Free Republic

Monday and Thrsday morning, 11/9 and 12Kohen--Genesis 23:1-7Levi--vs. 8-12Yisra'el--vs. 13-16 Strday 11/14--Shabbat Parashat Chayyei SarahMORNING Kohen--Genesis 23:1-16Levi--23:17-24:9Shelishi--24:10-26Revi`i--24:27-52Chamishi--24:53-67Shishi--25:1-11Shevi`i--25:12-18Maftir--25:16-18Haftarah--I Kings 1:1-31 EVENING Kohen--Genesis 25:19-22Levi--vs. 23-26Yisra'el--25:27-26:5

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Benedict will hold talks with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams on Nov 21 in their first meeting since a Vatican initiative making it easier for disaffected Anglicans to convert to Catholicism. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said on Friday the spiritual leader of the 77-million member worldwide Anglican communion will meet the pope while he is in Rome for a conference at a Rome pontifical university. The meeting will take on great significance because it is their first since the Vatican announced a new structure on Oct 20 to welcome conservative Anglicans who want to...

I just returned from Washington, DC. The City is charged with a frenzied war of words and increasing activity, all revolving around the “Health Care Reform” package which Speaker Nancy Pelosi is trying to get passed quickly. Today, in a rare Saturday session, the “showdown” in the “People’s House” begins. The very term “People’s House” developed in reference to the House of Representatives because it has been perceived as closer to the people then the Senate. The House, until the passage of the 17th Amendment to the US Constitution, was the only legislative branch to be elected. Senators were chosen...

10 Ways Darwin Got It Wrong This year marks the bicentennial of Charles Darwin's birthday and, coincidentally, 150 years since the publication of his book On the Origin of Species. One of the most influential books in modern history, it has helped shape philosophy, biology, sociology and religion in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. But both Darwin's theory and his book are doomed by major flaws. by Mario Seiglie Was Charles Darwin right about his theory? More importantly, how vital is it to find out the correct answer? Unlike other scientific theories, Darwinian evolution touches not only science but...

Where is the hardest place in the world to be a Christian citizen? North Korea, perhaps? Saudi Arabia? According to Lars Widerberg of Intercessor's Network, it is the nation of Somalia. There are thought to be no more than a thousand Christians in a resident population of 8 million people, with perhaps a few thousand more in the diaspora. The Islamist Shabab militia, which controls most of southern Somalia, is dedicated to hunting these remaining Christians down and eliminating every one of them. Christian men attend mosques on Fridays, so as not to arouse suspicion. Bibles are kept hidden. There...

Abortion is Not Health Care November 6th, 2009 by Joseph Meaney Bumper stickers with the message "Abortion is Not Health Care" have started appearing around the country. They could also say infanticide and euthanasia are not health care.Our first child, Therese Marie, was born on September 29th the Feast of the Archangels. While in the hospital I met the mother of a child born prematurely and who had to be treated in the neo-natal intensive care unit. That baby was fortunate to arrive in the USA and not Great Britain.Sarah Capewell’s boy Jayden came prematurely at 21 weeks and 5...

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance.” - Psalm 33: 12 On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights fined the Italian government for having crucifixes in its schools. It’s yet another example of oversize, secular bureaucracies pitted against the most natural forms of agreement, in this case the nation. The European Court of Human Rights ordered that the government pay 5,000 Euro ($7,390) to Soile Lautsi, a mother of two who claimed that public schools in her northern Italian town refused eight years ago to remove...

Tell Belmont Abbey College: "I'm proud of you!" Help this faithful college resist the culture of death by signing an instant e-card:"I’m proud of you!" Notre Dame betrayed its Catholic identity, but Belmont Abbey College stayed faithful and now needs our urgent prayers and encouragement. Please let me explain:  This small liberal arts college in North Carolina with 1,600 students is holding firm to its Catholic identity by refusing to pay for abortion, contraception and sterilization in its healthcare plan. As a result, this brave college is now facing persecution.  In fact, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)...

