Free Republic

David Conley Nelson has spent years researching the LDS Church during the Third Reich, resulting in the new book Moroni and the Swastika: Mormons in Nazi Germany.Though it’s not officially out until February 26, the book will be launched Sam Weller’s in Trolley Square, Salt Lake City, tomorrow evening.It’s not right to say I “enjoyed” this book, because it was disturbing to discover how deeply some Mormons bought into Nazi ideology. But it’s required reading for anyone interested in Mormon history and the larger question of a religion’s responsibility to procure justice for the oppressed – even when it means...

Some time ago I posted on Facebook this criticism of that ubiquitous “Coexist” bumper sticker with the comment, “I need this in magnet form for my car.”A friend (who, I believe, identifies as atheist/agnostic) replied, “I don’t agree that Muslims are out to get everyone else. I find that suggestion pretty offensive actually.” Upon deeper reflection, my response would be as follows:I don’t believe that all Muslims “are out to get everyone else.” I would not presume to speak for every single person on the planet who identifies as a Muslim. I do believe, however, that some Muslims are...

Texas Values congratulates The Austin Pregnancy Resource Center (APRC) and two other faith-based pregnancy centers for women and babies, who made a victorious decision in choosing to stand for their convictions of faith. APRC withdrew its participation from Amplify Austin, a large 24-hour fundraising drive for non-profits this week, after the organization placed restrictions on faith-based groups. The restrictions included that funds from the event could not go to groups that communicate their faith while helping others or “promote religious doctrine or instruction.” Funding for the non-profit pregnancy centers is vital to their ability to help pregnant women and babies....

A Requiem Mass in the traditional Latin form is to be offered at a Catholic church in Lancashire to mark the reinterment of King Richard III, which will take place on the same day at Leicester’s Anglican cathedral. The mortal remains of Richard III, who died in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, before the Reformation, will be reinterred in the cathedral on March 26, in the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury and an invited congregation. The Requiem Mass for the repose of Richard III’s soul will be held on the same day St Catherine’s Church, in Leyland, Lancashire,...

ROME — Despite a frenzy in the conservative Catholic blogosphere, a high-profile priest who volunteers as an English-language assistant to the Vatican press office says he’s not planning to take legal action against a Canadian blogger who had criticized him, and considers the matter closed. The Rev. Thomas Rosica, also a Canadian, said Wednesday he never planned to sue the blogger, and also insisted that he’s not a “high-ranking Vatican official” and hence there was never any prospect of the Vatican taking action. On Feb. 17, Rosica sent David Domet, a musician who runs a blog called “Vox Cantoris,” a...

A Requiem Mass in the traditional Latin form will be offered at a Lancashire church on the same day the king's remains are reinterred in LeicesterA Requiem Mass in the traditional Latin form is to be offered at a Catholic church in Lancashire to mark the reinterment of King Richard III, which will take place on the same day at Leicester’s Anglican cathedral. The mortal remains of Richard III, who died in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, before the Reformation, will be reinterred in the cathedral on March 26, in the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury and an...

Louis and Marie Zelie Guerin Martin, the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux (CNS/courtesy of Sanctuary of Lisieux) Pope Francis is expected to canonize Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, during the world Synod of Bishops on the family in October. Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, leading a conference Feb. 27 on the role of saints in the life of the church, announced that "thanks be to God, in October two spouses, parents of Saint Therese of Lisieux, will be canonized." Blessed Louis and Marie Zelie Guerin Martin...

The “historical Jesus” is only of passing interest in comparison to the Lord of Salvation. The Daily Mail has a piece about how archaeologists, reading medieval manuscripts, have identified a likely place … Hewn into a hillside, this is the humble stone and mortar house where a scholar believes Jesus was raised. It has been dated to the early 1st century by a British archaeologist who says an ancient text points to the building as being the home in Nazareth where Mary and Joseph brought up the son of God. Professor Ken Dark says De Locis Sanctis, written in 670...

