Free Republic

The American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit last week in federal court in Maryland calling for the removal of Bladensburg’s 40-foot Memorial Peace Cross, which honors men from Prince George’s County who died during World War I. The association and three individual plaintiffs contend that the cross, which is on state property, violates the constitutional principle of separation of church and state. The cross was dedicated in 1925. ...One of the individual plaintiffs, Steven Lowe of Washington, contends that the cross "associates a Christian religious symbol with the state and gives the impression that the state supports and approves of...

There has been so much news lately of schools, organizations, and individuals being harassed by atheist groups, but this one sets a new low. In this case, a grieving mother erected a roadside cross where her son was killed, and now an atheist group has forced her to take it down. What is wrong with these people??? As reported by The Press Enterprise, a roadside cross was erected for 19-year-old Anthony Vincent Devaney who in May 2012 was killed crossing a street. A complaint prompted the American Humanist Association in Washington, D.C., to intervene, contending the placement of the symbol...

<p>Pope Francis confessed Thursday that he took the rosary cross of his late confessor from his casket and wears it to this day in a fabric pouch under his cassock. He said he did so telling the late priest, "Give me half your mercy."</p>

A humanist advocacy group has filed a federal lawsuit to remove a cross-shaped World War I memorial in Prince George's County, alleging the display violates the First Amendment. The American Humanist Association says it does not object to the fact that the Bladensburg Cross memorializes soldiers, but rather the placement of the Christian symbol on property owned by a government agency, The Daily Record reported. "We are certainly recommending coming up with a monument inclusive of all religious groups," said Monica Miller, a lawyer with the association's Appignani Humanist Legal Center. In 2012, the group sent a letter to the...

Oral arguments in a lawsuit by an atheist organization against the placement of the "World Trade Center cross" at a museum on government property will take place later this week. American Atheists will present their case before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, arguing that the WTC cross does not belong in a museum on government leased property. Two days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, construction workers found a cross beam among the wreckage of the Twin Towers. Measuring 17 feet tall and approximately 4,000 pounds, the piece of debris became known as the World Trade...

"When you meet the unbelievers, strike at their necks..." -- Qur'an 47:4"Violence against Christians in Syria is becoming 'one of the worst persecutions endured by Christians in this part of the third millennium.'" Shhh! "Talk about extreme, militant Islamists and the atrocities that they have perpetrated globally might undercut the positive achievements that we Catholics have attained in our inter-religious dialogue with devout Muslims." -- Robert McManus, Roman Catholic Bishop of Worcester, Massachusetts, February 8, 2013"Syria: Beheading of a Christian terrifies community," by Martin Barillas for Spero News, January 16:Islamists beheaded a young Christian man and seriously wounded another...

A cross atop Mount Soledad in California is an unconstitutional religious display on government land and must come down, a federal judge in San Diego ruled late Thursday. U.S. District Judge Larry Burns ordered the cross, which honors veterans, must be removed within 90 days -- a decision that could result in the case being sent back to the U.S. Supreme Court. Burns immediately stayed his order pending an expected appeal.

SAN DIEGO -- After two decades of legal and political wrangling, a federal judge Thursday ordered the cross atop Mt. Soledad removed within 90 days as a violation of the separation of church and state. But U.S. District Judge Larry Burns stayed the removal order so that those defending the cross have time to appeal. Built in 1954, the 43-foot cross is one of the most visible landmarks in San Diego. Starting in the early 1990s, plaques honoring military veterans have been placed on walls surrounding the base of the cross.

Allen West calls out the Democrat Party for being silent while one of their members Alan Grayson uses the image of the burning cross to tar the Tea Party, something that West says he finds despicable and demeaning. West says the Democrat Party, who created the KKK, are obviously still proud to have the burning cross displayed. Watch:

A TAXI taxi driver has been banned from having a St George's Cross sticker in her cab - because it could discriminate against foreigners. Patriotic Denise Said, 56, has three English flag signs stuck on the doors and boot of her vehicle. But after one complaint from a rival cab firm she was stunned to receive a letter from the council accusing her of breaching equality laws. Teignbridge Council in Devon said the stickers would leave anyone who is not English at a "disadvantage in their day to day life". The local authority says it will refuse to renew Denise's...

