Free Republic

While the consensus view seems to be that the Supreme Court “punted” today by sending the Little Sisters of the Poor case back to the lower courts, I must respectfully dissent. Although the Court didn’t rule on the merits of the case, the Little Sisters won a significant victory — one that is likely (though not yet certain) to persist through the next administration.  First, the Supreme Court vacated the lower court ruling holding that the Little Sisters had to facilitate access to contraceptives and denied that the mandate substantially burdened their religion. Speaking as a person who’s argued a...

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...

This past week Sulpician Fr. Phillip J. Brown, rector of the Theological College, the national diocesan seminary of the Catholic University of America, thought it a good idea to grant an interview to the dissident media outlet the National Catholic Reporter. The topic? Is there a "Francis effect" noticeable to Fr. Brown among the current crop of seminarians, and if so, what does it look like? In the article, Fr. Brown and the NCR present the all too common false narrative of the Catholic Left: namely, that those already ordained to the priesthood in recent years are not really interested...

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...

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...

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...

Equality of the Trinity While Jesus states God is ‘greater,’ it is only in the sense that the Father is the principal source of being Msgr. Charles Pope 5/11/2016 Question: We read in a recent Sunday Gospel (May 1), that Jesus says the Father is greater than him (Jn 14:28). Since we are all taught that each divine person of the Blessed Trinity fully possesses the nature of God, equally to be adored and glorified, what did Jesus mean by such statement?— Dick Smith, Carrollton, Texas Answer: Theologically, Jesus means that the Father is the eternal source in the Trinity.All...

Gabriel Bodenheimer could have lost his job when he recently came out as transgender to leaders of a San Francisco Catholic high school. Instead, in what some call a momentous step, the English teacher will remain at Mercy High, fully accepted as a man. The announcement of support by an order of the Sisters of Mercy, which owns and operates the four-year college preparatory school for girls on 19th Avenue, offers a rare policy position on transgender rights from within an internationally respected Catholic order.

May 14, 2016 Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle Reading 1 Acts 1:15-17, 20-26 Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers and sisters(there was a group of about one hundred and twenty personsin the one place).He said, “My brothers and sisters,the Scripture had to be fulfilledwhich the Holy Spirit spoke beforehandthrough the mouth of David, concerning Judas,who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus.Judas was numbered among usand was allotted a share in this ministry.For it is written in the Book of Psalms: Let his encampment become desolate,and may no one dwell in it.and:May another take his...

May 13, 2016 marks the 99th anniversary of the Marian apparitions at Fatima, Portugal. For the past century individuals around the world have developed theories meant to decipher the hidden message of the three “secrets” of Fatima. Yet, Sister Lucia said herself that, “the interpretation belonged not to the visionary but to the Church.” It is up to the Church to interpret the various signs and symbols of Our Lady of Fatima to give the faithful a clear guide in understanding what God wants to reveal to us.The Church did exactly that in the year 2000 when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger,...

MOUNT POCONO -- Police in part of Monroe County are looking for the person who spray-painted "Trump" outside a church. The name of presidential hopeful Donald Trump was painted on a sign that sits outside St. Mary of the Mount in Mount Pocono. The church closed last year, and neighbors say since then there have never been any problems until now. People who live nearby cannot believe someone would vandalize such a sacred place. "I think it's disgraceful. It has nothing to do with politically or what my party affiliation is but just to deface any property like that is...

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (ChurchMilitant.com) - Police are investigating acts of vandalism and subsequent threats levied against a Catholic church in Florida. According to reports, Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Delray Beach, Florida was defaced Tuesday night by unknown vandals who spray painted satanic symbols and other imagery on multiple statues and the sides of church buildings. An office administrator, who first discovered the crimes Wednesday morning, asserts pentagrams and other "satanic" signs were painted on the walls. Additionally, three statues had black masks and capes spray painted on them. "It was awful to look at," the church employee,...

A Meditation on Being Overwhelmed Msgr. Charles Pope • May 12, 2016 • The first video at the bottom of this post presents a portrait of a man who is simply overwhelmed. He can’t seem to live up to expectations, neither those that are self-imposed nor those that are imposed by others.One of the paradoxes of our time (at least in the West) is that we have so many creature comforts yet in many ways have never been so uncomfortable. Our high standard of living is accompanied by stress, worry, and a gnawing dissatisfaction. It seems that the more...

May 13, 2016 Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 25:13b-21 King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesareaon a visit to Festus.Since they spent several days there,Festus referred Paul’s case to the king, saying,“There is a man here left in custody by Felix.When I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and the elders of the Jewsbrought charges against him and demanded his condemnation.I answered them that it was not Roman practiceto hand over an accused person before he has faced his accusersand had the opportunity to defend himself against their charge.So when they came together here,...

At the beginning of the 20th century, sick Americans typically died at home. By the middle of it, they mostly died in hospitals. And yet this great transformation in the geography of death was, at first, of little interest to medical providers: In the 1960s, some doctors routinely chose not to inform terminal patients of their fate. Studies found hospitals stashing dying people at the ends of halls and largely ignoring them. Medicine, it was said, was about healing people. It had nothing to offer the already dying. That began to change with the broad acceptance of hospice, which spread...

First, today I saw a piece at Breitbart that Pope Francis popularity has dropped.  HEREThat said, I have received links to various articles saying that the Pope has considered establishing a commission to study the issue of the ordination of woman as deaconesses…. (aka deaconettes -it’s easier to pronounce).Studying is one thing and doing is another.That said, I saw something telling in the Fishwrap account (aka National Schismatic Reporter). The pope responded that he had spoken about the matter once some years ago with a “good, wise professor” who had studied the use of female deacons in the early centuries of...

Mind your Mind! A Reflection on the Battleground of the Mind Msgr. Charles Pope • May 11, 2016 • In the Gospel for Mass yesterday (Wednesday after Ascension), the Lord said that the world would hate and persecute the disciples and He thus prayed that we would be consecrated in the truth. In the first reading, St. Paul warned the presbyters that after his departure “savage wolves” would seek to mislead the faithful. We hardly ever talk like this today, but there is a great battle for our hearts and minds. How seriously do we consider this battle?There is...

May 12, 2016 Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 22:30; 23:6-11 Wishing to determine the truthabout why Paul was being accused by the Jews,the commander freed himand ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene.Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them. Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees,so he called out before the Sanhedrin,“My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees;I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.”When he said this,a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees,and the...

More than two dozen prominent pro-life and Catholic leaders have signed a statement urging Catholic colleges and universities “to reject the culture of death and instead stand firm in defending truth and the Catholic identity of their institutions… by refusing to honor and award speaking platforms to public advocates of abortion and same-sex marriage.” The statement, which was released Wednesday by the Cardinal Newman Society, was prompted by “scandals” at three Catholic universities that are honoring people who openly defy Catholic teaching, including Vice President Joe Biden. Signatories include Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life; Brian Brown,...

Last February, archaeologists unearthed a unique rock-carved underground church in Nevsehir, in the central Turkish region of Cappadocia. The church was decorated with never before seen frescoes depicting Jesus’ Ascension, the Final Judgement, Jesus feeding the multitudes, and portraits of saints and prophets.The discovery, made during excavations and cleaning operations in an underground city recently uncovered as part of an urban project in Nevsehir, is located within a castle that might date back to the fifth century. Authorities expect it will make Cappadocia an even more important pilgrimage center for Orthodox Christians. Semih İstanbulluoğlu, the archaeologist who heads the works for...