Free Republic

White Double SPLENDIDLY ADORNED with the sacred sign of the Passion, Paul of the Cross comes today to pay homage to the Conqueror of Death. It behooved Christ to suffer and so enter into his glory. It behooves the Christian, the member of Christ, to follow his Head in suffering that he may share his triumph. Even as a child Paul penetrated deeply into the ineffable mystery of the suffering of a God. He was filled with an ardent love for the cross, and ran with giant strides along this royal road. He passed through the torrent, following his...

Bavaria has ordered Christian crosses to be hung at the entrance of all of its regional government buildings, it has emerged. The German state's government said the crosses should not be seen as religious symbols, but are meant to reflect the southern state's 'cultural identity and Christian-western influence'.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Peace Cross, a monument dedicated to local residents killed in World War I, must be torn down. (Photo: The Washington Times/Zuma Press /Newscom) COMMENTARY BY Peter Parisi Peter Parisi is an editor and writer for The Daily Signal. When Republican congressional leaders went to the White House on Jan. 23, 2009—just three days into Barack Obama’s presidency—to discuss legislation, he helpfully reminded them that his policy preferences necessarily had to prevail because “elections have consequences, and at the end of the day, I won.” Obama is out of office now,...

There is a very real possibility that war memorial crosses at Arlington National Cemetery could be in jeopardy, a federal judge warned in a chilling dissent to a court case involving the fate of a 90-year-old monument honoring soldiers in Bladensburg, Maryland. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday refused to revisit an October decision that declared the 90-year-old "Peace Cross" was unconstitutional because it rests on public property. The monument is a memorial to the 49 men from Prince George's County, Maryland who died fighting for liberty in World War I. The memorial, paid for by the...

A cross at Ventura Park is still standing after the Thomas Fire devoured all around it.  Many in California see this as a sign of hope while all else around them is lost.  There was little time to gather belongings and flee.  Firefighters died as they fought to save homes, as innocent horses perished in fires that defied anything we have ever seen. The Serra Cross had stood since World War II, but rumors of the cross burning down had broken on social media. As power lines and everything else around the cross were destroyed, many reported the cross was...

White Double LET US go with the Church to Mount Carmel, and offer our grateful homage to John of the Cross, who, following in the footsteps of Teresa of Jesus, opened a safe way to souls seeking God. The growing disinclination of the people for social prayer was threatening the irreparable destruction of piety, when in the sixteenth century the divine goodness raised up Saints, whose teaching and holiness responded to the needs of the new times. Doctrine does not change: the asceticism and mysticism of that age transmitted to the succeeding centuries the echo of those that had...

When I lived in Maryland and commuted a few miles to my Washington Times job, I often drove by a huge World War I memorial known as the “Peace Cross.” Every so often I thought: I wonder if someone is going to file a lawsuit against the monument, claiming to be offended by it.It’s true that the Supreme Court has said there’s no legal basis in removing a monument simply because one person is offended by it – but these are strange times. Look at what the new iconoclasm is doing to some Civil War monuments and could do to...

The government will endeavor to "save from censorship" a statue of Pope John Paul II in France.” We will offer to transfer it to Poland, provided that we receive the consent of the French authorities and the local community, " said Prime Minister Beata Szydlo. The reference is to a monument to Polish-born Pope John Paul II in the municipality of Ploermel in Brittany. By a decision of the Council of State, the supreme administrative judicial body in France, a cross must be removed from the statue. “John Paul II said the lesson from history is that democracy without values...

France’s highest court has demanded that a cross overhanging a statue of former Pope John Paul II be removed from a a square in a Breton town, provoking anger among those who believe France’s Catholic heritage is being destroyed. The Conseil d’État (State Council) says that the presence of the cross goes against the 1905 French law which officially separates church and state. The town of Ploërmel in the northwestern region of Brittany now has six months to remove the cross. However the statue of the former pope can remain because, according to the council, the effigy of the pontiff...

Bill O'Reilly expressed hope Thursday the Supreme Court will ultimately decide a 40-foot "Peace Cross" honoring World War I soldiers on public land in Maryland can stand, telling Newsmax TV "there's no doubt in my mind that it would." "What makes it really disturbing is that everybody acknowledges that the World War I memorial is basically directing people, Americans and others who are visiting, to honor those who lost their lives in that conflict," O'Reilly told "Newsmax Now" host John Bachman in an interview. "That's all."