Theology in colors: Icon of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross In the Middle Ages there was no audio and video recordings, photographs, Internet. Historians worked on the basis of tradition and written documents, the lives of the saints were written according to the "literary decorum." Visual imprinting of historical events occurred sometimes many years later, and sometimes centuries, and was conducted in accordance with the canon. Studying the works of art, you can learn a lot about the events themselves, and on the attitudes of people in different eras. Illuminated gospel [Urbin. gr. 2] page 21. AD 1122. Apostolic...

Archaelogists excavating a medieval church in a dales village have found further evidence that the site was an Anglo Saxon settlement. A carved section from an eighth century stone cross was unearthed during a dig at St Botolph"s field in Frosterley in Weardale this week. The discovery was met with great excitement from the archaeologists and volunteers who were digging on the site as part of the Altogether Archaeology project... Mr Frodsham said Frosterley was largely a post-medieval village but recent finds have suggested people lived in the area much earlier... It has already attracted more than 500 volunteers who...

September 14, 2013 Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross    Reading 1 Nm 21:4b-9 With their patience worn out by the journey,the people complained against God and Moses,“Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,where there is no food or water?We are disgusted with this wretched food!” In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,which bit the people so that many of them died.Then the people came to Moses and said,“We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us.”So Moses prayed for...

In the parlor of my rectory where I meet with most of my spiritual directees, and others who come to me for counseling or instruction, there is a crucifixion scene, (see photo at right). Among the many things means, it is for me something of a paradigm of the Church at her darkest moment. How tiny the Church had suddenly become. Gone were the crowds of Galilee which followed the Lord. Gone were the crowds of Palm Sunday shouting Hosanna. Gone were all but one of her first bishops, St. John. One of them (St. Peter) had followed at a...

Newly-surfaced video from Egypt shows a Muslim mob storming a Coptic church, setting cars on fire and then toppling a cross atop the steeple, in a shocking attack that Christians say has been played out dozens of times since the ouster of Mohammad Morsi. The video, obtained by MidEast Christian News, was shot Aug. 14 from a nearby building overlooking the diocese in the southern Egyptian city of Sohag. Dozens of Coptic churches were attacked by members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood in the wake of the military’s move against Morsi, who critics say was turning Egypt into an...

An attempt was recently made to vandalize a war memorial at an Oregon park at the center of a church and state controversy with an improvised explosive device. An unknown individual detonated the IED near the memorial, located at Mingus Park in the City of Coos Bay, sometime late night between last Thursday and last Friday.... Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/vandal-attempts-to-blow-up-oregon-memorial-embroiled-in-church-state-controversy-103128/#l4eKDdzkvpFj6zWq.99

Several Republican lawmakers are urging a federal district court in California to block the removal of a war memorial cross in a San Diego public park that was declared unconstitutional in 2011. "We're urging the court to permit a private organization to obtain and operate the war memorial – a remedy that would remove any constitutional questions and protect this longstanding tribute to our men and women in uniform," Sekulow said in a statement. The legal fight over the Mount Soledad cross began in 1989 when atheist Philip Paulson sued the city of San Diego.

Archeologists conducting excavations at the site of a church in Turkey have unearthed a stone chest containing a relic that may be part of the cross on which Jesus was crucified. The items were discovered during a large-scale excavation at the Balatlar Church, which was built in A.D. 660 near the Black Sea, Today's Zaman reported. Professor Gülgün Köroğlu, an associate professor at Turkey's Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and excavation leader, told the newspaper the artifacts are linked to Jesus' crucifixion.

Archaeologists digging around an ancient church in Turkey say they’ve made a startling discovery and unearthed a piece of the cross that used to crucify Jesus. The diggers found a stone chest this week and inside were several relics believed to be tied to the crucifixion. Among them was a piece of the actual cross upon which Jesus was nailed, one historian with Turkey’s Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts said in the Hurriyet Daily News.