Collins to be OCCB liaison with biblical association

TORONTO - Scripture scholar Archbishop Thomas Collins is taking on a new role as liaison between the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Biblical Association of Canada.

Toronto’s new archbishop is trading places with his successor in Edmonton. Collins will take over at the CBAC for Edmonton’s Archbishop Richard Smith, former bishop of Pembroke, Ont.

As an expert on the Book of Revelation with a doctorate from the Pontifical Gregorian University in biblical theology, Collins comes to the role with certain bona fides. In Edmonton he led monthly lectio divina services in the cathedral and he has a scholarly interest in biblical interpretation by church fathers in the first four centuries of the Christian era. He taught Scripture at St. Peter’s Seminary in London, Ont., before being ordained a bishop.

“He loves the word of God, and he’s going to really promote us,” said Sr. Jocelyn Monette, Catholic Biblical Association of Canada executive director. “When you have somebody who really loves the word of God it makes all the difference.”

The 36-year-old Catholic Biblical Association of Canada maintains a bishop liaison with the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops but not the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops nor any of the the other regional conferences of bishops. The group promotes Bible reading and study in Catholic parishes, publishes an occasional journal of biblical literacy called The Word of Life, arranges lectures on biblical subjects and maintains a web site at www.cbac.org.