Even as Moscow celebrates a holiday with anti-Catholic undertones and as Orthodox Patriarch Kirill promotes a special role for Russia’s “traditional religions” of which Catholicism is not one, the Catholic archbishopric in Moscow and the Catholic bishopric in Novosibirsk have launched websites to promote Catholicism in Russia. Last Friday, Paul Pezzi, the Catholic archbishop in Moscow, announced the start of a website for his see at www.cathmos.ru, a site that he said would allow Russians to “find out about the structure and news of the archdiocese, acquaint themselves with official documents, and learn the addresses of Catholic parishes” in Russia....

There is much talk and discussion today about helping the poor and downtrodden here in the USA. The only true way to help individuals break free from the tyrannical cycle of poverty, however, is a Conservatism that is rooted in Biblical, Judean/ Christian truths and absolutes. Such values bestow upon these individuals a sense of reality and purpose in what otherwise would be a meaningless, “burned out” existence. Historically, Judean/ Christian values have been the only true advocate and hope for the poor since the fall of man (see Genesis 3:17-19). The word charity - as taught in the Bible...

Rome, Italy, Nov 6, 2009 / 02:58 pm (CNA).- Speaking to Vatican Radio on Tuesday, Cardinal Franc Rode shed more light on the reasons behind the ongoing apostolic visitation of female U.S. religious orders, saying that a “secularist mentality” and a “feminist spirit” evident in the communities were among the factors leading to the visitation.The apostolic visitation was launched earlier this year with the stated aim of helping strengthen religious communities in the U.S., which are suffering from a sharp decline in vocations.In his Tuesday interview with Vatican Radio, Cardinal Rode said “some criticism arrived from United States and...

Do you ever get annoyed when you go to the bank and you are served by a new teller who doesn't know you, and she (he?) asks for an ID card or she has to trot out to the back and check your signature? Or perhaps the teller at the next desk might lean over and say, "Yes, that's OK" or "He's him." Well, of course I'm him! Am I myself not the best proof that I am—and that I am me? But no, I'm not good enough for the bank. It has to be somebody else's word or a...

Same-sex relationships go against Scripture and morality, according to a letter mailed Monday by members of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bessemer City. The congregation recently drafted the letter stating its disdain for a resolution passed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. “We are writing to express our disappointment with the recent Churchwide Assembly’s approval of the resolution to allow gay and lesbian pastors,” the letter states. “We also disapprove of the resolution to find ways for congregations to recognize same-gender relationships.” The 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted in August to open the...

Rodé: "Feminism" Drove Visitation Following up on his Tuesday clarification concerning the Apostolic Visitation of US womens' communities, the Vatican's Religious Czar amplified his thought-process on the evaluation yesterday in an interview with Vatican Radio. Shown above greeting sisters of a more traditional stripe on a March visit to an Italian seminary specializing in the "extraordinary form" of the Roman rite, Cardinal Franc Rodé's significant points were summarized by The Tablet's Rome correspondent, Robert Mickens, in a dispatch e.mailed around earlier today: The official that initiated the Vatican's investigation of women religious in the United States admitted this week...

‘Brother’ Antonio Cordova, leader of the group “Alpha and Omega”, which defends the existence of creatures in other planets, said: “Peru is a prophetic land and the place chosen by aliens to communicate with humans.” The this group mixes together ‘Christianism, socialism, a vegetarian diet and beings from another planet”, and has now organized the” Fourth International Congress of UFOlogy’ in the Peruvian capital, gathering contactees and researchers from countries like Chile, Ecuador or Brazil. Antonio Cordova, was named as “Trustee of the Divine Celestial Science” and at an interview with international media, remarked the importance of Peru as the...

Dallas, TX (LifeNews.com) -- The late-term abortion practitioner at the new abortion center in Dallas has admitted in a shocking interview that he kills unborn children during abortions. Curtis Boyd is one of the few abortion practitioners to admit what he is doing, but he has no qualms with his job. Boyd opened the first abortion center in Dallas in 1973 after the Supreme Court handed down the roe v. Wade decision allowing virtually unlimited abortions. In an interview with WFAA yesterday after news surfaced that he re-opened his late-term abortion center, Southwestern Women's Surgery Center, in the huge metro...

