Free Republic

One of the more eyebrow-raising revelations from the leaked John Podesta emails is the disparaging language Hillary Clinton's aides used to describe Catholics, language which the Trump campaign has condemned and Paul Ryan has denounced as anti-Catholic “bigotry.”

“There needs to be a Catholic Spring, in which Catholics themselves demand the end of a middle ages dictatorship and the beginning of a little democracy and respect for gender equality in the Catholic Church

Scurry out and buy two copies of John “Bad Catholic” Zmirak’s The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism. Keep one for yourself, and give the other to your priest or clergyman (despite the title, this book is for all Christians). Be quick: get it to him before the election. If you have a clergywoman, buy three copies, because she might throw the first one out the window.

Saudi Arabia has deported 27 Lebanese Maronite Christians, including women and children, for celebrating the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady in their home. Saudi Arabian authorities justified the deportation by claiming the Christians participated in "un-Islamic prayer" and that they possessed the "Gospel". The religious police raided a house in the Aziziyah neighborhood of Al Khafji, in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, and arrested 27 people, including children. The Christians claimed that as the Koran esteemed the Blessed Virgin Mary, their prayers caused no insult. In 2006 the Saudi government gave the undertaking to stop interfering with...

A U.S. Catholic bishop has explicitly refused to allow parents to opt their kids out of a diocesan-run school’s sex-ed program deemed by parents to be “erotic” and “salacious,” calling the program a “legitimate requirement” for graduation. Instead of listening to the parents’ concerns, the bishop has cited the Vatican’s newly minted and problematic sex-ed curriculum as a way to evaluate the school’s program. In a letter dated September 2, Bishop David Choby of the Catholic Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee, told parents opposing the sex-ed program that while he “wholeheartedly support[s]” their right as “primary educator,” nevertheless, when they send...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVqkUNJYS_E This is the history of persecution during Japan's medieval period during and following the Sengokujedai(Age of the country at war)period and during the Tokagowa shogunate. Also features segments on the Shinabara Christian rebellion, St Francis Xavier and The shoguns of Japan. In additon, an epic recreation of the Shimabara rebellion using Shogun 2 Total war, the battle of the last stand of persecuted Christian Samurai. WARNING! CONTAINS VIOLENT BATTLE SCENES AND SCENES OF CHRISTIANS BEING ASSASSINATED AND TORTURED TO DEATH! VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED! SIGN IN ON YT TO VIEW VIDEO!

A Sterling woman accused of sacrificing up to 15 chickens a week for religious purposes will still be legally allowed to own live poultry-- as long as she completes a course in how to humanely sacrifice animals. .... Gro Mambo Danthoula Novanyon Idizol, a high priestess and the executive board secretary of the National African Religion Congress (NARC), testified Carrion is a member of her organization. She said Carrion underwent an extensive initiation process to become a high priestess in Santeria, a pantheistic Afro-Hispanic religion that incorporates elements of Catholicism.

A teenage boy was arrested Sunday for assaulting a priest and a 69-year old woman who were praying outside a Ukiah church after finding satanic graffiti in the facility’s breezeway, Ukiah police said. The 16-year-old boy, who yelled satanic slurs during the Sunday attacks, could face a hate crime charge, police said. He was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication, battery and elder abuse, police said. He was not identified because he is a juvenile. According to police, the incident occurred about 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Saint Mary of the Angels Catholic Church on Oak Street. The priest told police...

Pope Francis does a disservice to his followers and world leaders, who would look to him for the confidence and moral backing to call out Islamic terrorism and face it head-on. --------- On Sunday, Pope Francis responded to questions from reporters about why he won’t call out Islamic violence or reference Islamic terrorism when responding to terrorist attacks like the one that took the life of French priest Jacques Hamel last week. The pope denied any associations between Islam and violence and said “If I speak of Islamic violence, I should speak of Catholic violence.” By speaking this way, he...

And with Sweet Sleep Mine Eyelids - A Meditation on a Beautiful Hymn of the Night Msgr. Charles Pope • July 25, 2016 • One of the great night prayer hymns, “All Praise to Thee My God This Night,” appears in numerous hymnals of the English tradition. Sadly, it is not in our current breviary, but I hope that the new one might feature it. It was written by Thomas Ken in 1709 and is most often sung to the beautiful tune of Tallis’ Ordinal, which you can hear in the video below.Ideally, night prayer should include acts of...

An elderly priest has been killed in a hostage situation in a church south of Rouen, Normandy, northern France this morning by alleged Islamist attackers. His killers, who are understood to have been shot dead by French police. UPDATE 1320 — Islamic State claims responsibility, French President François Hollande confirms terrorist attack Media sources associated with the Islamic State have claimed the Rouen terror attack as their own, remarking that two of their own “soldiers” were responsible. Shortly beforehand the French President François Hollande told press that it was an act of terrorism and that both attackers had proclaimed their...