A federal appeals court has ruled that a 40-foot cross-shaped Maryland monument honoring soldiers who died in World War I is unconstitutional, saying it violates the separation between church and state. The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the 92-year-old structure was in violation of the First Amendment because it is on public land at a busy intersection in Prince George's County and is maintained with government funds. The court's decision does not address whether the monument should be removed or modified.

A Teaching from the Lord on the Nature of Suffering and the Cross Msgr. Charles Pope • December 7, 2016 • A familiar Gospel passage read recently in daily Mass gives us a short theological teaching on suffering and the cross:Jesus said to the crowds: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Matt 11:28-30).On reading a passage...

A federal judge has ordered a Pennsylvania county to remove the cross from its seal, saying it violated the Constitution. Lehigh Valley County, which is about 40 miles north of Philadelphia, will have to redesign its seal after U.S. District Judge Edward Smith ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), an organization that promotes separation of church and state and which filed the lawsuit against the county, according to The Morning Call. Smith made it known in his ruling that he was not happy about the decision he had to make but was following the...

Officials in Pensacola, Florida, are pushing back after a judge mandated this past summer that a large cross that has been on display in a public park for the past 76 years be taken down. As Faithwire previously reported, the decision to remove the 34-foot cross inside Bayview Park came after Senior U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson ruled that its presence on public property is unconstitutional. “The Bayview Cross can no longer stand as a permanent fixture on city-owned property,” the judge proclaimed, noting that he was well aware of the broad local support for keeping the cross in place....

Red Greater Double “THROUGH thee the precious Cross is honored and worshiped throughout the world.” Thus did St. Cyril of Alexandria apostrophize our Lady on the morrow of that great day, which saw her divine maternity vindicated at Ephesus. Eternal Wisdom has willed that the Octave of Mary’s birth should be honored by the celebration of this Feast of the triumph of the holy Cross. The Cross indeed is the standard of God’s armies, whereof Mary is the Queen; it is by the Cross that she crushes the serpent’s head, and wins so many victories over error, and over...

The Wisdom and Power of the Cross Msgr. Charles Pope • September 13, 2016 • The readings for Wednesday’s Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross provide rich teachings. Let’s look at five themes, each in turn. I. The Pattern of the Cross – One of the stranger passages in the Old Testamentis the one describing a command Moses received from God to mount a bronze snake on a pole.The people had grumbled against God and Moses because of the “wretched” manna they had to consume (Numbers 21:5). Even though it was the miracle food, the bread from...

After being held at Mar-a-Lago for 60 years, and Donald J. Trump being gracious to in hosting them for the better part of those years the Red Cross has decided to move this year's ball to another venue. My wife and I (who have met the president there) got the email a little while ago, which read in part: We originally decided to keep the International Ball at Mar-a-Lago because it was the lower-cost venue in the area, and because we have held numerous successful fundraisers there over the past 60 years. However, our decision to hold the event at...

A painting of Jesus on a cross left outside an Islamic Center in New York is being investigated as a "hate crime." An employee at the Hillside Islamic Center in Nassau County on Long Island discovered the painting hanging from a fence on the property on Friday, NBC New York reports. Authorities are still looking for the individual who put the painting there and police in Nassau County are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

East Central University said they will remove crosses, Bibles and other religious symbols from a campus chapel to appease a bunch of out-of-town agitators. It’s unclear when the Oklahoma school will commence with the Christian cleansing of the Kathryn P. Boswell Memorial Chapel. The chapel opened in 1957. “We will continue to use the building as we always have, for all faiths,” ECU President Katricia Pierson said in a statement to the Ada News. “We do not want to presume to embrace one faith over another. We support all cultures and attempt to make them comfortable when they are here.”...

The Cross is a Fruit-Bearing Tree -- A Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent Msgr. Charles Pope * February 20, 2016 * The second Sunday of Lent always features the Transfiguration. The first reason for this is that the trek up Mt. Tabor was one of the stops Jesus Himself made with Peter, James, and John on His final journey to Jerusalem. It is commonly held that Jesus did this to prepare His apostles for the difficult days ahead. There's a line from an old spiritual that says, "Sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm down, sometimes I'm almost to...