Earlier this week, the Dallas Observer published a cover story about a former minister who was recently convicted of sexually abusing children in Mississippi. According to the article, prior to this offender getting caught for these crimes, he served as a youth minister in a Dallas area megachurch. The story reports that while serving in that position, a minor who had been part of the youth group stepped forward and disclosed to another pastor on staff that this individual had sexually abused him. The article reported that instead of reporting the youth minister to the police, the megachurch allowed him...

I am sure that all of our readers are aware of the recent massacre in Libya of a group of Egyptian Copts, who were killed for their faith by Islamic terrorists. The Patriarch of Alexandria, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, has officially recognized them as martyrs, and ordered that their commemoration be inserted into the Synaxarium; their feast will be kept on February 15th, the same day as the Presentation of the Lord in the Alexandrian Rite. The title “New Martyr” was originally used in the East for those killed by heretical Christian rulers, but has subsequently been extended to...

The construction of a church in honour of Tsar Nicholas II and his family has been completed in Moscow. The ground breaking and initial construction began three years ago, in March of 2012. On March 8, 2013 the Head of the Russian Imperial House, HIH Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna visited the site of the new church during an official visit to Moscow. The grand duchess lit a candle in memory of the Holy Royal Martyrs, and then took the time to speak and have tea with local parishers. The first liturgy was held on July 17, 2014 in a temporary...

Geneva, March 3, Interfax - Aggressive secularism is picking up pace in the West, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "I can't leave out problems which Christians have been experiencing in many counties, where it is deemed politically incorrect to speak about one's Christian identity and where Christian values, the nucleus of European civilization, are being shunned," he said at a high-level conference on the defense of Christians in Geneva. "Aggressive secularism is picking up pace, and the notions of moral decency and traditional ethnic, cultural and religious identity are being eroded," the Russian foreign minister said. "Vandalism and the...

The Great Council of the Orthodox Church in 2016A Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church has been scheduled for 2016. In March of 2014, the leaders of all the autocephalous (independent) Orthodox Churches met in Istanbul, the sacred see of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which historically (since at least the fifth century) coordinates such assemblies, facilitating unity while serving as a center of appeal among these churches. Arguably the foremost decision unanimously agreed upon at that assembly of church heads was the convocation of a Great Council in 2016, tentatively planned to be held in the Church of Haghia...

“The Church and the heresies always used to fight about words, because they are the only thing worth fighting about.” G. K. Chesterton, The Ball and the Cross. When Pope Francis listed Gender Theory among the most destructive threats we face today, many people had no idea what he was talking about. "Gender" used to be a perfectly respectable word – a grammatical term. In English some pronouns have gender: masculine, feminine or neuter. Living things, on the other hand, are categorized by sex: male or female. Recently, however, on forms rather than being asked for our sex, we...

A judge has ruled in favor of First Presbyterian Church in Houston in its legal battle with New Covenant Presbytery for its property. On Feb. 20, Judge Wesley R. Ward granted the church’s request for summary judgment, “finding that there is no genuinely disputed issue of material fact and that plaintiff is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” In his decision, Ward found that there was “no enforceable trust or property interest created by any version of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Book of Order or the Presbyterian Church of the United States Book of Church Order under the...

John MacArthur's Position on the Lordship of Christ   Dr. John MacArthur is the Pastor of the Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California. According to a statement made on the cover of one of his books, “his Bible teaching and tape ministries reach millions across the globe.” He is the author of many books (most of which are published by Moody Press) including several full length commentaries on certain New Testament books. His local church is large, but his influence goes far beyond his local church because of his published writings and public tapes which are distributed widely....

When the present world in which we are living in is becoming extremely more hostile and aggressive towards Israel - including America's policies under Obama, ISIS, Iran, Turkey, Hezbollah and Hamas breathing threats and her border enemies following suit - DO NOT expect to see Israel idly stand by and let the world decide their fate and eradicate them from off of the face of the earth. Israel is a military might in that region with nukes and is armed to the teeth. They have one of the best armies in the world and have been soldiers of war continually...

He has publicly declared that “the Jews” control America, that apostates can be killed, that the United States is the world’s “biggest terrorist” and that the Sept. 11 attacks were an “inside job” by President George W. Bush. But last weekend, Dr. Zakir Naik, a prominent Muslim televangelist from India, appeared at an elaborate ceremony at a luxury hotel in Saudi Arabia, where the new monarch, King Salman, gave him one of the country’s highest honors.

