Free Republic

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ambassador Mike Huckabee inaugurated the Pilgrimage Road, the ancient street leading to the Temple in the time of Jesus, in Jerusalem’s City of David on Monday. The 2,000-year-old road served pilgrims ascending to the Temple from the south, and has been excavated in a lengthy and controversial process, as the around 600-meter-long route runs underneath houses in the Arab-majority neighborhood of Silwan, in east Jerusalem. After years of excavation and construction, the route was opened end-to-end on Monday. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office said that the joint visit was among...

[Catholic Caucus] Does St. Peter’s Need Porters?Recently an egregious display of sexual perversion was allowed to desecrate St. Peter's, which could not have been possible before Paul VI's abolished the minor orders.Before 1972, preparation for the priesthood involved passing through various “minor orders.” They included porter, lector, acolyte, exorcist, and subdeacon, followed by the major orders of deacon and priest. That year, Pope Paul VI issued the apostolic letter Ministeria Quaedam, abolishing the minor orders. Lector and acolyte were reconstituted as “lay ministries.” Exorcist was recognized as a specialized ministry of certain priests. Porter was eliminated, deemed unnecessary in the...

This past Sunday, Pastor Frederick D. Haynes took the pulpit to address the murder of Charlie Kirk. And what came out of his mouth was a masterclass in double-speak: “We ain’t got nothing to do with what they just did. A white Christian gets killed, murdered, not assassinated. We’re going to tell the whole truth today. Martin King got assassinated, Malcolm X got assassinated, Medgar X got assassinated. Don’t compare Kirk to King. Ain’t no such comparison now. Let me hasten to say, let me hasten to say, I’m anti-political violence. Kirk should still be alive. I don’t agree with...

James T. Roberson III is the senior pastor of Bridge Church NYC, which is a congregation part of the Southern Baptist Convention. Roberson is tight with the North American Mission’s Board, given that the Send Network helped plant his church, and he is speaking at a Send Network event this October. During his recent sermon, he denounced the assassination of Charlie Kirk, but still managed to spend roughly half his statement (and even the following prayer) dragging the man’s name through the mud. This morning before we pray, I want to lean into some of the political tension in our...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo XIV says synodality is key to unity in newly released interviewPope Leo XIV has spoken at length about the role of synodality in the life of the Church in a newly released interview published by Crux on 14 September.The remarks on synodality form part of a forthcoming biography, León XIV: ciudadano del mundo, misionero del siglo XXI, written by Crux senior correspondent Elise Ann Allen and to be published in Spanish by Penguin Peru on 18 September. English and Portuguese editions will follow in 2026.In the video excerpts, Pope Leo is shown seated against a wall...

[Catholic Caucus] US Bishops’ Conference Partnering with Heretical Association of PriestsThe heretical Association of US Catholic Priests (AUSCP) announced earlier this year that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCBP) approached the Association, asking it to host a virtual consultation on the USCCB’s Laity Document. Public materials describe the event as a joint effort between AUSCP and the USCCB, presenting it as a continuation of synodal engagement.The AUSCP has a long history of promoting views in direct conflict with immutable Catholic teachings regarding the ordination of women, human sexual morality, the sacraments and the nature of the priesthood.In the...

The sad news of the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk shed light on the elephant in the world’s living room. It exposed society’s underlying hatred of anything good, especially true Christians. Let’s take a realistic look at the reason behind the hate and what the Christian response should be. Although the hatred of believers is nothing new, the crescendo of vitriol and violence is. In the coming days, much will be said about the need for civil discourse, the open exchange of ideas, and free speech, which are good things, of course. But despite our best efforts to appeal to...

Brett McCracken is the Senior Editor and Director of Communications at The Gospel Coalition. Every year, he posts his list of favorite movies and TV shows, often on the Gospel Coalition itself, and it is an under reported scandal that his favorite films frequently frequently contain graphic sex and nudity, both straight and gay. McCracken’s Top 20 list of favorite shows in 2021, published on the Gospel Coalition platform, featured several that were rated ‘R’ for scenes of sex and nudity; his 2022 best movies list is full of graphic sex and nudity, and mercifully, his best films of 2023′...

Bishop Schneider on the LGBTQ+ "Pilgrimage" to St. Peter's Basilica“My reaction was a silent cry of horror, indignation, and sorrow. All true believers in the Church—both faithful and clergy—who still uphold the validity of God’s commandments and take Him seriously, should experience this provocation as a brazen slap in the face. I believe that many faithful Catholics and members of the clergy remain stunned by such a massive blow and require time to recover. An unprecedented act has taken place in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, one that may fittingly be described, in the words of Our Lord, as an...

[Catholic Caucus] The Death of Europe | Will Leo XIV visit Lampedusa? A Grave Mistake -- and the Lampedusans themselves would not be happyery few things made European Catholics more unhappy with Francis than his tone-deaf approach to the criminal enterprise bringing millions of illegal migrants to Europe, and deeply changing the demographics, religion, and criminality of vast areas of the Continent.And the main early symbol of that attitude was Francis' visit to one of the most popular destinations used by the people-smuggling gangs: the small island of Lampedusa, in Sicily. Lampedusa was, for instance, the first spot in Europe...

