Free Republic

The past few weeks have again seen a number of ordinations of new deacons and priests in the dioceses of northwestern Europe. 24 of them, in 13 (arch)dioceses, to be exact. In total, the area in question (the countries of Germany, the Netherlands, the Flemish part of Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland) is covered by 46 dioceses or similar circumscriptions, which means that 33 of them had no deacons (permanent or transitional) or priests to ordain on or around Vocations Sunday.Of the newly ordained, 6 are permanent deacons, 14 are transitional deacons and 4 are priests. At the...

The FINANCIAL -- Though the flow of Syrian refugees into Europe has slowed since 2015, hundreds of thousands of Syrians were still seeking asylum there last year. If many in Eastern Europe had their way, however, the number would be zero. In nine out of 15 Eastern European countries and areas surveyed in 2016, at least half the population believed their country should not accept any Syrian refugees. Many of the countries with the strongest opposition to allowing Syrian refugees are located along the Balkan route that once channeled asylum seekers from Greece to Germany. European leaders effectively closed the...

My apologies for posting a prayer vanity for someone I barely know. This is a request for prayer for a young Christian apologist, Nabeel Qureshi, suffering from stomach cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes in his chest. He is also the dad of a two year old little girl. THAT is to me, of much greater import, that a little child would lose her daddy at so young and age. Please pray for a miraculous recovery that will give glory to God! I am blessed to have met this young man when he spoke at my church approximately...

Critics say the document fails to adequately explain Church teaching on sexuality. The Catholic Education Service has defended a controversial booklet on homophobic bullying in Catholic schools.The 37-page document, titled Made in God’s Image, will be distributed to Catholic schools across the country. It sets out lesson plans and advice for teachers on dealing with discrimination against same-sex attracted pupils.However, critics have accused the document of failing to adequately explain Church teaching on sexuality while adopting the secular language of the gay rights lobby.Joseph Shaw, chairman of the Latin Mass Society, wrote that the document’s authors are “playing a dangerous,...

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of His Beatitude Gregory III Laham from pastoral office. The Spiritual leader of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church retired on Saturday after Pope Francis accepted his resignation.Melkite Greek Patriarch of Antioch, His Beatitude Gregory III Laham resigned from pastoral office on May 6.A letter from the Holy Father to the Patriarch-emeritus and all the Melkite bishops explains that His Beatitude presented his resignation during the course of a special audience with the Holy Father in February, and that the Holy Father has decided to accept the resignation.In the letter, Pope Francis thanks the 83...

'A priest who perhaps has studied a lot of theology and has one, two or three degrees, but has not learned to carry the cross of Christ is useless,' the Pope said. 'A priest who perhaps has studied a lot of theology and has one, two or three degrees, but has not learned to carry the cross of Christ is useless,' the Pope said A priest who does not willingly embrace Christ’s cross and who does not try to lighten the burdens of his people is not worthy of the name, Pope Francis told 10 men he was about to...

A reader recently asked a question that many of us have probably wondered: if the Revelation 12 Sign occurs on September 23rd, why does it appear that the male child (Jupiter) is born two weeks earlier on September 9th? It's a good question that appears to have a Scriptural answer.  Not only an answer to the objection, but further confirmation and evidence of the precision and significance of this September's sign. In Revelation 12:1-2 the sign is described with all of its simultaneous details: the sun, the moon, the crown of twelve stars, and the woman in labor.  The...

A pair of Tennessee rehab facilities run by members of the Church of Scientology have been shut down after police discovered that patients there were being held against their will. The facilities in Cannon County came under investigation after police received a 911 call from a man who claimed to be trapped in one of the facilities. When they came to investigate, they found the man locked in a cabin with no way to escape. The facilities were little more than a handful of cabins and a double wide trailer concealed in the middle of the wilderness. Police described the...

Pastor J.D. addresses three matters the first of which is concerning spiritual vs. physical departure in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, second, the significant developments from last week, and third, the pre-tribulation rapture typology in the Communion.

This week, John looks at the increasing frequency of the world to race away from the very foundations upon which the Creator established for us to live. The rampant race toward every possible way to violate the standards which God has created is moving at an exponential clip...the more shocking and vile the perversions, the more society lauds it as free-expression and their 'rights." There is a day coming when our Redeemer will return and all of this rebellion and nonsense will be ended. Until that time, we must stay alert and aware, with our lamps filled with oil, so...

