Father Raymond J. de Souza

World Youth Day 2002 Has Already Produced A New Cadre Of Catholic Leaders

Published: Thursday, July 26, 2007

WOLFE ISLAND, Ont. – Yesterday, our new archbishop was formally installed across the water in Kingston, Ont., the ninth archbishop to take his seat at St. Mary’s Cathedral. An awful lot depends on the archbishop, so the arrival of a new one is a time of great excitement and expectation for the whole Archdiocese of Kingston, and in particular for the priests. The archbishop is my superior, to whom I promised obedience at my ordination, so he does make a great deal of difference in my life. As far as my superiors go, he is even more important than my editors at the Post.

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This Week’s Sexual Abuse Settlement In L.A. Is A Welcome Development

Published: Thursday, July 19, 2007

The mammoth scale of Monday’s sexual abuse settlement in Los Angeles drew worldwide attention. At the cost of some US$660-million, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and its insurers have settled some 500-plus cases stretching back to the 1950s.

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Published: Saturday, July 14, 2007

Is it just? That is, did Conrad Black and his co-defendants get what was due to them? Justice is a matter of proportion. The Black trial, in its entirety, utterly lacked any sense of proportion. The jurors curbed some of the worst excesses, but it remained in its conclusion what it was at the beginning. I wrote four months ago that I hoped for an acquittal “as a rebuke to the misuse of state power in the criminal justice system.”

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Published: Thursday, July 12, 2007

Over the past week, Pope Benedict XVI has been in the news; the world is paying attention to how he leads and governs the Church. The simple fact that he does so in peace and liberty is not thought remarkable. At the same time, though, another story has been unfolding that shows that it is worth remarking.

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Published: Thursday, July 05, 2007

In an historic letter to Catholics in the People’s Republic of China, Pope Benedict XVI has declared victory on behalf of China’s Catholics over their communist rulers. It was a muted declaration to be sure, but a victory nonetheless, one for which no small measure of thanksgiving to God is in order.

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