Free Republic

Germany's federal police recorded almost 100 attacks on Christians or Christian institutions in Germany in 2017. Most violent incidents occurred among asylum seekers living together in refugee homes.German conservative politicians have expressed shock after figures leaked by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) revealed 97 anti-Christian hate crimes in the country last year. The figure was published by the Funke media group several months before the German security forces are due to release official annual crime statistics. A BKA spokeswoman told DW that the figures were still preliminary and could be subject to addition or alteration, and only covered the...

ROME, February 6, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Joseph Zen has criticized the Vatican’s Secretary of State over comments about the Holy See’s relations with China. Zen, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, says Cardinal Pietro Parolin is a “man of little faith” and that he wonders if Parolin knows what “true suffering is.” In a statement released on Monday, Cardinal Zen addressed the controversy over the Vatican legitimizing excommunicated bishops loyal to Beijing and the forcing of legitimate bishops of the underground Church into retirement. Zen said that while several close associates have advised him to pray more and to...

Washington D.C., Feb 6, 2018 / 03:46 pm (ACI Prensa).- In his first public appearance as US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback spoke to Muslim, Jewish, and Christians leaders gathered to discuss their shared commitment to promoting peace and protecting religious minorities in the Muslim world. “I think religious freedom is the most important foreign relations topic today,” Brownback told the delegates at the Alliance of Virtue for the Common Good Conference in Washington, DC. “The world needs reconciliation. It needs it between the Abrahamic faiths,” the ambassador said. The three-day event is hosted by the Middle East-based...

China-Vatican deal shocks Chinese Catholics Underground church feels 'abandoned and betrayed' and warns that some faithful will leave the community A file image of Good Friday Mass at St. Joseph's Church in China's southwestern municipality of Chongqing. Many Chinese Catholics in the underground church are disillusioned by news that Beijing and the Vatican are close to reaching a historic deal regarding the appointment of bishops. (Photo by Liu Jin/AFP) .boder_no{ text-decoration:none!important; color:#000000;} .boder_no a{ text-decoration:none!important; color:#000000;} <p> ucanews.com reporter, Hong Kong China February 6, 2018 Mail This Article (For more than one recipient, type addresses separated by commas) Chinese Catholics have...

Fifteen men and women from around the world who say they are coming out of "homosexual practices" are featured in a documentary film set to be released Thursday by a U.K.-based Christian ministry.Christian Concern said in a statement on Tuesday that "Voices of the Silenced: Experts, Evidences and Ideologies," will be screened in London and features interviews with international experts who support the ex-gay group."'Voices of the Silenced' challenges the closedown on debate about the value of therapeutic support undertaken in ways that are respectful of client goals and individual rights to change," the group said."Exposing the largely unexamined role...

Proverb 7 (NKJV) The Wiles of a Harlot 01 My son, keep my words, 00 And treasure my commands within you. 02 Keep my commands and live, 00 And my law as the apple of your eye. 03 Bind them on your fingers; 00 Write them on the tablet of your heart. 04 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister,"; 00 And call understanding your nearest kin, 05 That they may keep you from the immoral woman, 00 From the seductress who flatters with her words. The Crafty Harlot 06 For at the window of my house 00 I...

In a February 5 blog post, published in English translation by Sandro Magister, Cardinal Zen throws false prudence (i.e., servile timidity) to the winds and tells the truth about the impending Vatican sellout of the Catholics of China to their communist overlords. As he puts it: “A few persons who care about me have advised me to pray more and not to talk too much. Of course it is right to pray more, because the Lord is our hope and we have confidence in the intercession of Our Lady, the Mother of God. They have probably advised me in this...

The following is a complete translation from the Chinese of the statement published February 5 on his blog by Cardinal Joseph Zen Zekiun, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong. Zen responds here to the Vatican reactions to this previous statement of his:> Peligro de cisma en China. El cardenal Zen: "El Papa me dijo…"Which was indeed followed by a statement from the director of the Vatican press office, an interview with cardinal secretary of state Pietro Parolin, and intimations of an imminent accord between the Holy See and China.*FOUR REMARKS by Joseph Zen ZekiunA few persons who care about me have...

The state-run Global Times said the Pope had made 'substantive concessions' to China The Vatican and Beijing will re-establish diplomatic ties “sooner or later” thanks to the “wisdom” of Pope Francis, a Chinese government-run newspaper has said.The Global Times said in an editorial that the Pope had made “substantive concessions” to the Chinese government. Relations are therefore taking a “clearer shape” despite the opposition of “Western media and certain radical religious groups opposed to enhanced Sino-Vatican ties”.The column comes after an unnamed senior Vatican source told Reuters that the Holy See and China were close to signing a deal on...