Vatican City, May 6, 2017 / 10:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As 40 new Swiss Guards take an oath to defend and protect Pope Francis, their commander has emphasized that their role is not only to be a security force, but has a spiritual aspect as well.“If someone in the (job) interview only talks about security and doesn’t know who they are giving security for…for me he is not a candidate,” Christoph Graf, Commander of the Swiss Guard, told journalists May 5. “For me a candidate must have a foundation in the faith, to be a practicing Catholic” who goes to...

The Archbishop of Newark, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin said, “We are the ‘no’ to a nation who is heartless, who would deport people separating them from their families and their loved ones simply because they are victims of a broken system.” NEWARK, N.J. - Beneath the curved wooden ceiling at Bethany Baptist Church, New Jersey’s faith leaders vowed to stand alongside those targeted under the White House agenda - and build their own wall of resistance to President Trump’s policies. “Not on our watch will anyone have to stand or fight alone,” said the church’s pastor, Timothy Jones on Thursday...

The largest mosque in Scandinavia has opened in Sweden, which is one of the least religious and most atheistic nations in the Western world, reports have said, costing the Qatari government $3.30 million to build. Qatar's Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs reported the news on Wednesday, explaining that the Umm Al-Mu'minin Khadijah Mosque in Malmo, expanding to 19,278 square feet (1,791 square meters), will be able to accommodate up to 2,000 worshipers. Breitbart News noted that Qatar is an absolute monarchy largely ruled by Sharia law, and has been accused by U.S. officials of funding radical Islamic terrorism. "We...

A leader with the Islamic State terrorist group has warned Muslims to stay away from Christian gatherings in Egypt, as the group is planning to carry out more massacres in the coming months. "We are warning you to stay away from Christian gatherings, as well as the gatherings of the army and the police, and the areas that have political government facilities", the leader, who was not named, said in an interview in the ISIS Al Naba weekly newspaper, according to the MailOnline. The warning comes less than a month after 49 were people killed in twin attacks on churches...

Yesterday, President Trump issued an Executive Order on religious liberty. The Executive Order cheered many conservatives who had expected some action on religious liberty during the President’s first 100 days.With this executive order, the Trump Administration is making clear that the federal government will never penalize any person for their protected religious beliefs.  It will be the policy of the administration to vigorously promote religious liberty.It shall: Direct the IRS to exercise maximum enforcement discretion to alleviate the burden of the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits religious leaders from speaking about politics and candidates from the pulpit; Provide regulatory relief for...

Pope Francis affirms miracle attributed to beloved friar’s intercession, paving the way for Detroit’s champion of the poor to be named ‘blessed’ DETROIT — Sixty years after his death, Venerable Fr. Solanus Casey is on his way to sainthood.Pope Francis announced May 4 that Detroit’s beloved Capuchin friar has met the requirements for beatification and will be named “blessed” — the second U.S.-born man to achieve such a designation and the first person from Michigan.Although Fr. Solanus was born in Oak Grove, Wis., in 1870, he spent most of his adult life and ministry in Detroit, caring for the sick,...

MORNING MAY 5 Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee. I would have you without...

Some 1.5 million Christians have left Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion of the country in 2003, an Iraqi MP said Wednesday. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Josef Sleve, an Iraqi Christian lawmaker, said the number of Christians in Iraq had stood at almost two million in 2003. He added, however, that most of these had fled the country since then due to rampant insecurity and frequent incidents of terrorism. “The number of Christians living in the country now stands at between 500,000 and 850,000,” Sleve said. “This means that over the past 14 years, some 1.5 million Christians have emigrated to...

The President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Science, Margaret Archer says the Catholic Church is targeting international non-governmental organizations, such at the United Nations, to promote policies to bring about social change. She said the major problems facing society – such as carbon emissions, asylum seekers, terrorism – are international, not national, challenges. ROME — The highest-ranking woman in the Vatican said Tuesday that strengthening international organizations such as the United Nations is the only way to deal with the problems of globalization, and predicted there “will be a movement to put more and more executive action” in international...

The standard complaint against traditionalists, that we are demanding and obnoxious, has surfaced yet again in the Catholic blogosphere. This time it comes to us courtesy of the site Unam, Sanctam, Catholicam (a blog which I appreciate and enjoy reading on occasion).In his most recent post, however, Boniface (the author’s pseudonym) addresses the perceived problem of rude & obnoxious Trads and the diocesan priests whose lives they apparently make a living hell. Two specific priests are (anonymously) profiled: one who was in seminary when Summorum Pontificum was issued by Pope Benedict, the other a pastor who was already learning the...