Free Republic

A Catholic bishop in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero has called for compassion toward the impoverished populations harvesting opium poppies out of necessity, saying such people are not sinners and are neglected by the government. He asked the army to stop fumigating small farmers' poppy fields "until there are other options for opium poppy growers" and said the practice was "taking food out of their mouths (and) starving them to death." "People who grow opium poppies are the most marginalized people in the state and the country. ... It's campesinos (peasant farmers) who plant the flower, not narcotics traffickers,"...

“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.” (Mk. 9:43)It requires no great insight in order to discern what the modern world would make of such a statement had it been uttered by a contemporary man. Secular society would simply dismiss the words as the ravings of an angry extremist. The reaction in the Church would likely be little different. Certainly, such a statement is hardly pastoral, as it seems to condemn, not “accompany.” All...

Instead of leading faithful Catholics in battle against forces of evil that seek to undermine and erase Christianity’s mark on civilization, the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Francis is kowtowing to problematic ideological systems that are opposed to life, family, the well-being of society, and ultimately, to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, said Dr. Anca Cernea of Romania in a talk given at an international life-and-family conference in Rome last week. She urged conference participants to earnestly pray that Catholic shepherds return to their primary “duty” of saving souls through evangelization and conversion. See the full text of...

Protestors had hoped to reverse a decision by the Archdiocese of Boston to close St Frances X Cabrini churchFor more than 11 years, die-hard parishioners of St Frances X Cabrini church maintained a constant vigil there in hopes of reversing a decision by the Archdiocese of Boston to close it as part of a broad restructuring plan. Those hopes ended on Monday, though, when the US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by the parishioners’ group. “This is a very sad day for us,” said Jon Rogers, a spokesman for Friends of St Frances Cabrini, a group that also...

The election of a Muslim as London mayor 'illustrates the need for Europe to rediscover its capacity to integrate', the Pope told La CroixPope Francis has hailed the election of London’s first Muslim mayor in a wide-ranging interview with a French newspaper. Discussing the migrant crisis with French daily La Croix, Pope Francis said “the worst form of welcome” for migrants is “to ‘ghettoise’ them”. “On the contrary, it’s necessary to integrate them,” the Pope said. “In Brussels, the terrorists were Belgians, children of migrants, but they grew up in a ghetto. In London, the new mayor (Sadiq Khan) took...

Five Images of the Holy Spirit from Scripture Msgr. Charles Pope • May 16, 2016 • One of the quirks of the post-conciliar liturgy is that the octave of Pentecost was dropped. Generally, the post-conciliar age has tried to emphasize the gifts and works of the Holy Spirit, so eliminating the octave of Pentecost is quite paradoxical. The Feast of Pentecost ranks right up there with Easter and the Nativity, both of which have an octave, yet the octave of Pentecost fell away. And thus on the Monday after Pentecost we are back to ordinary time and green vestments.However,...

Once upon a time, Catholic families had a girl named Mary, without fail. Maybe “Elizabeth” or “Rose” made its way into the mix, but you had to have a Mary — or Marie, or Maria, or at least a Regina. Even boys often had some form of “Mary” as a middle name.Now the name “Mary” has sunk below the top 100 names in the U.S., and the hunt is on for something new to name the baby — or something so old, it sounds new again.“I’m seeing a lot of vintage/retro/throwback names,” says Kate Towne, who writes Sancta Nomina, a blog devoted to Catholic...

May 17, 2016 Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jas 4:1-10 Beloved:Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?You covet but do not possess.You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;you fight and wage war.You do not possess because you do not ask.You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly,to spend it on your passions.Adulterers!Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God?Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of...

After nearly 50 years of discourse between the Catholic and Anglican communions, the official dialogue body wants to fine-tune how it studies the differences and similarities between two churches which both call themselves Catholic. “ARCIC III hasn’t proved itself yet,” Sir David Moxon, Anglican co-chair of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, told The Catholic Register following an ecumenical evensong on Pentecost Sunday. This third stage of the dialogue has been meeting since 2011, but has yet to publish a major document. It is currently studying how the Church arrives at moral teaching. The official dialogue sponsored by the Vatican and...

Little Sisters of the Poor at the Denver, Colorado house. Credit: El Pueblo Catolico/James Baca. Washington D.C., May 16, 2016 / 08:53 am (CNA).- In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court sent the Little Sisters of the Poor HHS mandate case back to the lower courts on Monday, in light of new developments in the case.“We are very encouraged by the Court’s decision, which is an important win for the Little Sisters. The Court has recognized that the government changed its position,” said Mark Rienzi, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and lead attorney for the Little...

