Free Republic

Archbishop Chaput has just come out with pastoral guidelines for the implementation of Amoris Laetitia (AL) in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The guidelines unswervingly maintain the Church’s bimillenial discipline precluding the admission to Confession and Holy Communion of public adulterers who divorce and civilly “remarry” and decline to cease their adulterous sexual relations: With divorced and civilly-remarried persons, Church teaching requires them to refrain from sexual intimacy. This applies even if they must (for the care of their children) continue to live under one roof. Undertaking to live as brother and sister is necessary for the divorced and civilly-remarried to...

Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate. He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations. The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. They are steadfast for ever and ever, done in faithfulness and uprightness. He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever— holy and awesome is his name. (Psalm...

The Vatican newspaper has published a front-page reflection on conversions to Islam. Summarizing a recent book by journalist Virginie Riva examining the conversions of 11 French women, historian Lucetta Scaraffia writes that the women were between the ages of 25 and 35, university educated, not attracted by terrorism, and either agnostic or Catholic. These women were drawn to Islam, Scaraffia said, through their friendship with Muslim students who witnessed to their religion, delighted in studying the Quran, and did not downplay Islam’s requirements regarding prayer and the role of the sexes. Accepting invitations to Ramadan meals, these women, “very often”...

Katrina,A few weeks ago you suggested to a man that he should consider finding another church. My opinion is that shopping for a new parish shouldn’t be done before extensive prayer for your present parish.– C——————–Dear C, I don’t actually disagree with you; I’m not of a mind to advise superficial church-hopping, especially when it’s about something related to church decor, or a Mass schedule that suits one’s preference. There is a good argument to be made that remaining in your geographical parish is important in maintaining the strength of a community.That is not always the case, though. If...

Sister Lucia dos Santos, one of the three children who witnessed the Marian apparitions at Fatima, died in 2005. But before her death, she predicted that the final battle between Christ and Satan would be over marriage and the family. So says Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, who reports that the visionary sent him a letter with this prediction when he was Archbishop of Bologna, Italy. This reported statement by Sister Lucia, expressed during the pontificate of Saint John Paul II, was recently revisited by the Desde la Fe (From the Faith) weekly of the Archdiocese of Mexico, in the midst of...

Austrian Catholic website kath.net reports that on 7 July, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn published an interview in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, in which he said that Amoris Laetitia is a binding doctrinal document. From now on, says Schönborn, all the previous magisterial texts concerning marriage and the family “have to be read in the light of Amoris Laetitia.” Schönborn also said in this interview – a fuller excerpt of this text has now been published in English in the Jesuit journal Civiltà Cattolica – that it is “obvious” that Amoris Laetitia is an act of the Magisterium since it...

The Russians are returning to their tradition of Symphonia, inherited from Byzantium and instituted by Constantine the Great, where church and state complement each other.The Ministry of Health in Russia has signed an agreement with the Russian Orthodox Church that includes prevention of abortion and provision of palliative care. The agreement signed by Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova and Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Churchwas published on the website of the Synodal Department for ROC [Russian Orthodox Church] Church Charity and Social Service. Article 9 of the 21 article agreement establishes cooperation “on the protection of maternal and...

Congregations across the state of Iowa are in grave danger of having their pastors silenced in the pulpit over LGBT public accommodation rules, according to a federal lawsuit filed against the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. Fort Des Moines Church of Christ filed what is known as a “pre-enforcement challenge” – arguing that a portion of the Iowa Civil Rights Act, is a threat to First Amendment freedoms. Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal firm that specializes in religious liberty lawsuits, is representing the church in its fight against the commission. “Churches should be free to teach their religious beliefs and operate...

CFN intro: Leftist Cupich is notoriously pro-homosexual. He is now positioned by Francis to recommend men of his ilk to become bishops in the United States. The Francis disaster continues full throttle and will further poison the Church in America and worldwide. Oremus - jv Crux Staff, July 7, 2016 By naming Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago to the Vatican's all-important Congregation for Bishops, Pope Francis effectively has positioned him, in tandem with Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., to be the American "kingmakers" on this pope's watch. Pope Francis on Thursday named Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago to the...

The Progressive coop under President Obama has already taken place and has won the day here in America, and I challenge anyone anywhere to prove what I am saying is wrong. However the poetic justice in all this is that Obama's and the Left's delusional godless utopian visions are headed straight into the Day of the Lord (Rev. 6-19) with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ready to greet them (Rev. 6). O Fools!! There can NEVER be a Utopia apart from RIGHTEOUSNESS and the saving grace of Jesus Christ (Dan. 2:43-44, 7:13-14, Rev. 21-22:1-5)! While Conservative talk show hosts...

