How does Raney nickel remove sulfur from sulfides?

Raney nickel (Ra-Ni), a highly active form of nickel, facilitates the removal of sulfur from sulfides through a process known as desulfurization. In this reaction, the carbon-sulfur bonds within the sulfide are cleaved and replaced by hydrogen atoms.1

The general chemical transformation can be represented as:
$$RS{R}^{\prime }+\text{Ra-Ni}\to R-H+R^{\prime }-H$$

This reduction reaction is a valuable tool in organic chemistry, particularly for synthetic purposes or for determining the structure of unknown organosulfur compounds. Historically, this method played a critical role in establishing the structure of penicillin.1