“Dabiq,” the ISIS recruiting magazine, sets it sights on Rome Shortly after 9/11, I happened to be in Rome, and several friends there argued at the time that a similar attack on St. Peter’s was unlikely. In those innocent days – before we learned that jihadists have often studied engineering, medicine, and computer science – Rome dwellers tried to calm their fears (as it seemed then to me, at least) by quoting some tech expert who argued that if anyone tried to fly a plane into the dome of St. Peter’s, it would probably just bounce off.That was Pollyannaish...

Poland could be the scene of the next traditionalist schism within the Roman Catholic Church, a leading intellectual on the conservative wing of the church writes.Pope Francis is openly departing from the teaching of the “Polish pope”, Dominik Zdort wrote in daily Rzeczpospolita on Friday. Pope Francis may be be seeking the establishment of a new religion, distinct from Catholicism since John Paul II’s teaching was without a doubt within the Catholic tradition, Zdort wrote. The traditionalist writer sees the potential for a schism, as “never before has such a large (and growing) group of hierarchs been openly against the...

 Why bother to listen to this music? How can we come to understand these people in war, if we don't listen to them in peace? They're on the other side of a divide from us—very high illiteracy rate, if a person who can't read sees a scrap of printed matter from a newpaper on the ground, they will pick it up in case it might be the Holy Quran. Music has the ability to transcend this divide.  It's great music, one of its influences is Roman culture—this instrument, the Qunan, the name comes from Greek, "Canon", a ruler or tuning measuring rod. They...

After jihadists seized the ​​Tal Tamr area and at least ten Christian villages, they took 220 people hostage. Judged by an "Islamic court", 19 were released after paying US$ 1,700 per person. Assyrian and Islamic tribal leaders are negotiating the release of the other hostages.Damascus (AsiaNews) - Islamic State (IS) terrorists on Sunday freed 19 of the 220 Assyrian Christians they took hostage in Tal Tamr (Syria) last week, after a US$ 1,700 ransom per person was paid for their release, activists said. "Nineteen Assyrian hostages arrived on Sunday at the Church of Our Lady in Hasakah after they were...

To the Faithful Stewards of the Metropolis of Boston, With a very heavy heart, His Eminence informs you of the untimely passing of the Rev. Fr. Matthew Baker, who tragically died in a car accident early this evening. Fr. Matthew was recently assigned to the Holy Trinity Parish of Norwich, CT, following the retirement of Fr. Paul Pantelis. During this evening's snow storm, Fr. Baker was traveling home from the parish when he had an accident from which he did not survive. His children who were traveling in the car with Fr. Matthew are thankfully not injured. The Metropolitan spoke...

An estimated 375 people turned out for the Germany-based PEGIDA movement's first demonstration in Britain on Saturday, but were outnumbered by a 2,000-strong crowd of counter-protesters, police said. PEGIDA has drawn large crowds in Germany to protest against what it calls the "Islamisation" of Europe, and small demonstrations have also taken place in Austria and Sweden. Police in the city of Newcastle, northeast England, said five men were arrested "for isolated incidents" but insisted both the PEGIDA march and the Newcastle Unites protest passed off smoothly. The five men, aged between 17 and 54, were arrested for alleged offences including...

Feb 27 (Reuters) - A Roman Catholic grammar school located near Boston has pulled out of the city's St. Patrick's Day parade in protest over organizers' decision to allow a gay veterans' group to march in next month's event. The Immaculate Heart of Mary School, which traditionally sends its marching band to the South Boston route, said on Friday it would withdraw following a decision by the Allied War Veteran's Council, the parade's organizers, to admit a group of gay and lesbian veterans called OutVets to participate. "We can't associate with that," Brother Thomas Dalton, principal of Immaculate Heart of...

Interestingly, Jesus’ hard teaching that “what therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Mt 19:6) follows not long after his insistence to Peter on the necessity of forgiveness (see Mt 18:21–35). It is true that Jesus did not condemn the adulterous woman who was threatened with death by stoning, but he did not tell her to keep up her good work, to continue unchanged in her ways. He told her to sin no more (see Jn 8:1–11). One insurmountable barrier for those advocating a new doctrinal and pastoral discipline for the reception of Holy Communion is the...