[Editor’s Note: In response to a recent piece by Judy Landrieu Klein, our “Daily Catch” blog polled readers about their habits of confession and the reception of Holy Communion. As nearly 60% of the respondents admitted to knowingly participating in Communion while not in a state of grace, we asked canonist Jenna Cooper to address what the church teaches about this issue, and why.]As the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium tells us, the Eucharist is the “source and summit of Christian life” (LG 11), in which Jesus Christ is made really and truly present to us. During the holy sacrifice of...

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court on Monday vacated lower court rulings against religious non-profits objecting to Obamacare’s “contraceptive mandate.”The court did not rule on the merits of Zubik v. Burwell, a closely-watched case that included the Little Sisters of the Poor, several Catholic dioceses and colleges and Priests for Life. But in the unsigned decision, the eight justices said the government may not fine the non-profits involved. The court sent the case back to the lower courts, saying the parties to the case “should be afforded an opportunity to arrive at an approach going forward that accommodates petitioners’ religious exercise while at the same time ensuring that women covered...

A Short Consideration of the Sequence Hymn for Pentecost Msgr. Charles Pope • May 15, 2016 • There are several feasts of the Church during which a “sequence” hymn may be sung. The sequence hymn is sung just before the Alleluia (Gospel Acclamation). The feasts with sequence hymns are these: Easter – Victimae Paschali Laudes (To the Paschal Victim give praise)Pentecost – Veni Sancte Spiritus (Come, Holy Spirit)Corpus Christi – Lauda Sion (Praise O Sion)Our Lady of Sorrows – Stabat Mater (Stood the Mother, sad and weeping)All Souls – Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) Too many parishes simply omit...

Writing in Forbes last year, Steve Moore, a Catholic, asked: “What is the theological case for telling those in the poorest villages of the planet where people still live at subsistence levels, that they have a moral obligation to save the planet by staying poor and using less fossil fuels, less energy and electricity?” Three months later, Vatican Radio ran the telltale headline: “Pope: Christians Should Kneel Before the Poor.” The article cited Pope Francis’ assertion that “poverty is the great teaching” Jesus gave us, and that “the poor are not a burden but a resource.” He capped his homily...

Two Vatican officials downplayed speculation occasioned by Pope Francis’s call for the establishment of a commission to study women deacons-- “above all with regard to the early days of the Church,” as the Pope said during a question-and-answer session with women religious superiors on May 12. In examining the Pope’s remarks, “we need to be honest” said Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Holy See Press Office. “The Pope did not say he intends to introduce the ordination of female deacons, and even less did he talk about the ordination of women as priests.”

May 16, 2016 Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jas 3:13-18 Beloved:Who among you is wise and understanding?Let him show his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom.But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts,do not boast and be false to the truth.Wisdom of this kind does not come down from abovebut is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,there is disorder and every foul practice.But the wisdom from above is first of all pure,then peaceable, gentle, compliant,full of mercy and good fruits,without inconstancy...

Today, on the Feast of Pentecost, I called Fr. Ingo Dollinger, a German priest and former professor of theology in Brasil, who is now quite elderly and physically weak. He has been a personal friend of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI for many years. Father Dollinger unexpectedly confirmed over the phone the following facts: Not long after the June 2000 publication of the Third Secret of Fatima by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger told Fr. Dollinger during an in-person conversation that there is still a part of the Third Secret that they have not published!...

The Spirit of the Lord Filled the Earth – A Homily for Pentecost Msgr. Charles Pope • May 14, 2016 • What a wondrous and challenging feast we celebrate at Pentecost! A feast like this challenges us because it puts to the lie a lazy, sleepy, hidden, and tepid Christian life. The Lord Jesus said to Apostles, and still says to us, I have come to cast a fire on the earth (Luke 12:49). This is a feast about fire, a transformative, refining, purifying fire that the Lord wants to kindle in us and in this world. It is...

Top cardinal Pietro Parolin and two close associates of Pope Francis have sidestepped giving evidence in the controversial and increasingly embarrassing Vatican trial of five people accused of leaking classified Holy See documents. Vatican number two Parolin, fellow cardinal Santo Abril y Castello and Archbishop Konrad Krajewski had all been asked to give evidence on behalf of one of the accused, PR consultant Francesca Chaouqui. The three clerics invoked an article of the Vatican's penal code which allows them to decline to testify for professional reasons. Parolin said in a statement to the latest hearing in the case on Saturday...

May 15, 2016 Pentecost SundayMass during the Day Reading 1 Acts 2:1-11 When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,they were all in one place together.And suddenly there came from the skya noise like a strong driving wind,and it filled the entire house in which they were.Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,which parted and came to rest on each one of them.And they were all filled with the Holy Spiritand began to speak in different tongues,as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heavenstaying in Jerusalem.At this sound, they...