CANADA
CBC News
The Pope has named Toronto Archbishop Thomas Christopher Collins as one of 22 new cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican announced Friday morning.
Collins, 64, ordained as a priest in 1973 and appointed archbishop of Toronto in 2007, told CBC’s Heather Hiscox he learned about his appointment after receiving word on his BlackBerry to call the Pope’s representative. …
Collins will take on his new role at a time when the relevance of the church in North America is being questioned, and following a wave of sexual abuse scandals involving clergy.
He tackled the issue in an address to Catholics, in 2010: “Our first concern should be for those innocent young people who have been abused to help them overcome their suffering … and to make sure … that this doesn’t happen again.
“It’s a deep wound that cannot be put aside …” he said then.
Richard Alway, the president of the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies at the University of Toronto, said Collins has already tackled the issue not only here but in Ireland, where he was sent by the Pope to report on abuse by clergy there.
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