A Vatican spokesman has denied reports that the Office of the Synod intercepted books that had been mailed to bishops participating in the October meeting of the Synod of Bishops. “I can deny it,” said Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office. He was responding to a report by journalist Edward Pentin that about 100 copies of Remaining in the Truth of Christ, a collection of essays defending Catholic teaching on marriage, had been purloined. “The copies that arrived by mail were distributed in the mailboxes without impediment,” Father Lombardi told AP. “One person told me he...

How’s this for an unusual marketing gimmick: Red Robin is hoping to lure Catholics who are abstaining from meat during Lent by presenting its latest seafood menu — even inviting Pope Francis to lunch.And other fast food restaurants are jumping on the Lent wagon as well.Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc., based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, extended an invitation to the pope on Wednesday as it introduced its new “Wild Pacific� crab cake burger.The company released a statement “joyfully� extending an invitation to the pope to eat at Red Robin during the Lenten season.“If His Holiness accepts and visits any U.S. location between February 18 and...

Some intriguing details from NPR: In Washington, D.C., construction is underway on the Museum of the Bible, an eight-story, $400 million enterprise funded by Hobby Lobby president Steve Green.Green is a Pentecostal known for donating to conservative evangelical universities and developing a public school curriculum based on the Bible. After the craft store’s controversial victory in this summer’s Supreme Court ruling over contraception, some people worry the new museum will come across as evangelical propaganda. But organizers behind Green’s latest venture say it won’t be a memorial to evangelism.The Museum of the Bible will house the more than 40,000 artifacts...

Kudos to Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone who, in liberal San Francisco, instructed his Catholic schoolteachers last week to teach and to act publicly in harmony with Catholicism. Imagine: expecting Catholic institutions and their employees to behave as if they were Catholic. The pushback from the media and “concerned” politicians was predictable. But as you may have noticed, they’re pretty much all already off chasing the next ambulance, and the question is fading from view.There’s a crucial lesson here. The archbishop – or any Church prelate these days – should follow the playbook of the savvier sort of politicians (on this one...

The Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, a transformative figure in Catholic higher education who led the University of Notre Dame for 35 years and wielded influence with U.S. presidents on civil rights and other charged issues of his era, died Feb. 26 on the university campus. He was 97. A Notre Dame spokesman confirmed the death and said the cause was not immediately known. Father Hesburgh, president of Notre Dame from 1952 to 1987, was considered one of the most important university leaders of the past century. On his watch, the Midwestern school once known mainly for Fighting Irish football became...

WASHINGTON – For years, top Catholic bishops have argued for stronger federal oversight of the Internet superhighway. The alternative is intolerable, they said; big cable companies will force noncommercial religious speakers to pay more or assign them to slower lanes. On Thursday, the bishops saw their dream move one step closer to reality after the Federal Communications Commission voted for strict network neutrality or “open Internet” rules. Bishop John C. Wester, chairman of the communications committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), endorsed the FCC’s approval in a statement.  “From the inception of the Internet until the...

The annual “Status of Global Christianity� survey published by the International Bulletin of Missionary Research is a cornucopia of numbers: some are encouraging; others are discouraging; many of them are important for grasping the nature of this particular moment in Christian history. This year’s survey works from a baseline of 1900 A.D., and makes projections out to 2050. Within that century and a half there’s some good news about the global human condition that ought to be kept in mind when remembering the bad news of the 20th century and the early 21st. For example: in 1900, 27.6 percent...

Rome, Italy, Feb 26, 2015 / 07:13 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The number of ISIS hostages in Syria has increased to at least 250 after continued attacks on Christian villages, and civilians fleeing to the Turkish border have been stranded when not allowed to cross. “There are 200 families who were running away and trying to escape to Turkey, but the border is closed for Syrians. No Syrian can cross into Turkey,” Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo told CNA Feb. 26. Archbishop Hindo oversees the Syrian archdiocese of Hassake, which is located in the Al-Hasakah region of Syria. The region sits between...