Some Effingham County Lutherans are leaving their churches in an effort to disassociate with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran denomination in the country. The breakaway group known as Lutherans for Bible Based Beliefs announced new worship services for those who disapprove of the national church's vote in August to allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy. Alan B. Zipperer said he helped organize the group to give people who disapproved of the ELCA's decision a place to feel comfortable. "There are so many dissatisfied people at several churches around Effingham County, we...

The billion-dollar organization already receives over $300 million in taxpayer money, and stands to strike it rich if nothing is changed in the current health care legislation. So this week the nation’s biggest abortion provider sent out an urgent message to counter the growing opposition by Catholics to taxpayer-funded abortion contained in the current health care bills.  The Catholic Bishops sprung into action late last week, announcing their strong opposition to the current health care legislation because the bills include taxpayer support for abortion and fail to provide a conscience clause for doctors. The Bishops have asked all Catholics to...

ROME, NOV. 5, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Thousands in Italy are mourning the death of a wife and mother of five, the founder of the Cenacles of Prayer, who is considered a modern mystic. Six Italian bishops and more than 100 priests celebrated the funeral of Natuzza Evolo on Tuesday in Calabria. Some 30,000 mourners came to pay their respects. "For us she is already a saint, as she is in paradise," said Bishop Luigi Renzo of Mileto in his homily. According to the testimony of numerous persons who went to ask her for her prayers and advice, bleeding wounds would appear...

Russian Monasticism After Communism Interview With Orthodox Monk on Old and New Challenges By Antonio Gaspari ROME, NOV. 5, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Having survived Soviet Communism, Russian Orthodox monasticism now faces the new threat of secularization as it passes through a period of testing that only time can heal. Father Petr Mescerinov expressed these ideas as he discussed with ZENIT the new and enduring challenges of Russian monasticism. The hegumen (a title similar to abbot) of the St. Daniil Monastery of Moscow was in Italy for a conference on Eastern and Western monasticism. Father Mescerinov is vice-director of the Center for...

A senior west of Ireland bishop has strongly appealed to Catholics intending to travel to Knock next month to stay away from a predicted apparition of the Virgin Mary on December 5. Speaking yesterday in Ennis, Co Clare, the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, said he would not like to see a large number of people going to Knock on that day expecting "strange visions". The bishop was responding to the announcement by Dublin self-styled visionaries Joe Coleman and Keith Henderson that Our Lady will appear on Saturday, December 5, at 3pm. Bishop Walsh is the first member of...

The South African Catholic blog Signum has an article reporting that TAC in UK accepts "Ordinariate" At the 2009 Assembly of the Traditional Anglican Communion UK, the following resolution was passed:That this Assembly, representing the Traditional Anglican Communion in Great Britain, offers its joyful thanks to Pope Benedict XVI for his forthcoming Apostolic Constitution allowing the corporate reunion of Anglicans with the Holy See, and requests the Primate and College of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion to take the steps necessary to implement this Constitution.The Assembly also suggests Bishop Robert Mercer as a possible candidate for Ordinary. I hear...

The film, The 13th Day, distributed in North America by Ignatius Press, continues to earn rave reviews from viewers. Sr. Helena Burns, FSP, who authors the "Hell Burns" blog, writes: This is a triumph of a film. And I don’t think I’ve ever used that word for a film before. “The 13th Day” was screened here at the 1st Annual John Paul II Film Festival in Miami: http://www.jp2filmfestival.com/. British producer Natasha Howes (birthday: May 13, feast of Our Lady of Fatima) was present. I was prepared not to like this film, and very apprehensive about not liking it because...

Last night, by a comfortable margin of 53-47%, the citizens of Maine became the 31st state to vote down gay marriage (as has every single state that has given its citizens a chance to vote on the issue). Not surprisingly, the mainstream liberal press is beside itself with frustration, especially because it drives yet another nail in the "inevitability" and "wrong side of history" arguments we are often fed. As I wrote on National Review this morning, Maine voted for traditional marriage "despite it being a liberal state, despite a 2-1 funding disadvantage, despite aggressive legal action against traditional-marriage...

