Free Republic

A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Obamacare’s special protections for transgender individuals and women who choose to have abortions violate religious freedom. Judge Reed O’Connor of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, a George W. Bush appointee, overturned the protections by vacating the Obama-era rule that banned health insurers and providers who receive federal taxpayer funds from denying coverage or treatment to any individual based on sex, gender identity, or termination of pregnancy. As the Hill noted, Reed is the same judge who ruled last December that Obamacare in its entirety is unconstitutional. In January 2017...

A miraculous 17th-century icon of Christ has finally returned home after being lost during communist times. The revered “Savior of Moskvoretesky” (Pantocrator) Icon was believed lost after 1927, but returned to the Holy Protection Cathedral on Red Square, commonly known as St. Basil’s, yesterday, reports TASS. Lost more than 90 years ago, the miraculous icon was discovered in an antique market and bought by collector Stanislav Nikolaev last year, and was restored over the summer. “The icon has found its place, I hope for many years, and perhaps, forever. The icon came to me, as I said, quite by accident,...

Even pigsties, sheep pens, and cemeteries can become meeting venues for believers – as long as it allows them to avoid questioning and inspections by the state.The Chinese authorities spare no effort in persecuting people for their religious beliefs by vigorously cracking down on “unofficial” and state-approved churches alike. Many meeting venues have been shut down, forcibly demolished, or taken over for government use. To continue their gatherings and avoid being found out, believers have to be creative and think of every possible method to practice their faith. For them, harsh environments and long distances aren’t real issues – as...

SÃO PAULO - In Brazil, most of the criticism directed towards the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon came from the government, not from members of the hierarchy. Bishop José Luís Azcona is among the minority of Brazilian prelates to raise concerns about the synod, calling the Vatican meeting’s preparatory document “weak and inconsistent.” Still, he has sought to distance his criticism from that of President Jair Bolsonaro, who he said wants to meddle in the Brazilian Church. In the past few months, the Spanish-born Azcona, bishop emeritus of the Prelature of Marajó - located in the Amazonian State of...

Stephen Brady: 'Los Angeles archdiocese will be one of the biggest hit in the country'SACRAMENTO, Calif. (ChurchMilitant.com) - California just became the sixth state to drop its statute of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse. The law signed on Sunday by California's Gov. Gavin Newsom gives all victims of childhood sexual abuse a three-year period beginning Jan. 1 to file lawsuits. Following that period, the new law will extend the age limit of the victim filing from 26 to 40 and the time limit of when the abuse is discovered to when the case is filed from three to...

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WYFF) – A pastor who pleaded guilty to child sex charges will spend the next decade in prison. The victim says she became pregnant twice by 32-year-old Phillip Buckson and had abortions to terminate the pregnancies. According to the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, Buckson, pleaded guilty to this week to two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor 11 to 14 years old in Spartanburg County. He was sentenced to 20 years, suspended to 10 years and 5 years of probation, must register as a sex offender, and can have no contact with the victim....

Something VERY STRANGE Is Happening To The Churches (2019) **VIDEO IS 45. MINUTES LONG* may want to bookmark for later. Video is talking about various Christian Churches both Protestant and Catholic that have been vandalized or been targets of violence recently. Includes news clippings.

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican Payback Fall-out from the raid Secular media is confirming Church Militant's report last week that the recent Vatican raid centers on hundreds of millions of dollars misappropriated by the Secretariat of State. The alleged crime took place under Cdl. Angelo Becciu, a papal ally promoted to cardinal last year by Pope Francis. When Becciu worked as deputy Secretary of State, he authorized the purchase of this property on 60 Sloane Avenue in London for a price equalling more than $200 million. The problem? The money was taken from Peter's Pence, the pope's annual collection meant to be used towards the...

Onsi Kamel grew up as an evangelical but became highly attracted to Roman Catholicism. In time, though, he discovered that what had attracted him so much about Catholicism could not necessarily be found in the Roman Catholic Church. And that it could be found in the theology of the Protestant Reformation. He tells his story in an article Catholicism Made Me Protestant, published, somewhat surprisingly, in First Things. He tells about his love for the Church Fathers and then his discovery that the Church of Rome does not necessarily hold to what they said. He greatly appreciated the writings of...

David Carr Attacks Street Preacher David Carr owns King of King’s radio network out of Somerset Ky. David attacked the street preachers who were trying to preach the truth. He publicly called Chris McComas of West Virginia voices a dumbbell and he said to Rich Penkoski of Warriors for Christ that he hopes he doesn’t preach because it doesn’t do anything. Apparently David wants to just stand there holding a sign while stepping aside to allow children to go into a bar to watch a drag show. David’s actions are a good example of why perverts and child predators are...

