Free Republic

The Family in God’s Plan The Commandment to Honor One’s Father and Mother Reflects the Family’s Role in Church and Society By: Most Reverend William E. Lori, Archbishop of BaltimoreArticle Tools The fourth commandment instructs us to “Honor your father and your mother.” How many times as youngsters did we confess that we had disobeyed our parents in ways great and small? Yet we can understand this commandment more fully by considering how it encompasses God’s entire plan for marriage and family life.The fourth commandment instructs us to “Honor your father and your mother.” How many times as youngsters...

The Importance of Mothers and Fathersby Archbishop William E. LoriNo one loves us quite so tenderly and persistently as our mothers. Where would we be without them? They are the glue that holds families together. Even though Mother’s Day is past, it is never too late to pay tribute to our mothers, living and dead, and to commend them to the Lord. Let me wager, however, that good mothers desire, more than anything else, good husbands and fathers. They deserve husbands who are loving and faithful. Mothers understand how important a father’s love and example is for their children....

Blessed John Paul II: Champion of Religious Freedom Most Reverend William E. Lori, S.T.D. Address at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast Washington, D.C. April 27, 2011Introduction“Ladies and gentlemen: On the threshold of a new millennium, we are witnessing an extraordinary global acceleration of that quest for freedom which is one of the great dynamics of human history. This phenomenon is not limited to any one part of the world; nor is it the expression of any single culture. Men and women throughout the world, even when threatened by violence, have taken the risk of freedom, asking to be given a...

Cardinal Timothy Dolan issues strongest statement yet against the HHS mandate His Eminence Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, President, and His Excellency Most Reverend William E. Lori, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, have released a very strong statement regarding the current status of the HHS mandate, dated February 21, 2012, to the bishops of the United States. The statement warns of the severe danger posed to religious liberty by "an all-encompassing, extreme form of secularism" and notes that the narrow "exemption" in the mandate was "instituted only by executive whim" and so "can be taken away easily."...

Catholic and Protestant leaders gathered at Morgan State University Wednesday night for a prayer service calling on voters to approve Maryland's DREAM Act next month. The DREAM Act, which is Question 4 on this year's ballot, would require community colleges charge in-state tuition rates to undocumented immigrant students who have graduated from high school in Maryland, and who can prove that they or their parents have paid taxes in Maryland for at least three years. If the student graduates from a community college, they would then be eligible for in-state tuition at a four-year institution. Archbishop William Lori of the...

On October 10, congregants at a multi-denominational religious gathering in Maryland offered prayers for the DREAM Act and praise for illegal employment, but no love for the unemployed or identity theft victims. According to WBAL radio in Maryland, religious leaders including Archbishop Lori of Baltimore urged attendees to pray for Maryland's DREAM Act, which would grant in-state tuition for illegal aliens who have graduated from a Maryland high school, or "who can prove that they or their parents have paid taxes in Maryland for at least three years." As many advocates for rewarding illegal immigration do, Lori "notes either the...

“This is a big moment for Catholic voters to step back from their party affiliation,” Baltimore archbishop William E. Lori tells me from the Knights of Columbus annual convention in Anaheim, Calif.For Catholic voters in November, Lori advises, “The question to ask is this: Are any of the candidates of either party, or independents, standing for something that is intrinsically evil, evil no matter what the circumstances? If that’s the case, a Catholic, regardless of his party affiliation, shouldn’t be voting for such a person.”At the convention this week, the message wasn’t just coming from Lori, the chairman of the...