On hearing that Montreal Bishop Frank Leo would succeed him as Archbishop of Toronto, Cardinal Thomas Collins immediately thought of Toronto’s first bishop, Michael Power. At a parish feast day Mass in Our Lady of Lourdes, downtown Toronto, Collins reminded the congregation how Toronto’s first bishop also came from Montreal and was also, as a priest, vicar of English-speaking Montrealers.

A statement by Cardial Thomas Collins, archbishop of Toronto, on the passing of Pope Benedict XVI.

About mid-way through his speech at what conceivably might be his last Cardinal’s dinner, Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins paused and seemed to lean into the podium just after articulating the word homeless.

The full text of the address delivered by Cardinal Collins' at the 43rd annual Cardinal's Dinner on November 15, 2022.

Honouring Toronto’s Cardinal Thomas Collins for the thousands of refugees he has brought to Canada came quite naturally to the community at the Chaldean Catholic Cathedral of the Good Shepherd.

In an alternative life, Cardinal Thomas Collins might never have been a bishop, an archbishop or a cardinal. He might very happily have remained a professor of New Testament with an intense interest in the Apocalypse of John. He would have dedicated himself to the formation of the next generation of priests at St. Peter’s Seminary in London, Ont., and happily translated the wisdom he encountered in academic study into homilies that resonate with the worries and hopes of ordinary Christians.

For Canada’s Catholics, the first ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is “a day of penance and a day of hope,” Cardinal Thomas Collins said in a prayer service at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto.

Cardinal Thomas Collins apologized during his live-streamed Mass from St. Michael’s Cathedral June 6 and honoured those who died or were mistreated in Canada’s residential schools.

After a year of COVID-19, we are all heavy laden.The spectre of sickness and death wears us down, as does the devastating effect of pandemic restrictions.

A bill that would define how palliative care should be delivered in Ontario is a great first step, but Cardinal Thomas Collins and a parade of palliative care experts who came to testify on the Compassionate Care Act, Bill 3, were insistent they want more.

As Canada goes over 11,000 COVID deaths and 300,000 cases — with medical professionals calling for “circuit breaker” shut-downs and Canada’s largest archdiocese having to cancel public Masses in "lockdown" areas — the Church has to respond with unflinching concern for the common good, said Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops president Archbishop Richard Gagnon.

Cardinal Thomas Collins recognized the thousands of volunteers across the vast Archdiocese of Toronto who have ensured a safe re-opening of churches during the COVID-19 pandemic with a special Mass of gratitude Nov. 4.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity for Toronto Catholics to “go deeper” into their spiritual lives, Cardinal Thomas Collins told thousands who gathered before television and computer screens for the most unusual Cardinal’s Dinner in over four decades.

Cardinal Thomas Collins said there is no mistaking what the last six months of dealing with COVID-19 has been: a plague on our world.

This column is a shout out to a good man. No one can accuse me of trying to curry favour with him. I do not need a job or need to borrow money.