Free Republic

Following the Philadelphia Eagles’ 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, Minn. on Sunday night, Eagles Coach Doug Pederson said: “I can only give the praise to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving me this opportunity.” Dan Patrick of NBC Sports asked Pederson: “How do you explain this that nine years ago, you’re coaching in high school and here you are with [the Lombardi] trophy?” Pederson responded: “I can only give the praise to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving me this opportunity, and I’m going to tell you something:...

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, chairman of the German Episcopal Conference and close advisor of Pope Francis, has told the German media that “one must encourage priests” to give encouragement to homosexual unions, which could include public blessings that would take a “liturgical” form. Marx was asked in a radio interview yesterday why the Catholic Church “does not always move forward when it comes to demands from some Catholics regarding, for example, the ordination of female deacons, the blessing of homosexual couples, or the abolition of compulsory celibacy [for priests].” Marx responded that “closer pastoral care” must be given to homosexuals, adding...

Chinese Bishops Illegitimate, Official, Clandestine… Which Ones Francis Is Rewarding and Which He Is Not To judge from what is happening in China, from the sortie of Cardinal Joseph Zen Zekiun, from the Vatican’s reply, from the interview with Cardinal Pietro Parolin and from the words of Pope Francis to Zen, an accord between the Holy See and the authorities of Beijing on the appointment of the bishops would seem to be in the home stretch:> China and the Vatican are close to a groundbreaking agreementThe two dioceses, in fact, in which the controversy was ignited, those of Shantou and...

Proverb 5 (NKJV)The Peril of Adultery Warning Against Immorality 01 My son, pay attention to my wisdom; 00 Lend your ear to my understanding, 02 That you may preserve discretion, 00 And your lips may keep knowledge. 03 For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, 00 And her mouth is smoother than oil; 04 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, 00 Sharp as a two-edged sword. 05 Her feet go down to death, 00 Her steps lay hold of hell. 06 Lest you ponder her path of life-- 00 Her ways are unstable; 00...

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 1, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – The Episcopal church in the Diocese of Washington, D.C., passed a resolution last week to stop using masculine pronouns for God in future updates to its Book of Common Prayer. The resolution to stop using "gendered language for God" was passed quickly by delegates to the Diocese's 123rd Convention. “If revision of the Book of Common Prayer is authorized, to utilize expansive language for God from the rich sources of feminine, masculine, and non-binary imagery for God found in Scripture and tradition and, when possible, to avoid the use of gendered pronouns for...

On January 31, 2018, my wife and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. At the end of this year, in mid-December, my wonderful parents will celebrate their 50th. Before my beloved father-in-law was criminally taken from us by a drunk driver in 2015, he and my sweet mother-in-law were married for almost 46 years. Taken together, those are rare numbers these days in our slow-to-marry, quick-to-divorce, sex-crazed, hook-up culture. Like every other marriage in human history, none of the unions mentioned above were, or are, perfect. Each of us has certainly seen our fair share of tough times, but, as...

Proverb 4 (NKJV) Security in Wisdom 01 Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, 00 And give attention to know understanding; 02 For I give you good doctrine: 00 Do not forsake my law. 03 When I was my father's son, 00 Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, 04 He also taught me, and said to me: 00 "Let your heart retain my words; 00 Keep my commands, and live. 05 Get wisdom! Get understanding! 00 Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. 06 Do not forsake her,...

Many ancient and beautiful churches and monasteries, dating from the Byzantine era and dotting the mountainous landscape of Albania, have fallen into ruin due to years and decades of neglect. However, a program is has recently begun for the reconstruction of ancient temples, with the hope of attracting more tourists, reports tvkultura.ru. Before the First World War Albania was Turkish, and became socialist after the Second. The regime, which was one of the most severe, fell in the early 1990s, but during the reign of Enver Hoxha from 1944 to 1985, churches continued to deteriorate. Churches and mosques were often...

The largest Christian cathedral in the Middle East is being erected 40 km from Cairo on the decision of Egyptian president al Sisi, as a “symbol of coexistence”. On three shifts, 3000 men work in the construction site 24 hours a day. A first part of the complex was inaugurated on Christmas eve, celebrated by Coptic Christians January 6-7. Now it’s a race against time to complete it by next Christmas. Everyone is at work, Christian and Muslim engineers, with the support of the military. SIR visited the site. It’s still a building site but once finished it will be...

A gender inclusive language “resource” posted on the University of Dayton’s website recommends avoiding the terms “husband/wife” and instead use the words “spouse, partner, significant other.” That suggestion is one of about two dozen included on the resource webpage, located in the campus Women’s Center’s section of the Catholic university’s website. The inclusive language webpage recommends against using words and terms that include “man” and “women” and suggests individuals use gender neutral terms as an alternative. Some of the terms the webpage says to avoid include common man, chairwoman/man and man hours. Instead of using those three terms, the guide...

