Toronto's cardinal retires

Toronto Star ^ | Dec. 16, 2006 | DALE BRAZAO

[Hieronymus]

Toronto's cardinal retires Cleric, 59, will be installed in January Dec. 16, 2006. 03:51 PM DALE BRAZAO STAFF REPORTER The Archdiocese of Toronto’s 1.6 million Catholics have a new spiritual leader following the appointment of Monsignor Thomas Collins as the new archbishop of Toronto.

[Hieronymus]

Anybody in Edmonton have comments on Archbishop Collins?

[Hieronymus]

Ping

[Nihil Obstat]

good news bump --

this is from an article I just read, but lost the link:

And known for speaking his mind, sometimes to his peril.

His views on church doctrine and his priorities, while they may be unsettling to progressive Canadian Catholics, were in sync with those of the Vatican.

In his years as archbishop, some of his directives have been viewed as tough-minded: banning women from giving sermons during mass at the University of Toronto’s Newman Centre; saying that birth control and pre-marital sex should not be discussed in Catholic schools; urging Catholics in pastoral letters to lobby against government proposals that would extend spousal benefits to homosexual couples.

Then there is his nature. Friends describe him variously as affable, life of the party, a genial host, a considerate boss interested in the welfare of his employees.

Others say he is blunt, brusque and uncomfortable out of a traditional Catholic world. "There is a perception he is vindictive. He is not flexible, but he is not vindictive," a Catholic academic once said of him.

Retired teacher Joanna Manning, who has spent her life advocating for the ordination of female priests in the Catholic church, said she has no illusions that the archdiocese will operate differently under the new archbishop.

“I don’t think you are going to see any difference, because they are all cut from the same conservative cloth, and they are all micromanaged from Rome,” Manning told The Star.

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Merry Christmas!