edmonton yesterday. “I certainly think it’s very important for the Catholic church to be present in society. After all, we are a very significant element in society.
“In a democracy, I think it’s important that voices be heard.”
Born in Guelph, Collins was ordained in Hamilton in 1973, and has a master’s degree in English and a PhD in theology.
His views on the highly sensitive issues of same-sex marriage and abortion are well known through his writings and pastoral messages.
“Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman faithful in love and open to the gift of life,” Collins told the Star. “Certainly that’s what the Catholic church believes, and absolutely what I believe marriage is.”
“But this is not just a Catholic belief, but a reality that is valued by Catholics, by Protestants, by Jews, including many people of no faith — the fundamental structure of marriage, the fundamental meaning of marriage.”
His position on abortion is just as clear. “Life is the most precious gift, from the first moment of existence to natural death. I think when we forget that, it wounds all of society,” he said.
“He’s an intellectual, but he’s a real teacher and he’s able to convey that knowledge in a way that the ordinary people in the pews can understand and get enthused about,” said Glen Argan, editor of the Western Catholic Reporter.
Collins was in Rome last fall to hear Pope Benedict tell his bishops to speak out more on political issues, and to remind Catholic politicians what it means to be a good Catholic.
‘Catholics have a right to expect that they can rely on the integrity of their priests’ Archbishop Thomas Collins |
“I think it’s important that each individual, when faced with moral issues in society, acts according to their conscience and not do anything that pulls down or goes against the dignity of the human person,” Collins said yesterday.
He has little tolerance for priests who abuse those in their care and trust.
“Catholics have a right to expect that they can rely on the integrity of their priests and bishops, so that those entrusted to their pastoral care may be confident that they will not be harmed,” he once wrote in the Western Catholic Reporter. “Even one priest who turns evil can cause enormous harm, for he abuses a sacred trust.”
“I think the main thing you can say about him is that he is an outstanding teacher of the faith. He’s a brilliant man who knows several languages.
“While in the seminary, he managed to complete his master’s degree in literature in one year.”
Argan, who has known Collins since he arrived in Alberta almost 10 years ago, called him “a very easy man to get along with,” who counts among his major accomplishments the increased number of young men who joined the priesthood since he was appointed archbishop of Edmonton in 1999.
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