Free Republic

It is time for Christians individually and corporately to repent for the way we and our institutions responded to the COVID-19 outbreak.Blaming people for contracting a catchy virus has been one of many widely deployed COVID manipulation tactics. That has shifted into blaming people for dying of a catchy virus after they decided their risks from taking the vaccines outweighed their risks from catching the disease.Shaming people for dying by accident is a bit twisted, but it might make sense if you believe life is over once a person stops breathing, and so cling to the illusion of human control...

Joe Biden rarely misses Sunday Mass. So it was notable when the President-elect didn't attend church on November 29, the first Sunday of Advent and the beginning of the season when Roman Catholics like Biden prepare for Christmas. Biden's absence was understandable, since just a day earlier he had broken his foot. But the following weekend, Biden was back at his home parish in Wilmington, Delaware -- St. Joseph on the Brandywine -- for Saturday's vigil Mass. He was there again on Tuesday on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a holy day of obligation. That's a level of devotion...

Georgia GOP Senator Kelly Loeffler clapped back at former President Barack Obama’s defense of anti-American Reverend Jeremiah Wright. The former president justified Rev. Wright’s infamous “G-d damn America” sermon, claiming his words were taken out of context, and dubbed Rev. Wright as a "supremely gifted preacher." "In national politics, if you can take out a bunch of sound bites that say 'God damn America,' even if the context of it is prophetic and biblical and he's trying to describe you know how somebody might feel – he wasn't promoting the notion that God was damning America," the former president said....

"God damn America!"—nuanced, yeah: like a punch in the nose! When it comes to attempting to explain away the unexplainable, nothing's more hackneyed than claiming the offensive statement was "taken out of context." To be sure, Jason Johnson trotted out that cliché while guest-hosting MSNBC's AM Joy Sunday morning in excusing Rev. Jeremiah Wright's infamous screaming "not God Bless America! God Damn America!" But give Eddie Glaude credit. The Princeton prof and frequent MSNBC guest came up with a somewhat more original excuse: critics of Wright's damnation of America fail to understand the reverend's "theological nuance." Right. There's "nuance" in...

How Often Did Francis Mention Communism? Not Once During his final day in Romania, Pope Francis beatified in Blaj seven Greek-Catholic bishops (picture) murdered by the Romanian Communists (1947-1989). Marco Tosatti noticed that during the liturgy Francis succeeded in pronouncing the word “Communism” not even once. According to Francis the seven gave their lives to oppose an "illiberal ideological system." In reality they died because they resisted Communist plans to integrate the Greek Catholic Church into the Orthodox. #newsQcjviqjxrb

It’s Ramadan and my mother is in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove preparing a big feast. She’s fasting even though she is a 64-year-old diabetic. As for myself? Earlier in the day, I had a huge fish and chips platter for lunch, but my Muslim family believes I’m fasting with them. This has gone on for years During the month of Ramadan, most of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims will observe by basically not partaking in any vice for 30 days. From sunrise to sunset all able-bodied Muslims are required to “fast”; we are prohibited from eating, drinking...

This amazing monastery, which containing relics from empty tomb of Jesus Christ, was originally built by the Russian Church's most controversial leader, and now restored in all its gloryNew Jerusalem Monastery, founded in 1656 by Patriarch Nikon, remains one of Russia's holiest places. This patriarch's reforms to church services sparked a major schism in the Russian Church, creating the sect of Old Believers. While Patriarch Nikon may still be one of the most controversial figures of Russian Church history, one thing we can all agree upon is the beauty of his colossal monastery. President Putin was very impressed by its...

The head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences has again inferred that denial of the controversial concept of manmade climate change equates to flat earth mentality. "From the scientific point of view, the sentence that the earth is warmed by human activity is as true as the sentence: The earth is round!” said Archbishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo. The archbishop has been a consistent and zealous promoter of manmade climate change as a non-negotiable Church issue, despite the status of care for the environment as a prudential matter.   Climate change ideology continues to be contested as a ploy perpetrated with...

The highest ranking woman in the Anglican communion has said climate denial is a “blind” and immoral position which rejects God’s gift of knowledge. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal church and one of the most powerful women in Christianity, said that climate change was a moral imperative akin to that of the civil rights movement. She said it was already a threat to the livelihoods and survival of people in the developing world.

Cardinal Francis George, head of the Catholic archdiocese of Chicago, said the levers of power in government, education, entertainment, and media are enforcing a “public creed,” a “fake church” that requires all citizens to approve of gay marriage and related sexual anomalies or be punished by the State, just “as Christians and Jews are fined for their religion in countries governed by Sharia law.” Cardinal George, who was president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in 2007-10, made his remarks in his Sept. 7 column for the archdiocesean newspaper. In his commentary, the cardinal explains that America, despite...

TOM Cruise is the new “Christ” of Scientology, according to leaders of the cult-like religion. The Mission: Impossible star has been told he has been “chosen” to spread the word of his faith throughout the world. And leader David Miscavige believes that in future, Cruise, 44, will be worshipped like Jesus for his work to raise awareness of the religion. A source close to the actor, who has risen to one of the church’s top levels, said: “Tom has been told he is Scientology’s Christ-like figure. “Like Christ, he’s been criticised for his views. But future generations will realise...

Learn about Kwanzaa, it's worth celebrating By Akilah Monifa COMMENTARY I CELEBRATE Kwanzaa, a holiday that honors family, community and culture. My family and I have done so for years. But five years after Sept. 11, in this climate of religious and cultural intolerance in America, I can sympathize with Muslims here who feel like outsiders. Many white Americans are suspicious and fearful of Kwanzaa. Like other holidays that are celebrated predominantly by people of color -- such as Ramadan, Juneteenth, Holi, Hispanic Heritage Month -- Kwanzaa ought to be an opportunity for those who are unfamiliar with it to...

From Rev. Thomas J. O’Brien, SJ – November 29, 2005I am coming out as a gay, chaste Jesuit priest because it hurts too much not to. I deeply love the Church and the Jesuits. I have experienced unconditional love from Cardinal Maida in granting me permission to function as a priest in this Archdiocese. I have experienced unconditional love from my Jesuit brothers—especially those who know me well. I have experienced unconditional love from my friends and family. Being a priest in the Society of Jesus has been a joy for me. I have found it to be life-giving and...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court debated Tuesday whether to let a small congregation in New Mexico worship with hallucinogenic tea, the first religious freedom dispute under Chief Justice John Roberts. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor seemed skeptical of the Bush administration's claim that the tea can be banned, but she may not be around to vote in the case. About 130 members of a Brazil-based church have been in a long-running dispute with federal agents who seized their tea in 1999. The hoasca tea, which contains an illegal drug known as DMT, is considered sacred to members of O Centro Espirita...

INDIANAPOLIS — A Wiccan activist and his ex-wife are challenging a court order that they must protect their 9-year-old son from what the divorce decree terms their "non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals." Thomas E. Jones and Tammy Bristol of Indianapolis are fighting a Marion Superior Court stipulation that they shelter the boy from their religion. The Indiana Civil Liberties Union has taken on the case, appealing the December decree to the Indiana Court of Appeals. Jones, a Wiccan activist who has coordinated Pagan Pride Day in Indianapolis for the past six years, said he and his ex-wife were stunned when...