Conservative leaders today are rejoicing over the out come of last nights 2009 election victories that have taken place. Many of the conservative leaders and their base are touting that they can see the light at the end of the tunnel and our optimistic. Last night’s victories are quite encouraging in light of the past shellacking that conservatism and the Republican Party have taken but they are the last struggling convulsions of a nation on the precipice of total collapse. The absolute reality is that the conservative, optimistic ideal cannot support the excessive weight of the current crises and realities...

On Theology of the Heart or the Mind "To Make Truth Triumph in Charity" VATICAN CITY, NOV. 4, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of Benedict XVI's address today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, In the last catechesis I presented the main characteristics of 12th century monastic and scholastic theology, which in a certain sense we could call, respectively, "theology of the heart" and "theology of reason." A wide debate, at times fiery, took place between the representatives of each current, represented symbolically by the controversy between St. Bernard...

Eldorado, Texas » Attorneys will hear closing arguments Thursday in the trial of a polygamous sect member whom the state alleges sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl in 2004. Fifty-first District Judge Barbara Walther told jurors Wednesday that "we are getting very close" to the final stage of Raymond Merril Jessop's trial and asked them to bring a packed suitcase in case lengthy deliberations require them to be sequestered. The state is expected to recall at least one witness -- a Texas Ranger who was the lead investigator in April 2008 when authorities raided the Yearning For Zion Ranch and uncovered...

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The Russian Ministry for Justice has proposed amendments to the law on "Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations" that, if adopted, will introduce stronger restrictions on the activities of Evangelicals in the country. The community is on alert: If the proposal becomes law, among other things the evangelicals can no longer pray freely without a permit and people with a “criminal record” will not be allowed become members of their communities. The latter condition, which also concerns other religious groups because it would clear the path for state interference in the individual freedom of conscience. The document...

“I must add, though, that I don’t believe making disciples must equal making adherents to the Christian religion. It may be advisable in many circumstances to help people become followers of Jesus and remain within their Buddhist, Hindu, or Jewish contexts. Brian McLaren, "Emergent" Church leader

COLUMNS Monday, 02 November 2009 The Bishops Go On Offense By Robert Royal    A Notre Dame professor reminded me this week of an old football saying: offense sells seats, but defense wins games. Painfully true about the problems of the Irish this year, but I’ve never thought much of that proposition. Taken to its logical extreme, the most you could hope for relying solely on defense is 0-0 ties. Far preferable is the profound and incarnational wisdom of the coach who said that “prayers work better when the linemen are big.�I’ll drop the football metaphors, not least because, in...

MARSHFIELD, Mo. — Prosecutors have charged four Amish bishops in southwest Missouri with failing to report suspected child sex abuse. The four men were charged Tuesday with one misdemeanor count each. Missouri law requires people with "responsibility for the care of children" to report suspected child abuse. Examples of mandatory reporters are doctors, nurses, social workers and teachers and ministers who are not engaged in a "privileged communication." A lawyer for the four men questioned whether the law applies.

Prayers/Scriptures for Election Presidential Prayer Team website ^ | 2004 | Presidential Prayer Team Posted on Friday, February 01, 2008 10:00:17 PM by Joann37 I found some Scripture references pertaining to the 2004 Presidential Election at the Presidential Prayer Team website. But the actual Scriptures were left out; only the references and the way in which we could apply them were listed. So I added the Scriptures (all are from the NIV). Many of us here are so concerned about the outcome of Tuesday's election. So PLEASE consider taking these Scriptures (and distributing to others, if you feel so compelled)...

Last week I blogged about the outrageous episode of Dominican Sister Donna Quinn's volunteer work at an abortion clinic being exposed. I urged AmP readers to take action and email her superior, Sr. Patricia Mulcahey, OP. No doubt in part because of your efforts, Sr. Mulcahey has now responded on behalf of her congregation: From Pat Mulcahy, Prioress of the Sinsinaw Dominicans On Behalf of Council Members, Erica, Howard, Jo, Liz, Mary Ellen, Sue, TerePublic Statement of the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation"Several months ago the leadership of the Sinsinawa Dominicans was informed that Sr. Donna Quinn, OP, acted as a...

