Fr. Raymond J. de Souza
Young Chinese Catholics put faith in action
ARDEN, ONT. - Acronym wise, it’s a mouthful — ECCCLC. So participants call it “GT” instead, which stands for Ga Tong, which gives you a sense of who is involved.
Just War and Iraq
Should Christians be pleased that the expansion of the “Islamic State” in Iraq has apparently been slowed? Should they be pleased that this was the result of American air strikes?
Fr. Gravel pursued agenda of rebellion
Fr. Raymond Gravel died on the feast of St. Clare and was buried on Assumption day with great laudations from Quebec’s political class. The flag at Montreal city hall was lowered to half-mast by order of the mayor, and former Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe spoke at the funeral Mass.
Shunning the bad shepherd
How should malfeasant bishops be held accountable on matters of sexual abuse? Pope Francis, in his meeting with victims of clerical sexual abuse this week, committed the Church to punishing bishops who have been negligent in removing from ministry abusive priests.
Shameful capitulation
Meetings for the federal Liberal nomination in Cardigan, P.E.I., are not usually newsworthy. For more than 25 years, the candidate has been Laurence MacAulay, who has won the riding every election since 1988. Now the longest-serving MP in the history of Prince Edward Island, and the second-longest serving MP in Ottawa, MacAulay’s nominations are rather pro forma affairs.
A saint, a scholar and a song
The feast of Corpus Christi brings out some of the Church’s most treasured hymns — “Pange lingua,” “Adoro te devote,” “Panis angelicus.” My favourite eucharistic hymn is “Ave verum corpus.” Hymns, like popular songs, can bring back strong memories of the circumstances in which they were heard. The “Ave verum” brings back a beautiful memory for me, suitable to share with readers on Corpus Christi this year. The sacred song links together our new saint and an old scholar, both very influential in my life.
Msgr. Foy knew what was at stake
Last week I wrote about ordination of a friend for the Archdiocese of Kingston. Priestly ordinations are joyful occasions. They are not as common as they should be, but they are not rare. This coming Saturday something truly rare will be celebrated when Msgr. Vincent Foy will celebrate the 75th anniversary of his priestly ordination, which took place on June 3, 1939.
Justin’s pro-life solution
Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau interrupted the first long weekend of the summer to issue a “personal reflection” on his decree, announced on May 7, that pro-life candidates would be barred from contesting Liberal Party nominations.
VATICAN CITY - Canonization week in Rome served as something of an informal annual general meeting. The universal Church was catching up with herself after a momentous year since Conclave 2013, and everyone was talking about our new Holy Father. Over these weeks, I hope to share with readers some of what I heard about Francis’ reforming papacy from those in Rome from around the world.
Francis, the decider
VATICAN CITY - Canonization week in Rome was about more than just the new papal saints. With three-quarters of the College of Cardinals in attendance, hundreds of bishops and Catholic scholars and commentators in abundance, it was akin to an informal annual general meeting. The universal Church was catching up with herself after a momentous year since Conclave 2013, the last time the whole gang was together.