Free Republic

What is the best way to communicate law? Written law has its limitations, because we are all familiar with the concept of the “loophole.” There always seem to be methods of interpreting the written law in ways that run contrary to its intent. In West Virginia, which is across the river for us in Steubenville, they passed a law a few years back allowing cafés to operate some small-time gambling on their premises. The idea was to allow owners of small eateries a sideline to supplement income during a tough economic time. Well, now dozens of new “cafés” have sprung...

The university named for Our Lady betrays the Catholic faith.SOUTH BEND, Indiana (LifeSiteNews) — Catholic University of Notre Dame says it is officially supporting “Pride Month.”“Happy #PrideMonth! We celebrate all LGBTQ+ identities and reaffirm our commitment to being a welcoming, safe and supportive place for ALL members of the Notre Dame family,” the official account of the university tweeted on June 1. “We see you. We’re glad you’re here. You are an important member of our community.” The support for homosexuality and transgenderism is in direct opposition to the teachings of the Catholic Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church...

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Gunmen shot and killed an Italian nun at a children's hospital in Mogadishu on Sunday in an attack that drew immediate speculation of links to Muslim anger over the Pope's recent remarks on Islam. The Catholic nun's bodyguard also died in the latest attack apparently aimed at foreign personnel in volatile Somalia. The assassinations were a blow to Mogadishu's new Islamist rulers' attempt to prove they have pacified one of the world's most lawless cities since chasing out warlords in June. The bodyguard died instantly, but the nun was rushed into an operating theater at the hospital...

Jesus’ hearers cannot believe the seemingly unbelievable. When Jesus makes the radical claim, “I am the living bread come down from heaven,” He is not only asking the Jews to accept His assertion that He can give His body as flesh to eat under the appearance of bread, Jesus is asking the Jews to believe in something even more fundamental — that He is the Son of God.That is why the Jews murmur among themselves that Jesus is nothing more than the son of Joseph, another man just like them. For Jesus to claim that He has come down from...

Vatican, Sep. 19 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI has given his approval to a new Vatican policy document indicating that men with homosexual tendencies should not be ordained as Catholic priests. The new document-- which was prepared by the Congregation for Catholic Education, in response to a request made by the late Pope John Paul II in 1994-- will be published soon. It will take the form of an "Instruction," signed by the prefect and secretary of the Congregation: Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski and Archbishop Michael Miller. The text, which was approved by Pope Benedict at the end of August, says...

ROME, NOV. 23, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University. Q: What is the official teaching of the Church on using taped music at Mass? We just attended a funeral today and two songs were played over the loud speaker that were professional recordings. Each of these had a Christian message. Another song was pre-recorded onto a tape and was sung by a relative. Is there any official document that has guidelines that would help with this situation? -- C.Y., Murdock, Minnesota A: There are few universal norms which explicitly forbid...

VATICAN CITY - (KRT) - Surveying the world beyond the cloistered walls of its Roman enclave, the Vatican sees much to worry about: Terrorism, war, AIDS and poverty are ravaging the lives of many of its constituents around the globe. But of all the ills afflicting the modern world, none is causing deeper concern than the rising tide of what Vatican officials call "militant secularism" washing over Europe, its home turf. The symptoms of that have been piling up thick and fast in recent months: _In traditionally Roman Catholic Spain, a new socialist government is aggressively promoting legislation that will...

Catholic bishops may punish those who vote contrarily "Weaseling out" is what one Catholic bishop calls it, referring to the way some politicians will try to have it both ways on abortion — personally taking a stand against it but voting for abortion rights anyway. Earlier this month, at their national conference in Washington, D.C., the nation's bishops agreed to ask a task force to study whether the church should punish those Catholic politicians who vote contrary to church teachings on such issues as abortion, same-sex marriage and the death penalty. The proposal raises questions about the relationship between religious...

Follow-up: Extraordinary Ministers To judge by the large amount of correspondence, it seems that our reply regarding the use of extraordinary ministers has touched a nerve (see Oct. 14). Many of the messages received serve to confirm that many Catholics perceive a widespread overuse of extraordinary ministers. Some follow-up questions, however, allow me to expand on my original reply although it is impossible for me to respond to all of the queries. As stated before, priests and deacons, unless physically impaired, should not sit down and omit administering holy Communion. They may be assisted, but not substituted, by other ministers....