VLORE, Albania - Sister Bardhe Gjini was scared of her aunt, a nun, when they first met in 1993. Gjini, then 21 and not even baptized, said she was afraid because her aunt and the other sisters “were all dressed in black, just like widows.” Her aunt, Sister Julja Gjoka, asked if she would like to become a religious sister. Gjini told her no. But today, in the same city where they first met, Gjini continues the legacy of her late aunt, who was part of a religious community of five women who lived their faith in secret during communist...

The Parolin Interview: A Master of Double Talk Confirms the Pending Betrayal of the Catholics of China by Christopher A. Ferrara February 1, 2018 As Cardinal Zen publicly protests the plot to compel true Catholic bishops in China to resign in favor of illicitly consecrated puppets of Beijing who belong to its communist-controlled pseudo-church, the Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA), the Vatican has ramped up its public relations offensive in favor of the planned betrayal.  This includes an interview with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, just published in Vatican Insider. We have here a master of Vatican double-talk at...

Thousands of Christian villagers in China have been told to take down displays of Jesus, crosses, and gospel passages from their homes as part of a government propaganda effort to “transform believers in religion into believers in the party.” The news comes weeks after the CPC held its national congress, where Xi continued to consolidate party power and passed a historic measure to write his political philosophy into its constitution. SCMP called Xi “the country’s most powerful leader since Mao” Zedong, who also developed a personality cult through portraits in Chinese homes. The news outlet also noted Xi’s efforts to...

The Islamic world is waging—and winning—a war on Judeo-Christian civilization. With 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide, the Catholic Church is potentially one of the most powerful centers of resistance to Islam. It certainly has been in the past. Unfortunately, that’s not the case today. What are those 1.3 billion Catholics doing in regard to the struggle with Islam? Well, essentially, very little. Many of them are just standing on the sidelines. Why is that? The chief reason is that Catholics are receiving little guidance about Islam from their leaders. And what little information they receive is misleading. The hierarchy is still...

Key words: Proverb 3 (NKJV) Guidance for the Young 01 My son, do not forget my law, 00 But let your heart keep my commands; 02 For length of days and long life 00 And peace they will add to you. 03 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; 00 Bind them around your neck, 00 Write them on the tablet of your heart, 04 And so find favor and high esteem 00 In the sight of God and man. 05 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, 00 And lean not on your own understanding; 06 In all...

Links loss of faith in institutions to rejection of natural lawEW YORK (ChurchMilitant.com) - One of Europe's leading prelates is warning that moral relativism is undercutting the foundations of Western society. On Monday, His Eminence, Cdl. Péter Erdő of Esztergom-Budapest, Primate of Hungary, spoke on "The Role of Religion and the Churches in a Secular State" at Columbia University in New York. Erdő described a civilization where the domains of knowledge operated separately but in unison, each pointing toward the reality of God. "Law, morals and religion prove to form an organic whole," he said, "which is characteristic of Western...

TORONTO, January 31, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – An Ontario Court ruled today that doctors who oppose euthanasia must nevertheless act contrary to their beliefs and refer patients making a euthanasia request to a physician who will end their lives. Critics say the ruling puts physicians in an “impossible position” and has ramifications for Charter rights of freedom of religion and conscience for all Ontario citizens. Three justices of the Ontario Superior Court unanimously agreed Wednesday that the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) policy requiring doctors to “effectively” refer patients for medical practices they conscientiously object to — notably...

Key words: Proverb 2 (NKJV) The Value of Wisdom 01 My son, if you receive my words, 00 And treasure my commands within you, 02 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, 00 And apply your heart to understanding; 03 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, 00 And lift up your voice for understanding, 04 If you seek her as silver, 00 And search for her as for hidden treasures; 05 Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, 00 And find the knowledge of God. 06 For the LORD gives wisdom; 00 From His mouth come...

GRAPEVINE, Texas — Prominent Latino evangelical leader the Rev. Gabriel Salguero told a gathering of Christian college administrators this week that they are facing a "Daniel and Esther" moment as Latino millennials, overall, are becoming less religious the more they assimilate to American culture. "The longer Latinos are in the United States and the more Americanized they become, the more secularized they become," Salguero, a natural born American born to Puerto Rican parents, explained. "The fastest growing group among millenials is the nones — the n-o-n-e-s." Salguero, founder of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition and the leader of Calvario City...

When the news broke Nov. 27 of Meghan Markle's engagement to Prince Harry, reporters descended upon the Los Angeles Catholic school Markle attended: Immaculate Heart High School and Middle School. "They've been scaling the walls," Callie Webb, communication director for the school, said with slight exaggeration, but maybe not too much, of the reporters calling and visiting the 112-year-old school with mission-style terra cotta roofs just a few miles from the landmark Hollywood sign. The school, founded by Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1906, tried to put the engagement news in perspective... "We've been proud of Meghan...