Father Raymond J. de Souza

Priestly abuse of minors, sexual or otherwise, inflicts a grievous wound on the Church, the entire body of the baptized.  It grievously wounds the victims.  The damage to the body may heal; souls are another thing, and often the damage there is permanent.  Victims of abuse often find their faith in God shattered, unable to believe in the love and mercy of God after having experienced exploitation and cruelty from His ministers.  There have rightly been many apologies, but not all wounds can heal, not all faith can be restored. (more…)

Even though we are in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, the solutions on offer are generally more of the same — with the emphasis on more.

During the Great Depression, a wide-ranging Royal Commission on Dominion-Provincial Relations was struck which led to the system of federal-provincial transfers that undergirds the Canadian welfare state.  The initiatives taken then provided an innovative response to the crisis of the day, and provided the fiscal capacity that made possible the post-war expansion of pensions, family allowances and unemployment insurance. (more…)

Obama is at odds with the Church on abortion. So why is Notre Dame giving him a degree?

Tomorrow President Barack Obama will be awarded an honorary doctorate of laws at the University of Notre Dame, America’s most famous Catholic university. Given President Obama’s radical pro-abortion agenda, the decision by Notre Dame to honour him has provoked an unprecedented level of criticism. (more…)

Pope reached out to Muslim world

They sang a Te Deum — the great Christian hymn of thanksgiving — in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre yesterday to mark the conclusion of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit. Visibly tired after eight days of intense activity in a sometimes hostile environment, the Pope fell to his knees for prolonged periods of silent prayer at the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and in the empty tomb of the resurrection. They were tranquil moments at the end of a difficult visit. (more…)

The week-long coverage of the papal visit to the Middle East finds Christians dissatisfied with Pope Benedict’s trip.

Pope Benedict XVI delivered two straightforward sermons yesterday in Nazareth. A pope talking about prayer, saints, family life, vocations and holiness to Roman Catholics is not normally a break from regular activity, but after days of inter-religious dialogue and politically sensitive addresses, it was something different. (more…)