Raymond J. de Souza
Father Raymond J. de Souza is a Cardus Senior Fellow, the founding Editor of Convivium, chaplain at Newman House (the Roman Catholic centre at Queen's University), and a parish priest, in addition to writing for the National Post and The Catholic Register.
Bio last updated January 12th, 2022.
Articles by Raymond J. de Souza
Bidding Brown A Welcome Goodbye
By Raymond J. de Souza
January 25, 2018
Convivium’s Father Raymond de Souza says Patrick Brown’s departure as Ontario Conservative leader is cause for huzzahs from all who care about political integrity in our common life.
The PC Party, having heard the sexual misconduct allegations against him last night, handed Brown more than his hat When I wrote about Brown in 2016, I had no knowledge about the alleged sexual misconduct that led to his resignation as PC leader last night
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Battlefield Of Our Hearts
Raymond J. de Souza
January 18, 2018
This December Convivium's editor in chief, Father Raymond J. de Souza delivered this inspiring address to over 900 faithful young people of faith gathered in Ottawa to ring in the new year together at CCO's Rise Up.
When that arm went to Goa, who could have imagined that almost 500 years later it would come to Canada to be welcomed by the descendants of those St Francis met, who are doing so much good for the spread of the Gospel in this new mission country So at my magazine, Convivium, which is Canada’s digita...
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What’s Not Canada?
Raymond J. de Souza
January 18, 2018
Convivium’s editor in chief asks why more care wasn’t put into investigating a young girl’s tale about her sliced hijab – for her sake and for Canada’s
Who knows why Kwahlah lied about what happened? Did an 11-year-old and her little brother concoct an ill-conceived prank on the way to school that got out of hand? Was the little brother rough housing, as little brothers do, and tear the hijab accidently, causing the kids to cobble together a cover ...
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St. Francis Xavier and Friendship for Mission
Raymond J. de Souza
January 11, 2018
Convivium editor in chief Father Raymond J. de Souza reports on the cross Canada pilgrimage of the relic of St. Francis Xavier. Learn more about the legacy of faith and friendship that St. Francis Xavier imparts to us all.
In the treasury of letters that Francis and Ignatius exchanged in later life we see the beauty of their friendship, sustained even after Francis departed for the missions in India and Asia, never to see his friend again Francis Xavier could only do what he did because of the friendship that St The t...
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An Encomium For Actual Icons
Raymond J. de Souza
December 14, 2017
Only icons are iconic, Father Raymond J. de Souza cautions. Deep fried dough and Neil Young are not
But a street is not an icon, and by definition the transit authorities of Toronto are incapable of writing icons Every person, made in the image and likeness of God, is something of an icon of the divine John the Baptist, which, proper to the Eastern tradition, is resplendent with sacred icons ...
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Jerusalem and Peace
Raymond J. de Souza
December 7, 2017
Is peace in the Middle East possible? Today Father Raymond J. de Souza reflects on the significance of President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
If Jordan and Iraq can live in peace, it is not because they mutually agreed upon their borders, but because they decided to accept and live with, and within, what war wrought Even the Israeli-Arab peace process is the fruit of war At the end of World War II, Poland had been “liberated” by the Red A...
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The Clintons’ End Times
Raymond J. de Souza
November 23, 2017
As the Clintons become the face of a critical moment of cultural change "reckoning, recriminations, even revenge, is in the air," says Convivium editor in chief Fr. Raymond J. de Souza. Now, more than ever, he urges, should the virtues of repentance and reconciliation serve as the hallmarks of the age to come.
On the 24th anniversary of the election, five days before the 2016 presidential election, the plan would have been to celebrate the 25th anniversary in the White House, or perhaps to have President Hillary Clinton fly down to Little Rock on Air Force One As long as Bill and Hillary’s political futur...
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Of Flu and The Cuckoo’s Nest
Raymond J. de Souza
November 17, 2017
What does Shoppers Drug Mart have to teach us about the juxtaposition between self sacrifice and self indulgence? Read more to find out!
Who knew that as bookstores were struggling across the Dominion, Shoppers was picking up the slack? My eye was caught, though, by the magazine rack, where side by each – as they say in Newfoundland – was a special edition of Time magazine dedicated to the late Hugh Hefner, and a special edition of P...
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Mockery and Majesty
Raymond J. de Souza
November 9, 2017
Convivium editor in chief Father Raymond J. de Souza reflects on the new Governor General's recent remarks to the Canadian Science Policy Convention, outlining the connection between faith and science, and the importance of kindness and care for those around us.
The new Governor General made rather a mess of her speech to the Canadian Science Policy Convention, less than a month into her service as Canadian vice-regal representative of Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God of Canada, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith Still, Ibbitson pointed...
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Closing the Reformation Divide
Raymond J. de Souza
November 3, 2017
It barely made the news, but this week 500 years of Christian theological division could justifiably be called closed.
“When the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in 1999, you resolved the underlying theological question of 1517, in a decisive moment for all churches in the search for unity and reconciliation,” Archbishop Welby said at Wes...
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100 Years of Fortitude
Raymond J. de Souza
October 26, 2017
Convivium's editor in chief Father Raymond J. de Souza marks the anniversary of both the Sacred Heart of Mary parish and Queen's University's "Newman Club."
The University of Toronto had a Newman Club for Catholic students, and Catholic students at Queen’s, then a Presbyterian-founded university of only a few hundred students, wanted the same There are conversions of heart and conversions of life, and the courage of Christian students on campus today is...
