Of the new Archbishop of Toronto, Thomas Collins

My friends, the Quists, recently returned to Edmonton from their two year stay in Melbourne to study at the John Paul II institute, are philosophical about the translation of their Archbishop, Tom Collins, to Toronto. "While we're happy for Toronto and the Church in Canada, we in the Edmonton archdiocese are sad," he recently wrote.

John L. Allen Jnr. has posted these comments about the Archbishop:

- A leader with rock-solid credentials on Catholic identity, yet personally gracious and pastoral, for whom conflict is the court of last resport.
- While Collins is outspoken, he is also known as modest and approachable, someone expected to bring a less divisive style to Canada’s premier English-speaking see
- a good match for Cardinal Marc Ouellet, 62, of Quebec, widely seen as the main papal point of reference for French-speaking Canada...are seen as deeply traditional, yet gracious and open to argument.
- an inspiring speaker

I was impressed by this:

A Scripture professor at St. Peter’s Seminary from 1978 to 1997, ...“He did much of what Cardinal Martini did in Milan,” Rosica said. “He would fill the Cathedral on Sunday evenings with young people, doing a Lectio Divina and Scripture teaching unparalleled in Canada. I was with him for several of those sessions and I marveled at what was happening. To quote many of the young people: ‘It was awesome.’”

I also note with interest that whereas the Toronto Archdiocese has 833 priests, it also has 111 permanent deacons. Which leads me to wonder what the effect would be if Melbourne had the equivalent ratio, ie. about 40 permanent deacons for our 320 or so priests.