It was back on November 18, 2020, that I first wrote about Thomas Cardinal Collins shuttering Archdiocese of Toronto churches. He intended to move from the government diktat of thirty percent occupancy to fifty persons, even in churches that would hold 500, 800 or 1,200. A few days later, after the Premier reduced occupancy to a maximum of ten persons, the Cardinal ordered the cessation of public Mass. The label No Mass For You with a picture of the Cardinal taken from a leaked webinar video with his finger rising in the manner of the Seinfeld Soup Nazi, emphasized clearly what he was doing to the lay faithful. The Cardinal NAZI. The clericalist extraordinaire. Mass for me. Sacraments for me. None for you. On Thursday, November 26, 2020, I wrote an open letter to the Cardinal. I have consistently, sometimes daily, urged the Cardinal to repent of this error and to challenge the provincial diktat and stand up for our religious rights. I have urged him to join with other Christian pastors in the fight. I have urged him to dare the Premier to arrest him and his priests.
In a stunning letter today, four months later and four months, no; eleven months too late, Cardinal Collins actually has the temerity to indicate that he is about to call upon the Catholic faithful to send a letter to the Premier and elected Members to beg them to return to us, our rights. The Cardinal writes of equity and rights and the numbers permitted in retail but not in worship. Where has he been? Have we not been saying this for months, nearly a year?
This is the same man who in the leaked webinar video referred to the public health officials that he has cowardly allowed to do this to the Church and the faithful as "virtuous." He failed to stand up to these virtuous cretins who put our religious rights as less than our right to buy marijuana.
I wrote that he should have kept churches open and fought and defied the reduction to ten. That he should have ordered every priest to comply with his order or face suspension and to defy the government through the opening of churches with proper precautions - as we did from June to November. He admitted that there was no data that supported the suspicion that the virus was being transmitted in churches. He went along with all the diktats of politicians and public health minions and did nothing, nothing at all to confront them, nothing more than a phone call or putting his failed communications director on it. The same one who told Toronto priests, "we're handling it," with regards to so-called gay-straight alliances in Catholic schools. Yes, they handled that all right, as bad as they handled this.
It's an embarrassment. It is laughable that only now has he awoken from his slumber, only now, he worries about our spiritual needs, only now, does he consider that he might, just in case, ask us to write a letter or make a phone call. Does this woeful Shepherd think we've not been? At least, those of us to care enough?
I guess the money is running out. Yes, that is it. It's all about the money. Even Andy MacBeth has realized that and earlier this week opened St. Margaret of Scotland for private prayer. What happened, Father, a little blog publicity?
The cowardice, the betrayal and the legacy of failure of Thomas Collins is a pathetic indictment on his whole tenure as Archbishop which will come to an end in a year. He has sold us out for less than thirty pieces of silver to the radical secularists. He gives homilies now about persecution. Well, this is the man that opened the door to it by failing to stand up when necessary. Failing to rally the Catholic faithful when it would have meant something. Now, he offers a vacuous and ineffectual threat that he might ask us to write a letter, an email or pick up a telephone.
It won't happen, Eminence. The people have been abandoned by you to the secularist wolves. You failed when it was necessary to act in March 2020 and November 2020. It is simply too little, too late. It won't work. The political class is laughing at you.
What a failure. What a coward. What a legacy.
February 24, 2021
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Lent is a penitential season in which, each year, we prepare ourselves for the celebration of Easter by following the call of Jesus to engage in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. This past year of pandemic has itself been a kind of penitential season, forcing us to consider our human fragility, and the stark fact of sickness and death.
Many people have experienced great privation, which has come uninvited, and not as a penitential choice. And yet, just as the voluntary penances of Lent can lead us to a deeper appreciation of our human frailty – the fact that we are dust and to dust we shall return - and of our need for God, so too we pray that these involuntary privations may be experienced in a way that will lead not to fruitless anger, but to a deeper self-awareness, and to compassion for our neighbours who are suffering.
Especially in a time of crisis, our sacramental life is essential. Here is an update on the operation of churches in the Archdiocese of Toronto. As of this writing, the following restrictions remain in effect for places of worship in the archdiocese:
- Durham Region, Simcoe County, Orangeville and York Region churches – these areas have returned to the “Red” (Control) designation, as determined by the Province of Ontario. This permits churches in these regions to operate sacramental celebrations at 30% capacity.
- Toronto and Peel Region churches – the province, in consultation with local medical officers of health, has extended the stay-at-home order in these regions until at least March 8, 2021, restricting places of worship to no more than 10 people (including the celebrant) in the church at any given time.
I am heartened that public Masses have returned to more than 35% of our parishes. Where this is not yet possible, I have asked all parishes to remain open each day for a period of private prayer. Permission has also been granted to parishes in these regions to continue to offer Holy Communion services on the weekend. Please check with your local parish regarding their current schedule.
I am grateful for the many sacrifices that you have made over the past 11 months. Throughout the pandemic, out of love for neighbour, in an effort to minimize the transmission of Covid-19, we have followed the health authorities’ direction on significant restrictions, limiting the ability of the faithful to gather. This has resulted in great spiritual sacrifice and pain for all of us, and especially for those who are isolated and vulnerable.
Despite temporary restrictions, we need to worship together, and to return to our full sacramental life as soon as is possible. We continue to urge that places of worship be treated equitably by the province; for example, it is only fair that there be a consistent approach to restrictions as they relate to retail businesses and to places of worship. Recently, a coalition of faith leaders has written to Premier Ford, highlighting the essential nature of in–person communal worship and spiritual support. If the government does not address these issues sufficiently, we will be asking for your assistance in contacting our elected officials to amplify our voices.
Once again, thank you for the sacrifices you have made. We pray for those who have died and for those who are sick, as we pray that this pandemic may soon come to an end. May God continue to bless you.
Sincerely in Christ,
Thomas Cardinal Collins
Archbishop of Toronto