The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne has issued greetings to Muslims on the occasion of the feast of Eid al-Fitr. The Very Reverend Denis Stanley, Episcopal Vicar for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations for the Melbourne Archdiocese, wrote: The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne would like to extend its best wishes to the Muslim community in Victoria and Australia on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the Feast of the Breaking of the Fast, celebrated at the end of the sacred month of Ramadan. The Holy Qur'an was first revealed in the month of Ramadan and had a special purpose: "And We sent down...

Backing from retired pope at event to mark his 65th year as a priest may help Francis gain favour among church conservativesBenedict XVI has endorsed Pope Francis’s ministry in an unprecedented Vatican ceremony featuring a reigning pontiff honouring a retired one on the 65th anniversary of his ordination as a priest. The ceremony in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace served in part to show continuity from Benedict to Francis amid continued nostalgia from some conservatives for the former’s tradition-minded papacy. Francis had invited the entire Vatican Curia, or bureaucracy, to celebrate Benedict’s anniversary, and prelates turned out in...

What Does It Mean When Scripture Says That God Hardens Certain Human Hearts? Msgr. Charles Pope • June 27, 2016 • One of the more difficult biblical concepts to understand is that of God hardening the hearts and minds of certain people. The most memorable case is that of Pharaoh: before sending Moses to him, God said that He would “harden Pharaoh’s heart” (Ex 4:21). And there are other instances in which biblical texts speak of God hardening the hearts of sinners, even from among his own people.What are we to make of texts like these, which explicitly or...

A new translation of the Bible updates the religious text with modern technology, replacing several words with emojis. The digital text titled “Bible Emoji: Scripture 4 Millenials” uses Apple’s vast library of emoticons to retell all 66 books of the Bible in a way intended to relate to young people.

The longtime personal secretary to Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI has spoken of a "dramatic struggle" at the conclave of 2005, and insisted that the former Pontiff did not resign because of the "Vatileaks" scandal. Speaking at the launch of a book about Pope Benedict, Archbishop Georg Gänswein-- who continues to act as secretary to the retired Pontiff, while also serving as prefect of the pontifical household-- said that the "Vatileaks" scandal had "little or nothing" to do with the Pontiff's decision to resign. He said that Benedict XVI was motivated by his realization that he was growing weaker. By resigning, Archbishop...

An interfaith group is laying the groundwork for what will likely be the world’s first ever joint house of prayer. The center of worship, which will be called the "House of One," will combine simultaneous Jewish, Muslim, and Christian prayer services. The House of One is planned to be built on the site of Berlin’s first church, the Petrikirche. One of the organizers of the interfaith group behind the planned church/mosque/synagogue, Rabbi Tovia Ben Chorin, said that the House of One is a reminder that despite the dark history of Berlin in the 20th century it is now a center...

Introduction : It is great to know that Catholicism is increasing by leaps and bounds in Arunachal Pradesh, a Frontier State in North - East India. Catholics in Arunachal Pradesh now number 200,000 out of a population of 1 Million. They are all Tribals of various Tribes that live in Arunachal Pradesh. This I believe is primarily because of the pioneering missionary efforts of a Benedictine Brother from the State of Maharashtra popularly known as "PREMBHAI" or Loving Brother. He passed away in 2008. His real name was Brother Henry Gaikwad. A Little about him now : Br. Henry Gaikwad...

POPE FRANCIS ABANDONS CHRISTIAN SYRIAN REFUGEES, TAKES ONLY MUSLIMS TO VATICAN INSTEAD Spokesman Massimiliano Signifredi called the incident 'regrettable' - adding: 'The problem here is the three Syrians arrived after the March 20 deadline. They arrived just after the agreement between the European Union and Turkey. Mr Signifredi said: 'Our staff went to Lesbos and spoke with the people who were selected. But everything was decided by the Vatican. CHRISTIAN BROTHER AND SISTER REFUGEES FROM SYRIA SAY THEY HAVE BEEN ‘LET DOWN’ BY POPE FRANCIS AFTER HE LEFT THEM BEHIND IN A LESBOS REFUGEE CAMP DESPITE PROMISES THEY WOULD BE...

The Vatican committee that approves elevations to sainthood will meet Tuesday to consider a recommendation that Mother Teresa of Calcutta becomes Saint Teresa, the Holy See announced on Monday. With the long-awaited decision seen as a formality, Pope Francis is expected to sign a decree approving the canonisation of the 1979 Nobel peace prize winner and set a date and venue for it to happen.