Abuse Allegations Not Handled Wisely, Cardinal Designate Tells Guelph Audience

Gelph Mercury
January 20, 2012

http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/local/article/658578--abuse-allegations-not-handled-wisely-cardinal-designate-tells-guelph-audience

Archbishop addresses Rotary Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins, a Guelph native, was the guest Friday at a Rotary Club of Guelph luncheon at the Italian Canadian Club. Collins is to be installed as a cardinal next month by the pope.

The Catholic Church has learned much as it has wrestled with increasing reports of sexual abuse of children by members of its clergy, and can use that knowledge to help others, Canada’s newest cardinal designate told a Guelph audience Friday.

During a question-and-answer session following his lunchtime address to the Rotary Club of Guelph, Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins said as the church became aware of these reports “some of the decisions made by people in authority were not very wise.

“They just didn’t know how to deal with it,” the Guelph native said.

Collins said sexual abuse is a societal problem “and I hope what we (in the church) have learned from our mistakes might help other organizations to deal with it.”

Going forward requires denunciation and “clear decisive action,” he added.

Collins was named earlier this month to the Pope’s international circle of advisers, the College of Cardinals. He will be formally elevated during a ceremony Feb. 18 in Rome.

Rotarian Tom Funk joked when he invited Collins to address the club, the theme was to be “an archbishop from Guelph,” which subsequently changed to “a cardinal from Guelph.”

One day, Funk added, there might be a similar gathering to hear from “a pope from Guelph.”

Collins recounted his early days growing up on Durham Street and attending Church of Our Lady. He said he became “a feather on the breath of God,” going wherever the church needed him to, but added he is “always proudly a Guelphite.”

Collins was ordained in 1973 and served in the Hamilton Diocese for 24 years, before receiving a call one day informing him he had been appointed the bishop for St. Paul, Alberta.

He subsequently served as archbishop in Edmonton before getting the call five years ago he had been appointed archbishop of the Toronto diocese; Canada’s largest.

“The call of God comes deep from the heart,” Collins said. “The call to be a bishop comes by telephone. I got the call to be a cardinal over a BlackBerry.”

Collins, who just turned 65, joked about getting older.

“I’m aware that next month I will both become a cardinal and get my first old-age pension cheque,” he said. “As I get older my clothes seem to be shrinking. I don’t know what’s going on. The print in books is getting smaller and people don’t speak as loudly as they used to.”

Following Collins’ presentation, Rotarian John Valeriote said he could only imagine what the late Monsignor John Newstead, who encouraged a 17-year-old Collins to enter the priesthood, would make of the most recent announcement.

“It’s wonderful how a son of Guelph has become the successor to Bishop Macdonell,” Valeriote said.

Contact: stracey@guelphmercury.com