[Original text, a sermon, had no title/headline. The above headline was tacked on by the BeautySoAncient Blog] Homily preached by the Reverend Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Ph.D., S.T.D., on 3 July 2016, the external Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (Extraordinary Form), at the Church of the Holy Innocents, New York City. “On this past Wednesday, the Church Universal (all 23 of her rites) and the Orthodox Churches as well celebrated the Solemnity of the Apostles Peter and Paul. This morning, we are observing its so-called “external” solemnity for the benefit of those who were not able to participate in...

A muezzin’s call to prayer reverberated inside the sixth-century Istanbul landmark Hagia Sophia for the first time in 85 years on July 1. The building in the city’s historic Sultanahmet district broadcast the azan from its minarets following July 1’s Laylat al-Qadr, or night of power, marking the first revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad. The broadcast of the morning call to prayer from within Hagia Sophia is likely to reignite controversy over the use of the building, which was designated a museum in 1935 under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the modern Turkish Republic. Although the...

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India says marriage annulment granted by church courts has no legal sanctity and those remarrying after obtaining such a decree would commit an offence. The July 4 observation from the apex court will have far reaching and serious consequences for Catholics in India, who get their marriages annulled by diocesan ecclesiastical tribunals. A bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice D Y Chandrachud made this observation while hearing a petition filed by Clarence Pais, a Bengaluru-based Catholic lawyer, who sought legal sanctity for divorce decrees granted by church courts. Pais had pleaded...

Christians in Russia won’t be allowed to email their friends an invitation to church or to evangelize in their own homes if Russia’s newest set of surveillance and anti-terrorism laws are enacted. The proposed laws, considered the country’s most restrictive measures in post-Soviet history, place broad limitations on missionary work, including preaching, teaching, and engaging in any activity designed to recruit people into a religious group. To share their faith, citizens must secure a government permit through a registered religious organization, and they cannot evangelize anywhere besides churches and other religious sites. The restrictions even apply to activity in private...

St Augustine rest home was fined €6,000 after it stopped doctors from giving a lethal injection to a 74-year-old womanJudges in Belgium have fined a Catholic nursing home for refusing to allow the euthanasia of a lung cancer sufferer on its premises. The St Augustine rest home in Diest was ordered to pay a total of €6,000 after it stopped doctors from giving a lethal injection to Mariette Buntjens. Days later, the 74-year-old woman was instead taken by ambulance to her private address to die “in peaceful surroundings”. Buntjens’ family later sued the nursing home for causing their mother “unnecessary...

I learned of this site today at the irreplaceable One Peter Five by Steve Skojec [ http://www.onepeterfive.com/ ]. The site follows the Drudge format, with a page of links to stories and websites. This will be of most interest to Catholic Conservatives faithful to the Magisterium.

Five years ago I warned readers that folks on the left do not care one whit about your religious liberty. Four-and-a-half years ago, Pope Benedict voiced particular concerns about "certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion". Four years ago, the US Bishops launched the first annual Fortnight For Freedom,  running from June 21—the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More—to July 4, Independence Day. This event, once unnecessary but now imperative, seeks "to highlight the importance of defending religious freedom" in America. Unfortunately, the situation for...

Moscow, July 1, Interfax - Yekaterinburg architects created a concept of the highest church in the world: they suggested combining in one project a cult building and the notorious unfinished construction, Yekaterinburg TV reports. "According to the concept, they are going to combine the unfinished construction and the cult building in one cosmic-shaped construction, though it is far from architecture of Orthodox churches," the TV channel reports. According to the authors of the idea, they wanted to suggest an alternative to "the church on water," which was voiced among others projects of Yekaterinburg church. Besides the church, the authors of...

The recent Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church did not achieve its original goal of unifying the discipline of the Sacrament of Marriage among the 14 Orthodox churches, according to a L’Osservatore Romano report. On June 23 and 24, participants discussed the council’s fifth document, “The Sacrament of Marriage and its Impediments”-- a topic first placed on the conciliar agenda in 1961. After discussing the Sacrament of Marriage, the final document stated that “a civil marriage between a man and a woman registered in accordance with the law lacks sacramental character since it is a simple legalized cohabitation...

Job 23:14 He will Perform that which is Appointed for me, And Many Such Things are with Him.