On September 29th 2008 my wife and I and our oldest grandchild waited patiently in a nearby park while our newest grandchild was about to be born. That Monday, several hundred miles to the east, America’s financial community was literally given its economic walking papers as Wall Street delivered crushing economic news. That day Dow Jones plunged 777 points and the market lost an incredible 1.2 trillion in market value -- the largest single-point plunge in America’s history. It withered main street America retirement plans, college savings plans, and housing mortgages. Each successive week brought an escalating tidal wave of...

On October 30, atheist Christopher Hitchens appeared on Dennis Miller’s Internet radio show condemning Mother Teresa, yet again. Here is one of his choice statements: “The woman was a fanatic and a fundamentalist and a fraud, and millions of people are much worse off because of her life, and it’s a shame there is no hell for your bitch to go to.” Catholic League president Bill Donohue responded today: I once told Hitchens that one of the real reasons he hates Mother Teresa has to do with his socialist ideology: he believes the state should care for the poor, not...

ELCA synods will not have the option of upholding traditional Christian teaching on marriage and homosexuality in their standards for pastors and other rostered leaders according to a draft of candidacy rules released Oct. 10 by the ELCA churchwide organization. No synod or bishop may make decisions on ministry standards that differ from the new policies of the ELCA churchwide organization as defined by the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, the policy draft explains. The ELCA now allows pastors and other rostered leaders to be in committed same-sex relationships. “By the governing documents, all candidacy and call decisions are made on an...

Vatican City, Nov 3, 2009 / 12:12 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Franc Rode issued a statement on Tuesday in response to questions about the motivation for the ongoing apostolic visitation of the women's religious communities in the United States. He said that his dicastery had been considering a visitation for years and that a report on the objective findings will be made public. As prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life—which is heading up the visitation—Cardinal Rode said that he hopes it will “encourage vocations and assure a better future for women religious.” The...

In an unusually overt step into politics by a religious leader, the Roman Catholic bishop of Brooklyn is urging voters, via robocalls, to support Vito J. Lopez, an assemblyman and the Brooklyn Democratic boss, whose hand-picked candidate is in a tough race for a City Council seat. The bishop, Nicholas A. DiMarzio, in a recorded phone call sent to every registered voter in City Council District 34, praised Mr. Lopez’s legislative service to the Catholic Church this summer. Mr. Lopez played a key role in defeating a bill that would have let adults file suit over childhood sexual abuse that...

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The western North Dakota bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America says congregations are wrestling with a national church policy that allows gay and lesbian people to serve as pastors or in other church leadership positions. Bishop Mark Narum, who leads 192 congregations that make up the Western North Dakota ELCA Synod, said he met with pastors of those congregations this month. He described it as a "wonderful open conversation." "But there is a whole group in the middle of the church wrestling over, 'What does it mean to be faithful?'" he said. "An important...

Just got hold of the latest issue of the magazine my old alma mater in Spain sends me regularly. A feature about a movie actor, now also a producer, immediately got my attention. First, a magazine that tries to be serious in character would normally not talk about actors and celebrities. Second, though I’ve heard of the story before in a tangential way, I thought it would just have a short shelf life, just a flash in the pan, you know. In short, the article broke my guiding principles. It deserved to be read. And I did. Now, I feel...

The director of the Planned Parenthood abortion center in Bryan/College Station, Texas has resigned her job. Abby Johnson had worked at the clinic for eight years, but departed from the facility following a profound change of heart about abortion. The Planned Parenthood clinic was the location of the first-ever 40 Days for Life campaign in the fall of 2004, and the prayer and fasting initiative has been held outside the doors of Johnson's former workplace five additional times since 40 Days for Life began its rapid spread to 282 cities across all 50 states and several other countries.

