Fr. Raymond J. de Souza
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Fr. Raymond J. de Souza
Fr. Raymond J. de Souza

Articles

The Cultural Judgments About Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds — A Model for Holding Trump to Account?
The Cultural Judgments About Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds — A Model for Holding Trump to Account?

Bonds wasn’t sanctioned for his use of performance-enhancing drugs but he can’t get into baseball’s Hall of Fame despite his accomplishments, and it’s Aaron who was celebrated as the sport’s home run king when he died last week.

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Newman House ManagerJanuary 30, 2021Culture, National Catholic Register
Upholding the law incompetently can have spectacularly bad consequences
Upholding the law incompetently can have spectacularly bad consequences

Racism or ideological motives are often blamed for poor law enforcement. But sometimes it is just plain incompetence.

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Newman House ManagerJanuary 29, 2021Culture, National Post
Archbishop Gomez Rock-Solid in His Inauguration Day Message
Archbishop Gomez Rock-Solid in His Inauguration Day Message

As the bishops work with a new administration, Archbishop José Gomez, not Cardinal Blase Cupich, is emerging as the authentic interpreter of Pope Francis in the U.S. on life, liberty and immigration.

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Newman House ManagerJanuary 28, 2021Church Affairs, National Catholic Register
President Joe Biden, St. Augustine, and the ‘City of Man’
President Joe Biden, St. Augustine, and the ‘City of Man’

Biden’s inaugural address employed St. Augustine to suggest Americans’ “common objects of love” include “opportunity, security, liberty, dignity, respect, honor, truth.” Missing from that list is “country.” What does it mean that Americans’ common love for their country is no longer obvious?

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Newman House ManagerJanuary 23, 2021Politics, National Catholic Register
The Trudeau government's revolving door just keeps spinning
The Trudeau government's revolving door just keeps spinning

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s self-admitted and significant failures in judgment have led to a series of resignations possibly without precedent.

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Newman House ManagerJanuary 22, 2021Politics, National Post
Joe Biden Inauguration Music: J-Lo Is No Aretha Franklin
Joe Biden Inauguration Music: J-Lo Is No Aretha Franklin

The music chosen to celebrate President Biden’s inauguration stands in stark contrast to one the president-elect participated in just 12 years prior.

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Newman House ManagerJanuary 22, 2021Culture, National Catholic Register
An inauguration in an empty square and the decline of American democracy
An inauguration in an empty square and the decline of American democracy

America arrives at this inauguration with perhaps a quarter of its population believing that its elections are corrupt and its criminal justice system is not fair.

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Newman House ManagerJanuary 19, 2021Politics, National Post
'We must not be enemies': Biden would do well to borrow these lines from Lincoln

The president-elect is preparing for his inaugural address amidst political turmoil and social unrest. What should he say?

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Newman House ManagerJanuary 15, 2021Politics, National Post
Rebuking Trump: Impeachment if Necessary, But Not Necessarily Impeachment
Rebuking Trump: Impeachment if Necessary, But Not Necessarily Impeachment

It can then be asked whether the impeachment meets the test of a good symbol. It may succeed in one way but, in the current hyper-partisan environment, fail in another.


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Newman House ManagerJanuary 15, 2021Politics, National Catholic Register
Re-Reading Father Richard Neuhaus’ ‘American Babylon’ in Light of U.S. Capitol Attack
Re-Reading Father Richard Neuhaus’ ‘American Babylon’ in Light of U.S. Capitol Attack

Father Neuhaus, who died in 2009, had great faith in the American people, but he would have been worried these last years, and last Wednesday.

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Newman House ManagerJanuary 12, 2021Culture, National Catholic Register
Getting the big picture on those globe-trotting public servants
Getting the big picture on those globe-trotting public servants

To a certain degree, public health directives, aimed broadly as they are, are always at least partially false.

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Newman House ManagerJanuary 9, 2021National Post, Culture
Becket’s freedom fight echoes in pandemic
Becket’s freedom fight echoes in pandemic

Today religious liberty questions arise in the context of pandemic protocols. Are those who protest them guilty of Becket-like intransigent extremism, or are they Becket-like in a heroic defence of inalienable rights?

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Newman House ManagerJanuary 7, 2021Faith, Catholic Register
Siege of the U.S. Capitol is an ominous sign of things to come
Siege of the U.S. Capitol is an ominous sign of things to come

The poison spilled on Wednesday in Washington will leach out across the land.

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Newman House ManagerJanuary 7, 2021Politics
Pope Francis, the Improvisational Pontiff
Pope Francis, the Improvisational Pontiff

The Holy Father’s style was best exemplified in 2020 by eight key occasions.

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Newman House ManagerJanuary 6, 2021Church Affairs, National Catholic Register
Why Does the US Electoral Process Breed Suspicion?
Why Does the US Electoral Process Breed Suspicion?

Americans’ weakened trust in elections is attributed in part to the electoral institution itself and to high-profile cases of alleged stolen elections.

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Newman House ManagerJanuary 6, 2021Politics, National Catholic Register
The high cost of safety
The high cost of safety

What that price actually was in 2020 will be a key matter for investigation in 2021.

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Newman House ManagerJanuary 2, 2021Culture, National Post
Which Designated Year Should Catholics Celebrate?
Which Designated Year Should Catholics Celebrate?

Next Spring, the Church will be simultaneously observing four specially designated years: Our Lady of Loreto, St. Joseph, Laudato Si and Amoris Laetitia.

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Newman House ManagerDecember 31, 2020Church Affairs, National Catholic Register
Like JFK, the most momentous decision Biden will make impacts his family
Like JFK, the most momentous decision Biden will make impacts his family

He faces a dilemma no president has had to confront in 60 years: how to choose an attorney general whose department will decide on whether to prosecute his family?

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Newman House ManagerDecember 30, 2020Politics, National Post
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