Free Republic

Editor’s note: This was originally given in Rome May 8, 2015 during the Rome Life Forum.ROME, June 24, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) -- In this presentation I intend to give a brief overview of events before and during the Extraordinary Synod held in October 2014. On March 17 2013, four days after his election as Pope and during his first Angelus address in St Peter’s Square, the Holy Father drew attention to a recently published book by Walter Cardinal Kasper and strongly praised it. He said: In these days I have been able to read a book by a Cardinal – Cardinal...

Since it appears that the U.S. Supreme Court has no trouble legislating from the bench, the various State Attorney Generals should treat their rulings as if they are proposed amendments to the Constitution and refuse to obey them until ratified just as amendments are expected to be ratified. In fact, the Republican Congress should offer new amendments to the Constitution for each of these ridiculous rulings so they can fail miserably in the legislative process clearly displaying that what was ruled by the court has NO basis of legislative support whatsoever and should be treated as the nonsense they are....

Last week's Supreme Court rulings on Obamacare (Burwell) and same-sex marriage (Obergefell) were enormously dispiriting for reasons beyond the substantive issues of socialized medicine and same-sex marriage. I couldn't be more opposed to socialized medicine, which I believe is the endgame of Obamacare, and I am opposed to the societal sanctioning of same-sex marriage, but those are not my greatest concerns with these two rulings. In both cases, the court flouted the Constitution, the rule of law, the English language and the truth itself. People who appreciate the unique American system of government and those who value truth itself should...

--SNIP-- Scalia’s point is central to understanding the backwardness of this ruling. Obamacare was written with the language Scalia described for a very specific reason. The goal was to coerce states into creating their own exchanges by tying access to federal subsidies to the creation of state-specific Obamacare “marketplaces.” Recall Jonathan Gruber, the MIT economist and architect of Obamacare, who became a household name when it was revealed that he mocked the “stupidity of the American voter” for believing Obamacare wouldn’t ban their insurance plans or increase costs. He also stated in January 2012: “I think what’s important to remember...

Sen. Ted Cruz continued his line of attack Monday against Chief Justice John Roberts’ opinion upholding Obamacare subsidies, saying that he took off his umpire mask and “put on an Obama jersey” with the ruling. In an appearance on “The Hugh Hewitt Show,” Cruz told the host that the two Obamacare rulings Roberts made will “go down as some of the most political decisions” in the history of the Supreme Court. The comments come on the heels of Cruz telling Sean Hannity on Friday that the ruling, along with the ruling making same-sex marriage legal nationwide, marked “some of the...

Bill Nye, the liberal establishment’s cartoonish Pseudoscience Guy, packages progressive ideology in childish goofiness so as to render it less menacing as he preaches disproven global warming theory to kids young enough to take it at face value. Although his attempts to implant fear of “climate change” are laughable, his underlying message should make your hair stand on end: “Climate change is a real deal everybody…“Now back in 1750 there were about one-and-a-half billion people in the world. Well today there is 7.2 going on 7.3 billion people. Well that’s the problem. There’s billions of people breathing and burning the...

With same-sex marriage and the transformation of Bruce Jenner into Caitlyn Jenner in the world headlines, it’s time to ask what LGBT bioethics would look like. Timothy Murphy, of the University of Illinois College of Medicine, foreshadows some of the major themes in the journal Bioethics. Bioethics benefits. “Bioethics is better than it would otherwise have been, because people queer in their sexual interests and identities have challenged misconceived concepts of health and disease, challenged obstacles to access and equity in healthcare, and forced attention to professional standards in clinical care, among other things.” Defending LGBT parenting. To show that the battle...

Joseph Edward StricklandBy the Grace of God and the Apostolic SeeBishop of TylerTO THE PRIESTS, DEACONS, CONSECRATED RELIGIOUS AND CATHOLIC FAITHFUL OF THE DIOCESE OF TYLER, OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF OTHER FAITH TRADITIONS, AND ALL PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL IN THE THIRTY-THREE COUNTIES OF NORTHEAST TEXAS THAT MAKE UP THE DIOCESE OF TYLER:On the morning of June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down a 5-4 decision establishing the legal right of two individuals of the same sex to legally marry in all 50 states. By doing so, the Court has acted in contradiction to...

Continuing to make sure that female employees and students have access to birth control, but that religious non-profit organizations where those women work or study do not have to provide it, the Supreme Court took action Monday on a case that is developing for next Term. In a two-page order, the Court turned aside requests by Roman Catholic colleges, charities, and other non-profits in Pennsylvania to keep on hold a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, rejecting those groups’ challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate.   Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., had temporarily put that...