The German Bishops Conference addressed itself to a long process of talks about marriage and family by giving plenty of room for the local church. The chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx (Munich-Freising) underlined in the context of the Family Synod in autumn the efforts of the bishops for "new approaches" and to "help ensure that doors are opened". In the universal Church, there is "a certain expectation" of Germany. He hoped that some issues would be addressed before the Synod, Marx told journalists n Hildesheim on Tuesday. The Archbishop of Munich and Freising assumes after the...

Family of Bishop Shi Enxiang, who spent more than half a century in detention for refusing to renounce Pope's authority, told by a village official last month that he had died, aged 93In a living room plastered with pious images, the Shi family flicked through timeworn pictures of a wizened man with tortoiseshell glasses and bright eyes, the oldest bishop of China’s underground Catholic church. Almost a month ago, they were passed word that Bishop Shi Enxiang – who spent more than half a century in detention for refusing to renounce the authority of the Pope – had died, aged...

Assyrian Church in Beirut Islamic State militants have reportedly executed 15 Christians who have been captured in villages in northeastern Syria since Monday. A priest who has been feeding reports to Christian aid agencies around the world, including Aleteia partner Aid to the Church in Need, said today that a Christian Assyrian lawyer in the city of Hassakah told him that about 15 young Assyrians "are martyred. Many of them were fighting to defend and protect the villages and families." Archimandrite Emanuel Youkhana of CAPNI, the Christian Aid Program in Iraq, said that in the Christian village of Tel Hormizd: 14...

From Crux:  Pope Francis was not involved in an early January decision to bury a homeless man in a Vatican cemetery, a spokesman said Wednesday; however, he would likely be pleased because it corresponds with his desire to make the poor a priority.Known by Vatican personnel for spending his days approaching pilgrims around St. Peter’s Basilica to tell them to go to confession and to pray daily, Willy Herteller, who was Flemish, died in Rome on Dec. 12 at the age of 80.He was buried in the Vatican’s small German cemetery, which is more commonly a final resting place for...

Last week, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kiev-Halych, led an “ad limina� visit of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic hierarchy, of which he has been the head since March 2011. In the course of their stay in Rome, he and the other bishops celebrated the Divine Liturgy in a number of churches, including Saint John in the Lateran, the Pope’s own cathedral, St Paul’s outside-the-Walls, and St Mary Major. The Pontifical Ukrainian Institute of the Protection of the Holy Mother of God, (Пап�ький Україн�ький Iн�титут Покрова Пре�в�тої Богородиці) has posted a large number of photographs of these liturgies to...

An archbishop from Ghana suggested that the Church might explore using “the power of the keys” to release spouses from their marital vows, in an interview with Aleteia. “It is daring to say what I’m saying,” acknowledged Archbishop Charles Palmer-Buckle of Accra. But he suggested that the October meeting of the Synod of Bishops might explore the possibility that the Church could allow couples to remarry without an annulment. He did not specify how such a proposal could be reconciled with the Church’s teaching on the permanence of marriage, and conceded that the Church could not contradict that teaching. Archbishop...

SAN FRANCISCO — Under pressure from his Catholic schools community, the archbishop of the San Francisco archdiocese is peeling back strict guidelines he proposed for teachers that would require them to reject homosexuality, use of contraception, and other “evil” behavior. Most significantly, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said he is dropping an effort to designate high school teachers as “ministers,” which, under a 2012 US Supreme Court ruling, would have eliminated them from government-mandated employee protections by placing them solely under Church control. In an hour-long meeting with The San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial board, Cordileone said he is forming a committee of...

British Christian schools could face a European Commission investigation, following complaints from a humanist campaign group. The British Humanist Association (BHA) claims that faith schools breach European Union (EU) equality rules when hiring staff, because they say religious adherence is a “desirable” quality. EU rules state that schools must prove there is a “genuine occupational requirement” in preferring to recruit teachers of faith. IntolerantSpokesman for The Christian Institute, Simon Calvert, said church schools are “hugely popular”, and their ethos is why “they do such a good job of preparing children for life in 21st-century Britain”. “It’s disappointing that humanists seem...

