Thomas Christopher Collins

Cardinal Collins has consistently defended Catholic moral teaching in public. He opposed Canada's euthanasia legislation (2016) and in 2024 argued that 'MAiD' should be called what it is, while urging pro-life advocates to be 'ardent but gentle'. He objected to the 2018 Canada Summer Jobs attestation on abortion and gender, and in 2020 rebuked Catholic school trustees who had barred a reading from the Catechism. No public statement of his on Fiducia supplicans was found.

In 2007 Archbishop Collins welcomed Summorum Pontificum, saying it 'solves all of this disputing' and that the 1962 Mass could enrich the ordinary form, while keeping public Sunday celebrations subject to his approval. After Traditionis custodes (2021), the Archdiocese of Toronto stated that the new rules should not significantly impact its current activities. No public criticism of the motu proprio by Collins was found.

Cardinal Collins has made refugee sponsorship a hallmark of his Toronto ministry: the archdiocesan Office for Refugees he established has sponsored over 7,000 refugees, and in 2018 he said Christians must take the 'risk of faith' in welcoming strangers while leaving admission decisions to government. He welcomed Pope Francis's Laudato si' as a call to care for creation and for the vulnerable. He is also an active voice on life issues and freedom of conscience.

Created cardinal by Benedict XVI in 2012, Collins voted in the 2013 conclave and took part in the 2015 Synod on the family, where he stressed fidelity to Scripture together with accompaniment 'with clarity and charity'. He sits on the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. Pope Francis accepted his retirement as Archbishop of Toronto in 2023. No public criticism of the pontificate and no particular advocacy of its reforms were found.

In 2007 Archbishop Collins addressed Toronto's Beth Tzedec synagogue, acknowledging a 'often sad' shared history and the difference over Jesus while calling Jews and Christians 'brothers and sisters in God's presence'. In 2023 a Muslim leader said he had discussed shared moral concerns, including assisted suicide, with him. No notable statement on the Abu Dhabi Document was found.

A biblical scholar, Cardinal Collins writes pastoral letters rooted in Scripture and devotion, such as 'Heart Speaks to Heart' on the Sacred Heart (2021). He regularly speaks to the Catholic press and urges a tone of 'clarity and charity', describing pro-life witness as 'ardent but gentle'.