Sulfur oxides are removed from an oxygen-containing acid gas in configurations and methods in which oxygen is catalytically removed using hydrogen sulfide, and in which the sulfur oxides react with the hydrogen sulfide to form elemental sulfur. A first portion of the remaining sulfurous compounds is reduced to form the hydrogen sulfide for oxygen removal, while a second portion of the sulfurous compounds is further converted to elemental sulfur using a Claus reaction or catalytic direct reduction reaction.