After decades of declining attendance and dwindling faith in much of the Western world, Roman Catholicism could be witnessing an unexpected revival. ...the renewal is coming from the unlikeliest of corners: Gen Z. For these young people, whose life online is often impossible to parse from their “IRL”(In Real Life) existence, this move towards faith is at least partly due to the growing ecosystem of Catholic personalities on social media: clergy and layfolk alike, preaching, teaching, meme-ing and streaming – influencing teens and young adults. France has become a hotspot for this youthful turn towards God. Baptisms among 18- to...

The LGBTQ-affirming, openly pro-choice Vice President of Jemar Tisby’s Black Christian Collective Organization, Ally Henny (MDiv) has publicly shared a few thoughts on the assassination death of Charlie Kirk, describing him as “evil” and a “demon,” while adding she has no empathy for his widow, Erika. It is unclear whether or not she has empathy or sympathy for his children. We’ve covered Henny a few times in the past, after she: advised black women not to enter into interracial relationships with white people, slammed white women for singing at a Beyonce concert, on account it’s a ‘Black centered space,” said...

Jamal Bryant is a political ideologue who cosplays as as Senior pastor every Sunday morning at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, which is an ironic name for a church that is pro-abortion and preaches the twisted false gospel of Liberation theology. A left-wing goat of a pastor and alleged serial adulterer who was run out of his previous church because he could not keep his hands to himself, Bryant is known for his leftist political antics. When Roe v. Wade was recently overturned by the Supreme court, Bryant decried the decision to allow states to restrict abortion as “racist” in...

Have you had enough yet? Violence and lawlessness seem out of control. Senseless violence. Snipers unleashing bullets carved with evil messages on them! Who thinks this way? The line-up of atrocities never ends. An innocent Ukrainian woman coming home from her pizza job, casually scrolling on her phone on a train in North Carolina, is stabbed to death by a demonized thug. She had left war-torn Ukraine for the supposed safety of America. Yet a monster lurked in the shadows and ended her young life. And it was all captured on camera. Beyond Our Imagination My hometown made notoriety again...

[Catholic Caucus] Professor Rist: St Augustine Would Have Been ‘Appalled’ at Recent Vatican EventsThe distinguished Church expert on the 4th century saint discusses increasing concern over Pope Leo XIV’s governance following recent controversies.Pope Leo XIV has won many plaudits for aspects of his Petrine Ministry so far — his Christ-centred preaching, personal kindness, and emphasis on peace and reconciliation to name a few.But recent events at the Vatican have heightened concerns that Leo is also tolerating, and perhaps even condoning, elements of the previous pontificate that were particularly harmful to souls on account of the public scandal they caused.On August...

[Catholic Caucus] German Bishop Opposes Using the Bible to Condemn HomosexualityThe Bishop of Mainz, Germany, has spoken out against using Biblical passages as a reason to oppose homosexuality.Bishop Peter Kohlgraf made his statements during an interview on the television show “SWR Democracy Forum in Hambach Castle,” broadcast by Südwestrundfunk (SWR), a TV channel in western Germany, reported Katholisch.de. Bishop Peter KohlgrafKohlgraf said that one “cannot simply derive timelessly valid, eternal truths” in Biblical passages about homosexuality. The topic of the show was “Taboos in our society – between morality, power, and the media.”“I don’t take a single sentence from the...

[Catholic Caucus] Exclusive: Cardinal Gambetti says we’re waiting on the Pope to decide on the Latin MassThe Catholic Herald has secured an exclusive response from Cardinal Gambetti on the future of the Traditional Latin Mass. The young curial cardinal, regarded by many as a handpicked protégé of Pope Francis, offered a brief but telling reply. The Catholic Herald asked the Cardinal whether we could inquire about the Traditional Latin Mass and its future status. He responded: “Better not answer that. I have been told that we will wait for the Holy Father to decide.” The remark is notable for its...

EXCLUSIVE: Former kickboxing pro becomes Catholic after reading about Eucharist, MaryGordon Haupt, a former professional kickboxer from Germany, runs a Catholic YouTube channel and co-founded the Catholic lay apostolate Christkönigtum (Christ the King).A former professional kickboxer from Germany told LifeSiteNews his story of how he became Catholic through the Eucharist and Mary.Gordon Haupt, who now runs a Catholic YouTube channel and co-founded the Catholic lay apostolate Christkönigtum (Christ the King), said in an exclusive interview that he was baptized in the Protestant Church in Germany but did not really practice his faith growing up.When he was 16 years old, Haupt...

A Christian lady recently said to me, I have a problem that you may be able to help me with. If my sins have been forgiven, why do I have to go before the Judgment Seat of Christ? My answer was: Understand that there are several different judgments mentioned in the Bible: the Christian’s sins were judged on the cross, there will be a judgment of the sheep and goat nations, a judgment of the fallen angels, the Great White Throne Judgment of unbelievers, we must judge ourselves, etc. Every Christian must appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to...

There is a spiritual battle going on, but if we'll stay true to the Word of God, He will provide!