Free Republic

Pope Francis’ new encyclical on the environment made an impact on UN negotiations this week. But in the rush to emphasize its input on climate change, his forceful condemnation of abortion and population control remain overlooked. At this week’s negotiations on sustainable development in the General Assembly, María Emma Mejía Vélez, ambassador of Colombia said the Pope’s encyclical on “climate change” was relevant to the UN development agenda. The new papal encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si,” has been described as a “massive coup” for those who emphasize the human causes of climate change. It has lent the moral backing...

LONDON, June 26, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) -- An LGBT group for Catholics supported by Britain’s most influential cardinal will participate as a registered group at a major ‘gay pride’ event this weekend. Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols says LGBT Catholics Westminster is hoping it will serve as an “opportunity for evangelization,” but also notes that they “arranged independently” to march in the event. The group’s leader, ex-priest Martin Prendergast, has been in a homosexual civil partnership with Julian Filochowski, the former head of Cafod, since 2006. Cafod is the official bishops’ conference charity for overseas development. Prendergast has claimed on film that...

Jesus died so that heterosexual and homosexual sinners might be saved. Jesus created sexuality, and has a clear will for how it is to be experienced in holiness and joy. His will is that a man might leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and that the two become one flesh (Mark 10:6–9). In this union, sexuality finds its God-appointed meaning, whether in personal-physical unification, symbolic representation, sensual jubilation, or fruitful procreation. For those who have forsaken God’s path of sexual fulfillment, and walked into homosexual intercourse or heterosexual extramarital fornication or adultery, Jesus offers astonishing mercy....

Our Lady of Good Success Date: very early 17th c., first approved 1611 Place: Quito, Ecuador Visionary: Venerable Mother Mariana de Jesus TorresThe story of Our Lady of Good Success is a most fascinating one -- and incredibly important and timely, as many of the prophecies of our Lady and our Lord given to Mariana pertain explicitly to the 20th c. and thereafter. Mother Mariana was a Spanish Conceptionist nun, blessed with the charismata of discernment and prophecy, who ran a convent in Quito, Ecuador. First, Our Lady told her to make a life-sized statue of her holding the...

Persecution is coming — and it's been abetted by traitorous Catholics The High Court voted in a sweeping broad-based decision that sodomite marriage is a constitutional right. The vote went as largely expected in a 5–4 ruling where Catholic Justice Anthony Kennedy, a long time ally for homosexual rights, equated the struggle for sodomite marriage to the civil rights battle for blacks in the 1960s. In a giant step going even further, Kennedy also addressed the issue of the children of homosexual couples, saying they had a right not to be humiliated by their parents not being legally recognized as...

Maybe I should be upset and disheartened at today's Supreme Court decision. But I'm smiling. And I don't feel sad. I feel strangely excited. I remember the night that Obama was elected for his second term. I went to bed early, sick to my stomach, depressed and afraid. It was truly awful. I felt a dark shroud had descended on our nation, the America that I love so much. But I have grown and changed. The ins and outs of politics and courts and men do not bother me so much anymore. And in this case, I find myself untroubled....

“There is no true liberty except the liberty of the happy who cleave to the eternal law.” — St. Augustine, On Freewill “Conservative commentator, and Blaze contributor, S.E. Cupp broke down on-air Friday after the Supreme Court decided in favor of same-sex marriage. Cupp was overjoyed, and said Republicans have to accept gay marriage or risk becoming 'relics.'” — The Blaze, June 26, 2015 I. The great division in modern politics, argued Russell Kirk in The Politics of Prudence, “is not between totalitarians on the one hand and liberals (or libertarians) on the other; instead, it lies between all...

Most were not surprised by the Supreme Court decision today. Court watchers who had attended the hearings earlier this year were rather certain that the mood of the court was to find a constitutional right to marriage and extend it to those with same-sex attraction.  I am not a lawyer and will not therefore speak to the legal demerits of this decision. Others, including the minority on the Court, can speak to that.  But as a citizen I wonder how we have come to a place in our legal and legislative system where unelected judges for life, who in...

Please see link I'm not good at posting text And no humble gunner it's not my blog

Calling all Christians to unite together in prayer tonight at 11:00 EST. We know the effectiveness of prayer (James 5:13-18). After our Lord had ascended the church had gathered in the upper room. Acts 1:14 tells us "these all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer...." We may recall when Peter was in jail the church was praying fervently to God for him. The Lord sent an angel to free Peter (Acts 12:1-7). I can think of no other course of action for the followers of Christ than to cry out to Him at this time.

