1. Etobicoke Guardian: Students Skype Cardinal Collins about
conclave vote, Pope Francis’ ministry
Etobicoke Guardian by Cynthia Reason
Father Henry Carr students welcomed Cardinal Thomas Collins
into their religion classroom Tuesday morning, March 19, via
Skype from Rome, where the Archbishop of Toronto remains
after participating in the papal conclave last week.
The 15-minute teleconference took place shortly after Collins
attended the inaugural mass of Pope Francis – formerly Cardinal
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires – following
his election to the head of the Catholic church last Wednesday,
March 13.
Miles Fernandes, Father Henry Carr’s school chaplain, called the
experience “wonderful.”
“Our students are the future of our church, so getting them involved in this process is something which
can only be positive,” he said. “We’re really grateful for this opportunity to speak to Cardinal Collins – he’s
a very approachable person, so he gels with the students really quickly.”
During the question and answer session, Collins’ fielded a variety of questions from the Grade 10 and 11
students, as well as a few Grade 7 students from nearby St. Eugene Catholic School, about everything
from the qualities he and his fellow cardinals were looking for in their new pope, to what Collins thinks the
direction of the Catholic church will be under Pope Francis.
“I think Pope Francis will follow exactly the same path as Pope Benedict and John Paul and the others
before him in terms of the faith of church, in terms of the protection of life from the first moment it exists to
natural death, in terms of the sanctity and holiness of marriage, and the importance of social justice in the
world,” Collins said. “All of those things will be the same, but I think that Pope Francis will have his own
style and his own way of presenting them...
“I also think the pope will follow a direction of trying to let the world know about the good news of
Jesus...his basic direction is towards real simplicity and strengthening of faith.”
Grade 11 student Shereen Niranjan, who admitted she was “really excited” to have the opportunity to
speak with Collins, asked the archbishop what qualities he saw in Bergoglio that made him think he would
make a good pope.
“When we were in the conclave, I think all of us were looking at different ways the pope should be the
pope – and there were several people we might have considered,” Collins explained. “Gradually we all
kind of came together with Pope Francis because...I think what we all see in Cardinal Bergoglio is a very
gentle, loving pastor.”
Celebrated by the poor in his native Argentina as the “slum pope”, Pope Francis is the first Latin
American to be elected to the papacy, and has made a point of his commitment to the poor. His
namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, gave up his family riches to dedicate his life to caring for the poor.

2. When asked of the significance of Pope Francis’ Latin American background, Collins said Bergoglio’s
cultural heritage didn’t play much of a role in his election – “we were mainly thinking of his general
qualities as a very holy man and a pastor” – but that it was quite fitting to see a Latin American elected,
seeing as so many Catholics hail from the region. In fact, Latin American Catholics account for nearly 40
per cent of the religion’s followers worldwide.
“Many, many Catholics are in Latin America and so it’s kind of appropriate that the pope would be from
there, but we weren’t so much thinking of where the pope should come from, but what kind of person do
we need to lead the church right now – a loving pastor,” he said. “I don’t think the nationality matters so
much, because he’s the pope of the whole church.”
Robert Gallo, a teacher from St. Eugene, brought along three of his Grade 7 students to participate in the
Skype date with Collins – an experience he described as “cutting edge.”
“It’s really taking scripture and tradition and tweaking it with 21st century learning,” he enthused. “It’s face
to faith, basically, and it’s something that my students are really, really going to benefit from.”
Gallo’s students, 12-year-olds Natalia Gajewska, Allyssa Clemeno, and John Bandillo, got up together to
ask Cardinal Collins to describe, in one word, what the whole experience of participating in his first papal
conclave in Rome has been like.
Collins’ answer: “Awesome!”