Naval officer 'card-carrying' member of The Satanic TempleANNAPOLIS, Md. (ChurchMilitant.com) - The U.S. Navy is blocking a satanic service planned by a member of The Satanic Temple (TST). Naval officials are claiming a naval officer who is a self-avowed satanist cannot conduct services at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The Navy asserts that the ceremonies, initially scheduled to take place every Thursday at 7 p.m., cannot happen because of the officer's ties to TST, an entity deemed a "political organization" by the U.S. Navy. On October 8, the officer sent an email to members of his battalion announcing...

Moscow, October 13, Interfax - A new Syrian constitution being drafted now must guarantee interests of all ethnic and religious groups living in the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. "People need to know that they live in their own country and that it protects them by law. This must be equally true for Sunnis and Shia, for Alawites and Christians," Putin said in an interview with RT Arabic, Sky News, and Al Arabiya, posted on the Kremlin website. "It will not be easy; it will be a difficult process, but I believe it can work," he said. "Do you...

A Christian school governor with decades of service has been suspended after saying that she would not have wanted her two sons to read books with LGBT themes. Maureen Griffith, 73, who worked as an NHS nurse for 40 years, was a governor at Alperton Community School in Brent, northwest London, for more than 20 years. In May she received a letter telling her that she had been suspended from the governing body after two complaints alleging that she had made “homophobic comments at a public meeting”. She now fears she will be sacked. The row comes days before the...

Melbourne City Council member Nic Frances Gilley has introduced a proposal to require Catholic churches to comply with the province of Victoria's new mandatory abuse reporting laws or have signs posted outside warning parents that the houses of worship might pose a danger to children. The Age reports that Gilley is requesting the state "write to all churches and places of worship requesting assurances that all staff and associates will abide by the law of mandatory reporting," and if they do not provide those assurances the state should erect appropriate signage. In September, Victoria passed the Children Legislation Amendment Act...

Dear friends, the more I study and watch the rapid rise of the American Left here in America in the last 20 years, it is clearer to me more than EVER that they are indeed the political party of Saul Alinsky's Master! These are sold out FULLY to demonic lawlessness and are at war with their RIGHTEOUS ETERNAL Creator from top to bottom (Rom. 1:18-32)! No wonder Satan has such a hold on this nation today! He has more EXPONENTIAL power than ever via, the EXPONENTIAL technological advances of our day and his demonic minions in all facets of media...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP/VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE and AMERICA: Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, and the Media. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Religion Forum threads labeled "Prayer" are closed to debate of any kind.

A group of pseudo-religious leaders gathered outside an abortion clinic earlier this month to “bless” the facility and the culture of death it houses. Because much like ancient cultures that use to burn children alive to appease their pagan gods, nothing says “spirituality” quite like killing infants. The group, who are about as godly as I am a mermaid, gathered outside the Whole Women’s Health clinic in McAllen Texas to sing songs and affirm the clinic’s work, including their legally sanctioned ability to poison and suck the brains out of a living reborn infant. “We do this to support the...

Celebrated Christian evangelist Franklin Graham has taken issue with the Democrats’ extreme push of the LGBTQ agenda, saying he will stand with biblical morality. “I will not bow down at the altar of the LGBTQ agenda nor worship their rainbow pride flag,” Rev. Graham said in reaction to Beto O’Rourke’s promise to strip churches of their tax-exempt status if they do not recognize homosexual marriage. “I’m going to stand with the Word of God, the Holy Bible, which is truth from cover to cover,” Graham added in a three-part tweet Friday evening. Rev. Graham, the son of “America’s Pastor,” Billy...

An amazing example of Russian wooden architecture and beautifully-painted cathedral was officially reopened after extensive restoration and consecrated on Tuesday, October 8. The small consecration and festive Divine Liturgy in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s Ascension Cathedral were celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan. The beautiful wooden cathedral is considered a spiritual, historical, and cultural pearl of Kazakhstan, and was consecrated as part of the ongoing celebrations of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Synaxis of New Martyrs and Confessors of Kazakhstan and the creation of the Astan and Almaty Dioceses, reports the press service of the...

ROME - After more than a year-long legal battle over the burial location of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco’s remains, on Friday the nation’s famed ‘Valley of the Fallen’ was officially closed ahead of the exhumation of the former general’s body. The Oct. 11 closure of the Valley took place a day ahead of Spain’s national day, Día de la Hispanidad, and the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, Spain’s national patroness, both of which are celebrated on Oct. 12. Built upon Franco’s orders in the mid-20th century, the Valley of the Fallen is now a monument to some 34,000...