Many people are looking at the recent Supreme Court decisions about ObamaCare and same-sex marriage in terms of whether they think these are good or bad policies. That is certainly a legitimate concern, for both those who favor those policies and those who oppose them. But there is a deeper and more long-lasting impact of these decisions that raise the question whether we are still living in America, where "we the people" are supposed to decide what kind of society we want, not have our betters impose their notions on us. The Constitution of the United States says that the...

Via Fox The Supreme Court blocks Texas restrictions on abortions.

This morning Pope Francis told the bishops of Puerto Rico, in Rome on their ad limina visit, that the beauty of marriage between man and woman is threatened by the ideology of gender. He also urged them to emphasize family pastoral ministry in order to counteract serious social problems resulting from the assault on traditional family values. Noting that "so-called gender ideology" is challenging the complementarity between a man and a woman under the guise of seeking a more just society, the Holy Father said, "Let me to draw your attention to the value and beauty of marriage. The differences...

The Supreme Court gave President Obama a reason to be giddy about the status of his signature health care legislation on Friday, upholding Obamacare subsidies for individuals living in states without state based Obamacare exchanges. He promptly held a presser at the White House, beaming that the Affordable Care Act was “here to stay.” Now, it appears he’s taking his victory tour to Tennessee. Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), a former nurse, suggested that maybe the president should have done a little research before choosing her state to promote his pride and joy. “During his visit to Tennessee, perhaps President Obama...

At last check the market (DJI) was down 254 points after a steady decline throughout the day. US Treasury yields down 14 basis points. I know, the Greek crisis. But Who orchestrates these events beyond our understanding?

Trashing the Tenth Amendment. Let’s refresh our memories about exactly what the Tenth Amendment says: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. That is not ambiguous. If the Constitution doesn’t expressly grant the federal government a power or expressly prohibit the states from exercising that same power, then the states and not the federal government have that power. But in both the ObamaCare ruling and the gay marriage ruling last week, the Supreme Court ruled as if the Tenth...

1-2-3-4-5. Five leftist lawyers, currently abusing their authority as Supreme Court Justices, unleashed their activism upon the U.S. Constitution Friday and created a non-existent right to same-sex marriage. The Fourteenth Amendment may provide equal protection under the law, but by applying it to expand the definition of marriage the Court has created a constitutional crisis in America. The First and Tenth Amendments, which respectively promise freedom of individual religion and award jurisdiction to the States of all powers not enumerated in the Constitution, have now been placed in direct conflict with the Fourteenth Amendment. “Love Wins”? Not here it doesn’t,...

Barack Obama has reached the stage of his presidency where if he wants to break out in song publicly, as he did with “Amazing Grace” in a eulogy on Friday, then he’s going to do it. With a year-and-a-half left in office, Obama is shedding some of his trademark “no drama” style for a looser approach, admitting that he feels more fearless and liberated. It may also be in recognition that he has few big-ticket policy achievements left to enjoy in polarized Washington as the end of his two-term presidency approaches. In a remarkable week for the president, a victory...

It is my deepest wish that none of the following should ever happen, but logic says it will. The Supreme Court has taken its place at the head of the charge to destroy the Roman Catholic Church in America. Under all the impassioned arguments about “love winning out” the leering minions of hate and lies have won a major victory. Now they can gather their forces to attack their real enemy, the one that has always been the unspoken target: The Roman Catholic Church in America. For all its faults and self-inflicted damage, the Catholic Church in America is still...

In Kansas, Shawnee County District Court Judge Larry Hendricks issued an order blocking that state’s ban on abortions carried out by tearing the baby limb-from-limb while still in the womb. The Judge’s order came in response to a lawsuit filed by the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of Dr. Herbert Hodes and Dr. Traci Nauser—a father-daughter team of abortionists. “To allow this law to go into effect while the matter is being litigated would deprive the plaintiffs of their livelihood,” Hendricks said. “It would inflict irreparable harm and injury to their recognized right to ply their trade.”...

Come on. How many will truly be surprised to see the American Civil Liberties Union backpedal away from an enumerated civil right in the Constitution, now that the cognoscenti considers it a form of bigotry? I feel so old. I remember when the ACLU was a civil liberties organization. http://t.co/oe1EiYAXja— James Taranto (@jamestaranto) June 27, 2015 @Popehat @Lorienen @ACLU well now that Christians use it the ACLU can't support it— Clarence Whorley (@ClarenceWhorley) June 27, 2015 The organization that once went to court to ensure that the American Nazi Party could parade through Skokie, Illinois in an exercise of free...