Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Tensions between Girl Scouts’ messaging and Catholic teaching have led to a national boycott of Girl Scout cookies, the ousting of Girl Scouts from parishes, and a significant drop in Catholic membership in the Girl Scouts. Now a panel of U.S. bishops has released the results of a two-year investigation into Girl Scouts’ problematic messaging, ties to Planned Parenthood, and continued advocacy of so-called reproductive rights by the organization’s international affiliate, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). Their findings indicate that the concerns continue to persist, regarding the problematic connections between the Girl Scouts...

WASHINGTON – Islamic State jihadists not only have designs on Saudi Arabia, Israel and Rome for their caliphate but also on Spain and other lands Muslims occupied from A.D. 622 to 1492. In a newly released video in Arabic, Islamic State jihadists vowed to “conquer Israel, Rome and Spain.” IS would redraw boundaries of countries, separate Shia and Sunni Muslims, and subject everyone to extreme Islamic law, or Shariah.

Mosul (Agenzia Fides) - The jihadist militiamen of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who since June 9 control Mosul and have proclaimed the Islamic Caliphate, have ordered civil servants to suspend any provision of food aid and gas cylinders to the Shiites, the Kurds and the few remaining Christians in Iraq's second city. This is confirmed to Fides Agency by Christian sources in Mosul, after the news had been launched by the Arab website www.ankawa.com. According to what was reported by the local official Fadel Younis, representatives of the Islamic Caliphate have announced that any infringement...

Being on the wrong side of what nature teaches leads to social ruin and historical failureFrancis Cardinal George, in his most recent column in Catholic New World, reflects on the nature of religious freedom in the United States, and masterfully connects a number of important, related points in doing so: In this country, we do not fear being killed for our faith. What, then, are we afraid of? We are afraid that the institutions that perform the works of mercy that have been integral to the church’s mission for centuries will be forced to become, effectively, government institutions, given permission...

SYDNEY, Australia – A judge in southeastern Australia has been partially suspended after he declared that the culture’s acceptance of homosexuality will lead to a normalization of incest. According to a report last week from The Sydney Morning Herald, Garry Neilson is a district court judge in Sydney, Australia. In a recent sexual assault case, Neilson suggested that an adult male may not have been in the wrong for having sexual relations with his younger teenage sister over 30 years ago. The 58-year-old man, known for legal reasons as “MRM,” has admitted to raping his sister in the mid-1970s when...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A papal astronomer won recognition for his ability to communicate accurately and clearly the discoveries of planetary science to the general public. U.S. Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, a planetary scientist and meteorite expert at the Vatican Observatory, was awarded the prestigious Carl Sagan Medal for "outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist," said the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences, which chooses the annual prize winner. In addition to significantly contributing to the public understanding of and enthusiasm for planetary science, Brother Consolmagno "occupies a unique position within our profession as a credible spokesperson...

In a Monday letter to a Mexico City Vatican conference, Pope Francis wrote that the tens of thousands of Central American children illegally crossing into the United States should be “welcomed and protected.” Just days after President Obama visited Texas and pledged a solution to the US border crisis, the Pope said migrant children’s human rights are being violated. “Many people forced to emigrate suffer, and often, die tragically,” he said. “Many of their rights are violated. They are obliged to separate from their families and, unfortunately, continue to be the subject of racist and xenophobic attitudes.” The Pope also...

A California school district has refused to apologize to one of its students for previously banning him from mentioning God in his graduation speech, saying instead that it has an "obligation" to prevent sectarian speeches. Brooks Hamby, the salutatorian of Brawley Union High School in Brawley, California, made national headlines back in June when he ignored his school's attempts at censoring God from his graduation speech, instead giving an inspirational, Christian-oriented speech on the importance of standing up for one's beliefs. Now, one month after the controversial speech went viral online, lawyers for the Brawley Union High School District say...

Cardinal Seán O’Malley, the chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Archbishop William Lori, the chairman of the conference’s Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, are urging senators to oppose the “Protect Women’s Health From Corporate Interference Act of 2014” (S. 2578). The bill, sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and currently cosponsored by 42 other senators, “potentially attack[s] all existing federal protections of conscience and religious freedom regarding health coverage mandates,” the prelates wrote in a July 14 letter. They added, “As a broad, interfaith coalition of religious leaders recently explained: ‘Congress...

The Church of England has voted to allow women to become bishops for first time in its history. Its ruling General Synod gave approval to legislation introducing the change by the required two-thirds majority. A previous vote in 2012 was backed by the Houses of Bishops and Clergy but blocked by traditionalist lay members. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said he was "delighted" but some opponents said they were unconvinced by the concessions offered to them. The crucial vote in the House of Laity went 152 in favour, 45 against, and there were five abstentions. In November 2012 the...