Officials quiet about status of discussion after several scholars voice concernOfficials at the University of Notre Dame are contemplating opening a satellite campus in China, but the discussion has prompted concern among some faculty who say the notion runs afoul of the school’s Catholic identity and, if approved, would appear to condone some of the communist country’s anti-Catholic policies. The partnership under consideration would be a joint residential liberal arts college with Zhejiang University at the school’s new international campus in Haining, China. The college would open for the 2017-18 academic year and is projected to admit 1,000 undergraduate students,...

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - Members of a county Republican Party in Idaho are to take up a measure on Tuesday evening that would declare the state a Christian one to bolster what the proposal calls the "Judeo-Christian bedrock of the founding of the United States." The resolution to be voted on by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee is non-binding, meaning it does not have the effect of laws or rules. The proposal seeks that Idaho be "formally and specifically declared a Christian state," guided by a Judeo-Christian faith reflected in the U.S. Declaration of Independence where all authority and...

A remark by Pope Francis to the effect that he hoped his homeland Argentina could avoid "Mexicanization" was not intended to offend Mexicans or to undervalue the government's efforts to fight drug trafficking, the Vatican said on Wednesday. The Vatican said in a statement that it had informed Mexico's ambassador to the Holy See that the "pope had absolutely no intention of offending the feelings of the Mexican people, whom he loves very much, nor to ignore the commitment of the Mexican government to fighting drug trafficking."

My friends, the longer I walk with the Lord and exercise His Word in my life, the REALITIES of time and ETERNITY are ever more clear to me (Psalm 119: 98-100, Prov. 1:5-7, 1 Cor. 1:18-31). No matter who you are, whenever one seeks to abide and take on the Lord of ETERNITY'S yoke (Matt. 11:28-20), one will be illumined beyond ones wildest dreams to the REALITIES of time and ETERNITY. The REALITIES of time and ETERNITY are absolutely horrific! No wonder men love darkness instead of light and seek to hide themselves from the accountability of Almighty God (John...

Now there can be no doubt—Timothy Cardinal Dolan has been played for a sucker by the organizers of the 2015 New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade. He must step down as Grand Marshal.According to reports, parade organizers are engaged in last-minute negotiations with city officials to allow additional Irish LGBT advocacy organizations to march in this year’s parade. Such groups had been prohibited from marching by a long-standing ban on explicitly political banners in the parade, a policy that also kept pro-life groups off Fifth Avenue.In September, the parade committee announced that a single group, OUT@NBCUniversal, would be allowed...

Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan ordains a Syro-Catholic priest in Istanbul, Turkey Nov. 28, 2014. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA. Rome, Italy, Feb 24, 2015 / 06:34 am (CNA/EWTN News).- With reports circulating saying that ISIS forces have kidnapped at least 90 Christians from villages in northeast Syria, Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan said prayer is the only possible response. “Let’s pray for those innocent people,� Patriarch Younan told CNA over the phone from Beirut Feb. 24. “It’s a very, let’s say, very ordinary thing to have those people with such hatred toward non-Muslims that they don’t respect any human life,� he...

It seems that Rob Bell and Oprah Winfrey are pretty good friends these days. Bell has appeared on Oprah’s show numerous times, and just recently appeared, along with his wife Kristen, on her “Super Soul Sunday” episode over Valentine’s Day weekend. Their appearance was designed to promote their new book, The ZimZum of Love: A New Way of Understanding Marriage (HarperOne: 2014). Now, I have to confess that I have no idea what the main title means. But, the subtitle is pretty bold. Given that marriage dates back to the very creation of mankind in Genesis, do we really need...

If "love is love" and "everyone should have the right to marry the one they love," then why can't any number of people come together in "marriage"? On Valentine's Day, three men in Thailand were "married," and immediately, they became an Internet sensation. As reported on GayStarNews.com, when Joke, Bell, and Art posted their "wedding" pictures online, "the internet went crazy," with one Facebook post receiving 50,000 Likes and more than 1,000 comments. Why not? After all, "love is love," right? How can any gay activist object? As Art commented on Facebook, "Love occurs unconditionally and is not limited to...