The marriage battle was lost in the culture long before it was lost in the courts. An opponent of same-sex marriage protests outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington June 18.(CNS photo/Carlos Barria, Reuters) In the wake of the Supreme Court’s marriage decision, these sober thoughts occur: (1) The Supreme Court of the United States [SCOTUS] has rendered a decision that puts the Court at odds with the Constitution, with reason, and with biblical religion. (2) SCOTUS has gotten it wrong before. It got it wrong on race in Dred Scott and it repeated the mistake in Plessy vs. Ferguson...

Another day, another mind-boggling remark from Francis. The scenario is by now quite familiar: the Pope decides he will speak in Spanish so that he can “speak from the heart,” and the Church braces for the next explosion. This time it was remarks in Spanish to the World Retreat of Priests at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran on June 12. Francis said this about quarrels among members of the Church: “There are quarrels and arguments in the Church? Well, it makes good news! This is so since the beginning… A church without quarrels is a dead church. Do you...

<p>Homosexuals can attend a Catholic family congress in Philadelphia during Pope Francis' U.S. visit this year but won't be allowed to use it to attack Church teachings, the city's archbishop said on Thursday.</p> <p>"We don't want to provide a platform at the meeting for people to lobby for positions contrary to the life of our Church," said Archbishop Charles Chaput. The Catholic Church teaches homosexuality is not sinful but homosexual acts are.</p>

As I write this, the Supreme Court has handed down what will be the “Roe v. Wade” of marriage, redefining marriage in all 50 states. This is a sober moment, and I am a conscientious dissenter from this ruling. The Court now has disregarded thousands of years of definition of the most foundational unit of society, and the cultural changes here will be broad and deep. So how should the church respond? First of all, the church should not panic. The Supreme Court can do many things, but the Supreme Court cannot get Jesus back in that tomb. Jesus of...

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court decision, June 26, interpreting the U.S. Constitution to require all states to license and recognize same-sex “marriage” “is a tragic error that harms the common good and most vulnerable among us,” said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The full statement follows: Regardless of what a narrow majority of the Supreme Court may declare at this moment in history, the nature of the human person and marriage remains unchanged and unchangeable. Just as Roe v. Wade did not settle the question of abortion over forty years...

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court decision, June 26, interpreting the U.S. Constitution to require all states to license and recognize same-sex “marriage” “is a tragic error that harms the common good and most vulnerable among us,” said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The full statement follows: Regardless of what a narrow majority of the Supreme Court may declare at this moment in history, the nature of the human person and marriage remains unchanged and unchangeable. Just as Roe v. Wade did not settle the question of abortion over forty years...

"Do you believe God is in complete control of everything - even the situation you face today? Dr. Charles Stanley reminds you in this sermon that understanding God's sovereignty - and acting on its truth - strengthens your faith and calms your fears. Take hold of God's love with My Assurance: God is in Control, Part 1." From Charles Stanley

A new bill protecting the religious liberty of traditional marriage advocates has the support of two leading U.S. bishops. But will the First Amendment Defense Act be enough to stem the rising tide of anti-discrimination lawsuits across the nation?  The First Amendment Defense Act establishes protections – largely regarding federal taxes and benefits – for individuals and organizations who conscientiously believe that marriage is between one man and one woman and that no sexual relations should take place outside this bond. “In a climate of increasing intolerance, these protections are very much needed,” wrote Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco...

A struggling Catholic college in Massachusetts will close its doors next week, raising concerns about the stability of other small, highly tuition-dependent colleges. But a report from The Cardinal Newman Society finds that some small colleges which maintain a strong Catholic identity and promote it to prospective students are doing quite well.Marian Court College in Swampscott, Mass., will close at the end of June due to financial difficulties and low enrollment, reports Adam Wilson, managing editor of The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College. The tuition-dependent College had about 250 students this year and graduated 67 last month, including...

The Catholic Church in Sydney is sending letters to companies that publicly support same-sex marriage, expressing its "grave concern" about their stance. The Archdiocese of Sydney has targeted some of the 150 businesses that put their names and logos to recent newspaper advertisements supporting gay marriage. The ABC has seen a copy of one letter addressed to the chairman of partners at Maurice Blackburn law firm, Steve Walsh, from the Archdiocese's business manager Michael Digges. "It is... with grave concern that I write to you about the Marriage Equality for Australians campaign," it reads. "You are publically supporting a strategic,...