Writings by Rinald D’Souza on religion, society and the arts.
The Lived Contestations of Adivasi Catholic Identity-Making
In the mid-nineteenth century movement towards Christianity in Chotanagpur in central India, the missionary Constant Lievens (1856-1893) played a pioneering role in the establishment of the Catholic Mission among the Adivasis (indigenous peoples). Through Lievens’ legal advocacy, Adivasis not only adopted a faith, but also began to reclaim their lands and their indigeneity. Drawing on ethnographic research around the intercessory prayer for the beati_cation of Lievens, this paper analyses the present-day lived contestations of Adivasi Catholic identity-making. The paper argues that Adivasi Catholic identities are lived in contestation and continuous negotiation with their present realities, while also borrowing from the legacies of their own past struggles and their intermediaries.
At Van Eyck’s Optical Revolution, the Sublime meets the Spiritual
LONG READ | ‘Van Eyck. An Optical Revolution’ at the MSK Ghent is the largest exhibition of the Early Netherlandish pioneer Jan van Eyck, whose innovations with oil painting and realism enabled us to see the world like we had never seen before. But is there more in his sublime portrayal of reality? Rinald D’Souza reviews.
Finding the Lost Sheep at Christmas
If Christmas indeed celebrates the birth and coming of Jesus, one might probably need to investigate the purpose of his coming: for “the lost sheep of Israel” — the marginalised of society. But what could lost sheep inform us about our Christmas, our lives and our histories? A reflection for Christmas.
Adeus Romuald. There is still so much more to do.
Romuald D’Souza SJ (1925-2019) was among the finest Jesuit educationists from Goa. Awarded the Padma Shri in 2010 for his contribution to education, Romuald had distinguished himself in the field of business management education first at the XLRI, Jamshedpur and later by founding two premier business schools: XIM, Bhubaneshwar and GIM, Goa. In his tribute to Romuald, Rinald D’Souza SJ contends how Romuald deployed his own spiritual heritage to influence his brand of business management education.