Vietnam’s first Catholic university is no longer a mirage. It is very soon going to become a reality, in fact according to Paul Bui Van Doc, Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, the structure could be ready within a year. It is going to mark a crucial turning point in the history of the Vietnamese Catholic Church, the sign of an eagerly awaited return to the freedom of education, which the communist government has denied the people for 60 years. The Archbishop of former Saigon, proudly explained to Vatican Insider that “the dialogic approach adopted with the government is producing...

Pope Francis has been quoted as saying that reliable data indicates that "about 2%" of clergy in the Catholic Church are paedophiles. The Pope said that abuse of children was like "leprosy" infecting the Church, according to the Italian La Repubblica newspaper. He vowed to "confront it with the severity it demands". But a Vatican spokesman said the quotes in the newspaper did not correspond to Pope Francis's exact words. The BBC's David Willey in Rome says there is often a studied ambiguity in Pope Francis' off-the-cuff statements. He wants to show a more compassionate attitude towards Church teaching than...

Key Points The Church of England has voted in favour of allowing women to be appointed as bishops The vote took place at a meeting of the ruling general synod in York - 18 months after a previous attempt was blocked The Yes votes overturns centuries of tradition in a Church that has been deeply divided over the issue for decades Anglican leaders had warned of severe damage to the Church's reputation

Photo gallery from the city's third 'Mass Mob' this summer. Nearly 2,000 people packed an historic Catholic Church for a regular Sunday Mass. It's the third time it's happened, with the crowds getting bigger each time. (Detroit Free Press had a great article on it here, but won't let folks post excerpts, so you'll have to read the article at the link: http://www.freep.com/article/20140713/NEWS05/307130141/Detroit-Mass-Mob-Sweetest-Heart )

Yesterday I raised a number of questions about the sudden increase in the number of children being sent from Mexico and points south of there to the United States. I had suggested that perhaps the children were seized from their parents. Another possibility might be that Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and other countries are emptying their orphanages and juvenile detention centers and literally dumping their problems and responsibilities into our laps. Read about the deal cut between Mexico and Guatemala. They call it the Southern Border Program to Improve Passage. It sounds so nice and official, doesn't it? Unlike the US...

There are pastors and bishops in Alabama who have attempted to turn immigration into a moral issue and have deemed it un-Christian to deal with illegal aliens and deport illegal trespassers. But they are mistaken. If we turn to the Holy Bible to learn what God says about this issue, we see that God himself established the nations after Noah’s flood, according to Genesis 10:32. And the Book of Deuteronomy tells us that not only did God separate the nations, but he also set the borders of the first nations. This truth is further attested in the New Testament in...

Dozens of Rialto eighth-graders questioned whether the Holocaust occurred in essays written for an in-class assignment this spring. Rialto Unified School District administrators, besieged by criticism after the assignment became public in May, claimed at the time that none of the students who completed the assignment questioned or denied the Holocaust, but a survey of the students’ work by this news organization found numerous examples of students expressing doubt or flatly denying that the Holocaust occurred. :snip: “Students got high praise and grades for writing that the Holocaust was a hoax. I’m sick about that, I’m sick about that,” said...

The cross-party campaign to legalise the right to die took a significant step forward last night when the former archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, announced his support for the proposal as a way of preventing "needless suffering". The Church of England is strongly opposed to the bill. But in an article for the Daily Mail, Carey said he had changed his mind after witnessing the pain of Tony Nicklinson who suffered from locked-in syndrome. He died two years ago just weeks after losing his high court battle. "Here was a dignified man making a simple appeal for mercy, begging...

The Church of England (CofE) has called for an inquiry into assisted dying. It follows a U-turn by former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, who said he would back legislation to allow the terminally ill in England and Wales get help to end their lives. The current Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby says the Assisted Dying Bill is "mistaken and dangerous". But the Church said an inquiry would include expert opinion and carefully assess the arguments. Speaking on behalf of the CofE, the Bishop of Carlisle, the Rt Rev James Newcome, said a Royal Commission would allow the "important issue"...

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP) -- There are atheists and liberals, some who are both, who believe there is no need for God in order for morality to be maintained in a society. They argue that people can act morally apart from a supreme authority. I agree that people can act morally apart from God's standard. However, the real question is why should they? If there is no supreme authority -- no God -- then why behave morally? If there is no God, there are no objective standards for moral behavior. The logical progression leads to anarchy. Everyone does what is right...