Sts. Triphon of Pechenga, Theodorit of Kola, and Varlaam of Kerensk Sts. Triphon of Pechenga, Theodorit of Kola, and Varlaam of Kerensk     —Your Eminence, what sense is there in venerating the relics of saints? In your own Severomorsk diocese, people are talking joyfully about the recent discovery there of a reliquary case with the relics of many New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. Why did they bring the relics? What spiritual conclusions can we draw from their presence here? What are the fruits? —The fruits? Just the fact that they have arrived here is...

China, new rules: Catholic retreats and gatherings are banned China, no more retreats, no private religious gatherings for young Catholics, in schools, in universities, as well as in the parishes in ...

Proverb 6 (NKJV) Dangerous Promises Seven Deadly Sins 01 My son, if you become surety for your friend, 00 If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, 02 You are snared by the words of your mouth; 00 You are taken by the words of your mouth. 03 So do this, my son, and deliver yourself; 00 For you have come into the hand of your friend: 00 Go and humble yourself; 00 Plead with your friend. 04 Give no sleep to your eyes, 00 Nor slumber to your eyelids. 05 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from...

There’s no easy way to discuss end-of-life care. And there’s no easy way for patients and families to make decisions related to it. But there are advances in technology that could help providers frame the discussion to help patients and families better understand their situation and gain confidence in the choice they are making. “I do believe that we’re really at a point that we’re starting to see data analytics and predictive modeling for individuals, especially as we start to look at population health,” says Michael L. Munger, MD, a family physician in Overland Park, Kansas, and president of the...

The presence of Chinese, Russian and Eastern European pilgrims increased significantly. The "controlled" reaction of the Palestinians against Trump's decision on capital Jerusalem. Pilgrimages "good for the whole population": They help fight terrorism and fundamentalism.Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - 2018 began with an "extraordinary boom" in pilgrimages. The Christian Information Center recently announced this, confirming the statistics of the Israeli ministry for tourism: the tensions over Jerusalem have not affected the steadily increasing number of pilgrims arriving in the Holy Land. In the month that has just ended, 770 groups of pilgrims went to the Holy Land, for a total of 26...

Fighting has gripped Deir Ezzor since rebels captured part of the city in 2012Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatius Aphrem II, gives a sermon during mass at the heavily damaged Syriac Orthodox church of St Mary in Syria's eastern city of Deir Ezzor. Ayham Al Mohammad/ AFP PhotoA solemn group of Christians held their first prayer service in years on Saturday in the ravaged church of St Mary in Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor city. Stones, strips of wire, papers and remnants of rockets were strewn across the church floor, and bright sunlight streamed in from the blown-out windows. Holding thin...

Nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit university systematically took private donations intended for Love Saxa, a pro-family, pro-life student group, and illegally deposited them into the accounts of other student organizations Alliance Defending Freedom sent a letter Thursday to Georgetown University calling for a thorough investigation into the university’s apparent misappropriation of donations made to a pro-family student organization. The letter details how the nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit university systematically took private donations intended for Love Saxa and illegally deposited them into the accounts of other student organizations. Last fall, Love Saxa outlined its views on marriage and the family,...

Frankfurt, Germany, Jan 24, 2018 / 03:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A German bishop’s proposal that the Catholic Church could provide blessing ceremonies for gay couples, as well as divorced and civilly remarried couples, gained support at a Church conference in Frankfurt this weekend. Earlier this month, Bishop Franz-Josef Bode suggested that the Church develop a ceremony for blessing same-sex unions during an interview with Neue Osnabrucker Zeitung. "We need to think about how we can differentiate a relationship between two same-sex people," said the bishop, who is deputy chairman of the German Bishops' Conference: "Is not there so much that...

While criticizing the US Mons. Sorondo believes that the Chinese communist dictatorship is the one that best carries out the social doctrine of the Church According to Andres Beltramo at the Vatican Insider, Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Sciences, assured that "at this moment, the Chinese people are the ones who best realize the social doctrine of the Church."

In a strongly worded statement, the outspoken clergyman said he did not need sympathy and would continue to speak his mind without fear while he still could. Zen, a prominent pro-democracy activist, caused a stir last month after he revealed in a Facebook post details of his trip to the Vatican, where he met Pope Francis to discuss his worries about the faithful being suppressed by Beijing.Vatican rebukes retired Hong Kong cardinal after remarks on ‘selling out’ of Chinese Catholics After expressing concern at the Vatican’s request for two mainland Chinese bishops to step down and make way for Beijing-sanctioned...

Several months back Father Hugh Somerville-Knapman, OSB wrote a must read article over at his blog, Dominus mihi adjutor. For those not familiar with Fr. Hugh, a Benedictine monk and priest of Douai Abbey in Berkshire, U.K., he is no liturgical bomb thrower. His arguments are always well reasoned and thoughtful, which is why it’s worth revisiting. “Vale Vatican II: Moving On” verbalizes what a growing number of the faithful are finally coming to grips with. In the words of Fr. Hugh: “it is time now to let go of the Council.” While I encourage everyone to read the full article, there are...