...On Aug. 29 a militia of Lou Nuer killed 43 people and wounded 62 in Wernyol, a Dinka town. Among the dead was Episcopal Church of Sudan archdeacon Joseph Mabior Garang, killed while officiating at a morning prayer service. Most likely, the militia (and its sponsors) targeted Mabior because he was a prominent, beloved leader in the community. He had recently become archbishop of Twic East diocese, newly formed to accommodate the fast-growing church in Bor county, which is part of Jonglei state in South Sudan. ...After Mabior's death, Daau phoned Nathaniel Garang, the bishop of Bor. "Son, I lost...

The Rev. Pawel Franciszek Szurek is taking his message of Christian empowerment from the pulpit to the airwaves with a new show, "Change Your Attitude … Change Your Life," debuting this morning at 9 on New York-based The Apple 970 AM, a 50,000-watt conservative-talk radio station. Szurek — born in Krakow, Poland, and pastor for two years at St. Philip the Apostle Church in Clifton — never dreamed he'd rise to the level of The Apple. Szurek recently became an instant hit at a radio gig on WMTR 1250 AM by offering messages of spiritual strength, despite, he says, an...

Fellow Christians can write and encourage Rifqa through her website, follow the link provided for more information. In a previous report on Rifqa Bary—the Ohio teen who had converted from Islam to Christianity, and fled to Florida as she felt her life was in danger from an honor killing by her father—the Florida judge had ordered Rifqa's parents to present immigration documents to the court before the girl could be sent back to Ohio. However, according to a report on Bary's website, a "behind the scenes" deal was said to have been cut where the Florida court would drop the...

ELCA Resource Addresses 'Worship in Times of Public Health Concerns' CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The declaration of a national emergency has raised a number of questions across the United States about safely assembling for school and worship during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Worship and Liturgical Resources answered many of those questions in a resource titled "Worship in Times of Public Health Concerns." U.S. President Barack Obama signed an Oct. 24 proclamation that "the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic in the United States constitutes a national emergency." The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services had...

At Saint Mary the Virgin Catholic Church, the 75-year-old priest is married, members sing from an Episcopalian hymnal and parishioners kneel at the altar to receive Communion. Years ago, the Texas parish and a handful of other conservative Episcopal churches in the U.S. decided to become Roman Catholic. Though they were confirmed by the Vatican, they were still allowed to practice some of their Anglican traditions, including having married priests. Now, these churches may have helped pave the way for Anglicans worldwide, or Episcopalians as they are known in the U.S., to become Catholic under a new Vatican plan created...

Lutheran CORE Responds to ELCA Congregational Mission Director 09-246-JB CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two leaders of the Lutheran Coalition for Renewal (CORE) said, with a "resounding yes," they are serious about their endeavors as an organization. They also said they "take no joy in following a process that will likely lead Lutheran CORE to depart from the ELCA's (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) institutional life and ministry." The comments were in a letter written by the Rev. Kenneth H. Sauer and the Rev. Paull E. Spring -- both former ELCA synod bishops -- in response to an Oct. 12 open letter...

This weekend’s feedback is in response to a number of queries about the Church of England (Anglicans) officially apologizing to Darwin. However, they don’t speak for all attenders of this church, since many of them are still faithful to Scripture and are appalled by their ‘leaders’. There are numerous mistakes in the article by the official CoE representative, a Rev. Dr Malcolm Brown, on the official CoE website, and Jonathan Sarfati replies point-by-point...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Charleston is going by its full name again. Since August, a black cloth had hung over the word "Lutheran" on the church's sign on Corridor G. It was Pastor Richard Mahan's way of protesting the vote by leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to allow gays and lesbians in lifelong, monogamous relationships to serve as clergy. The church removed the cloth a little more than a week ago. In its place, a new symbol hung for about a week: A sign that stated "Reclaiming the Name" in red letters, under...

After the Pope, the Secretary of State, and the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the most influential man at the Vatican-- #4 on the overall list-- is the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. That congregation supervises the selection of bishops for dioceses all around the world; it's easy to see why the office is so important.The prefect today is Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. By reason of both tenure (he's just passed 9 years in that office) and age (he turns 76 in January), he is overdue for retirement. The prelate who succeeds him will...