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Sears Bankruptcy
Raymond J. de Souza
October 19, 2017
What does the closing of Sears mean for the average citizen? Could it mean the loss of yet another physical space that facilitates our common life?
Do people still go to the mall, with the big anchor Sears at one end, and Eaton’s – sorry, they went bust a long while back – or The Bay at the other? I usually get there a few times a year, but far less than I would have gone twenty years ago I can’t complain that Sears is going under because I lon...
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Talking Insufferable Turkey
Raymond J. de Souza
October 12, 2017
Still eating leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner? Fr. Raymond de Souza offers some “leftovers” of his own. Here are some “leftover” thoughts on smaller items – less important though perhaps more amusing – from recent days.
If we cannot judge food on what it does on its own, what then are we judging? When the gullible speak of their devotion to turkey, they are slow to mention the meat of the bird “With great power comes great responsibility,” says Rock, 33, talking about his new role as the head of the Metropolitan Co...
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A Riot of Governors General
Raymond J. de Souza
October 6, 2017
This week Fr. Raymond de Souza reflects on Julie Payette's transition to Canada 29th governor general – in particular, the choice of her coat of arms and motto.
Rideau Hall’s heraldic work ought to get more attention than it does, as the arms of our governors general are, to use the technical heraldic term, a riot The Governor General of Canada customarily is granted a personal coat-of-arms upon assuming office, and it was the case this week when Julie Paye...
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Islamophobia in Parliament
Raymond J. de Souza
September 28, 2017
Convivum editor in chief, Father Raymond J. de Souza shares his testimony to The House of Commons Committee on Canadian Heritage on M-103.
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) recognize the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear; (b) condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination and take note of House of Commons’ petition e-411 and the issues raised by ...
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Calling And Caravaggio
Raymond J. de Souza
September 21, 2017
Today Father Raymond J. de Souza revisits the light and beauty of Caravaggio's timeless work ‘The Calling of St. Matthew’ and the truth it continues to communicate to viewers in this day and age.
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Great Wind And Loving Water
Raymond J. de Souza
September 14, 2017
Convivium editor-in-chief Father Raymond J. de Souza reflects on the spiritual significance of water in light of the recent hurricanes that have been raging.
And we don’t fully grasp the biblical worldview unless we remember that, for those living with and listening to Jesus, the waters were a place of danger and the storm was a lethal threat The Biblical world was more afraid of what nature could do, what the chaos of the waters could bring The Biblical...
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Beauty, Celebrity, and Sainthood
Raymond J. de Souza
September 7, 2017
Convivium editor-in-chief Father Raymond J. de Souza reflects on the twentieth anniversary of the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Mother Teresa, as well as their legacy of beauty.
During those days Diana was proposed not only as a glamourous, but glorious, not only a celebrity but a saint, something of a secular Mother Teresa In Diana’s case, even Hollywood – the high priesthood of the celebrity cult – had second thoughts, churning out by the tenth anniversary of her death He...
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Canadian Values and Charlottetown
Raymond J. de Souza
August 31, 2017
Convivium editor-in-chief Father Raymond J. de Souza marks the 25th anniversary of the Charlottetown Accord, reporting on its significance in our current cultural moment.
(1) The Constitution of Canada, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the following characteristics: It would speak of the nature of Canada and would have interpretative authority, meaning that the courts would have to interpret the r...
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Calgary’s Coyote Ugly Art
Raymond J. de Souza
August 24, 2017
Father Raymond J. de Souza delivers a thoughtful essay on the purpose and patronage of public art.
Displaying such works in public galleries is worthy, but why not commission public art, to be erected on private land, but to adorn our common life? It is highly unlikely that the Bowfort Towers would be the result of such an initiative When Calgary city council approves a public works project of su...
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Statue of Limitations
Raymond J. de Souza
August 16, 2017
Convivium editor-in-chief Father Raymond J. de Souza examines what the recent events in Charlottesville have taught us about the role of historical honour and remembrance.
The Washington Monument is built along an axis that intersects the Mall, and on that axis lie both the White House and the Jefferson Memorial Many historic lives are broad ones, as they know well about Jefferson in Charlottesville, home to the University of Virginia, the founding of which Jefferson ...
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Petal to the Metal
Raymond J. de Souza
August 3, 2017
Ottawa spends $50 million on showpiece gardens in Winnipeg. Yet Churchill's lone rail line can't be repaired. From Confederation to now, Canada began to go seriously off track.
On July 18, the company that owns the railway, OmniTRAX of Denver, Colorado, said that the rail line can be repaired before October – when construction season ends in the north – but at a cost of about $60 million Over the years, both federal and provincial governments have put millions into the lin...
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The Future of Canada’s Day
Raymond J. de Souza
July 19, 2017
Indigenous accusations of genocide made our 150th birthday a day of repentance with sporadic fireworks, says Father Raymond J. de Souza. That's not good for Canada. It's even worse for Aboriginal Canadians.
The whole “shove it down your throat” approach to Canada Day might have been a tad off-putting, so The Globe followed Saganash with a July 2 column by Matthew Coon Come, grand chief of the Cree Nation near James Bay, Quebec, arguing that the “tide is turning on Canada’s relationship with Indigenous ...
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Anniversary Afterthoughts
Raymond J. de Souza
July 10, 2017
Convivium Editor in Chief Father Raymond J. de Souza reflects on the Canada Day celebrations that unfolded in early July.
The last time I was on Parliament Hill for a royal visit was back in 1989, when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother came to mark the 50th anniversary of the royal tour of 1939 that she made with King George VI, about which she famously said, “Canada made us!” It’s rather a long way down fro...