Articles — Fr. Raymond J. de Souza

Vatican Finds Itself on the Outside Looking In at Russia-Ukraine Diplomatic Efforts

Despite intensive efforts, the Holy See finds itself strangely isolated.

Newman House ManagerMay 9, 2022Church Affairs, National Catholic Register

Papal visit will be historic, but not without its challenges

A papal visit is always a grace, and Edmonton will be blessed if it is included

Newman House ManagerMay 7, 2022National Post, Church Affairs

New report recommends turning the Armed Forces into a secular theocracy

The panel’s chaplaincy recommendations are a total assault not only on religious liberty, but the very idea of religion itself

Newman House ManagerApril 30, 2022National Post, Politics

Lessons from Biden’s mask mandate failure

There is a difference between courts that act imperfectly and courts that are impotent. During the pandemic, Canada’s courts have not only been masked, they have been mute

Newman House ManagerApril 25, 2022Politics, National Post

Pope Benedict XVI and the ‘German Question’

A conflagration may very well engulf the Church within the next year, and there is no fire extinguisher now that Benedict XVI is in retirement.

Newman House ManagerApril 16, 2022National Catholic Register, Church Affairs

Holy Saturday Fits the Life of Pope Benedict XVI

How fitting that the quintessential man of the liturgy should be a child of the Paschal Triduum, the summit of the liturgical year.

Newman House ManagerApril 16, 2022National Post, Faith

‘The 7 Last Words of Christ’

Prayerfully ponder meditations for Good Friday.

Newman House ManagerApril 16, 2022Faith, National Catholic Register

The promise of Holy Saturday

On Holy Saturday above all, the Christian is reminded to think about the tomb differently. It may be an enduring home, but not an eternal one

Newman House ManagerApril 16, 2022Faith, National Post

Toronto's Crossings invites a Holy Week contemplation

Politics, as it does everywhere today, intrudes on a few stations, but that too is not altogether unwelcome

Newman House ManagerApril 15, 2022National Post, Faith

Another Week of Intense Activity at the Holy See

The run-up to Pope Francis’ trip to Malta and Holy Week included ‘Canada week,’ ‘Poland week,’ a meeting with the head of the Syro-Malankara Church and the publication of a major instruction on Catholic education.

Newman House ManagerApril 12, 2022National Catholic Register, Church Affairs

Apologies are one thing, reconciliation is another

A new generation of Aboriginal leadership is not seeking reconciliation as much as redress

Newman House ManagerApril 8, 2022National Post, Culture

3 Key Aspects of Pope Francis’ Apology to Canadian Indigenous People

While the papal apology has historical, cultural, political and economic aspects, the Holy Father treated this primarily as a religious one at the service of healing and reconciliation as gifts from God.

Newman House ManagerApril 7, 2022National Catholic Register, Church Affairs

The meaning of Pope Francis' apology to Indigenous people

Sins confessed and contrition expressed is at the heart of the Christian faith, meaning that what took place in Rome was a profoundly religious act

Newman House ManagerApril 4, 2022National Post, Church Affairs

First Nations bring painful stories to Pope Francis in hopes of a new beginning

Indigenous Canadians met with Pope Francis in Rome to share their stories and offer their shared memories about the painful experience of residential schools.

Newman House ManagerApril 1, 2022National Post, Culture

Further Fissures in Orthodox Communion Emerge

That Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople would travel to Warsaw to stand alongside a Catholic bishop to call out the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill is altogether remarkable.

Newman House ManagerMarch 31, 2022National Catholic Register, Church Affairs

The Pope’s Meetings With Canadian Indigenous Leaders: An Explainer

They are a continuation of the process of reconciliation that is underway because of the Catholic Church’s participation in Canada’s assimilationist residential-school policy for Indigenous children.

Newman House ManagerMarch 28, 2022National Catholic Register, Church Affairs

Signs of discord, but also of hope, as Indigenous leaders prepare to meet Pope

At an official level, there will be official disappointment. But there are also reasons to be hopeful

Newman House ManagerMarch 28, 2022National Post, Church Affairs

Pope Francis’ Consecration of Russia Is an Ecclesial Earthquake

Courtesy of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill’s support for Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, the religious landscape of the 21st century has shifted significantly.

Newman House ManagerMarch 24, 2022National Catholic Register, Church Affairs