When the U.S. Supreme Court declared it will rule in the coming weeks whether same-sex marriage will be extended nationwide, the esteemed New York Times and others called the issue “one of the great civil rights questions of the age.”
St. Joseph Vaz, the great missionary saint
By Fr. Raymond J. de SouzaCOLOMBO, SRI LANKA - Passing through Rome on the way to the Jan. 14 canonization of Fr. Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Sri Lanka, I heard something extraordinary from Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints.
Politics must have a broader horizon
By Terrence J. Downey“I beg the Lord to grant us more politicians who are genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of the poor!”
Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel)
Praying good for the brain, not just the spirit
By Robert BrehlA friend popped by the other day while I was working on a Sudoku puzzle.
Francis a gift for Sri Lanka
By Fr. Raymond J. de SouzaCOLOMBO, SRI LANKA - It happened here again, but this time rather unexpectedly. In 1970 and in 1995, when Blessed Paul VI and St. John Paul II visited Sri Lanka, the president who invited them was no longer in office when they arrived. So it was for Pope Francis’ arrival this week, but more dramatically so.
It's all in the evidence
By Peter StocklandAs NDP leader Thomas Mulcair pointed out in a year-end CTV interview, January marks the start of a federal election year in Canada. Although voting is not expected for another 10 months, virtually every Ottawa eyelash flutter will be decoded for its electoral significance this year.
Retracing John Paul II’s triumphant Asia visit
By Fr. Raymond J. de SouzaROME - There is excitement here about the papal visit to Sri Lanka and the Philippines next week. For those with longer Roman memories, they know that it celebrates the 20th anniversary of an extraordinary pilgrimage by St. John Paul, one that marked the beginning of the heroic last decade of his pontificate.
Funeral didn’t do justice to Jean Beliveau the Catholic
By Fr. Raymond J. de SouzaUpon the death of Jean Beliveau I devoted my National Post column to eulogizing the gentleman who exemplified the best that Quebec once produced, a model of what Quebec aspires to be. The treatment was even more generous here in the pages of The Register, with a cover story and a laudatory editorial. It was well deserved.
Christ is not an ideology
By Peter StocklandA colleague scolded me recently for my argument that any attempt to reconfigure the culture must avoid being a pretext for smuggling Christendom back into the story.
Constantinople an Orthodox relic
By Fr. Raymond J. de SouzaFifty years ago Blessed Paul VI went to Jerusalem — the first papal trip outside Italy in our time, inaugurating the practice of apostolic journeys — to meet Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople, primus inter pares of all the Orthodox patriarchs. It was a historic moment that, after nearly a millennia of separation, the Bishop of Rome, Successor of St. Peter and universal pastor of the Church, would meet with the Patriarch of Constantinople, the “New Rome,” successor of St. Andrew and ecumenical patriarch of all Orthodoxy.
Forgiveness comes in different ways, times
By Robert BrehlThe other day a real-life discussion between pals reminded me of Unbroken, a movie opening on Christmas Day and based on the best-selling book and true story of a courageous American airman during the Second World War.