Free Republic

A shocking new piece of information comes to us from Germany, from the website Katholisches.info, which is principally run by the well-informed Vatican expert and loyal Catholic layman, Giuseppe Nardi. He reported on 18 November – the day before the controversial “non-existent” Consistory of Cardinals in Rome – that Pope Francis has decided to re-write the statutes of the Pontifical Academy for Life in a way which essentially re-makes this organization. Relying on a 5 November 2016 report published by the German branch of Vatican Radio, called Radio Vatikan, Nardi has published the new statutes of the Academy. Archbishop Vincenzo...

Next year's election could add to Merkel's 11 years in officeAngela Merkel is set to announce on Sunday she will seek a fourth term as German chancellor in next year's election, ending months of speculation over whether one of the world's most powerful women wants to run again after 11 years in office. The 62-year-old conservative is widely seen as a stabilizing force in Europe at a time of uncertainty after Britain's vote to leave the European Union and the election of Donald Trump as the next U.S. president. On Sunday afternoon, she meets other leaders of her Christian...

Thursday, while visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, lame-duck President Barack Obama issued a warning to his successor, President-elect Donald Trump over America’s policy toward Russia:

Obama’s trip to Germany may have been designed to boost his globalist partner Angela Merkel in her failing and fading political fortunes as she seeks to turn Europe into a Muslim continent. His vote of confidence is a two-edged sword with the sharper side being the reality of who and what he’s all about. His endorsement is just as likely to come back to bite Ms Merkel on her now fully exposed and rather unappealing backside. Obama hinted at his support for her run for another term as Chancellor, telling a German audience, “If I were here and I were...

President Barack Obama explained why he's cautiously optimictic about President-elect Donald Trump during a Thursday press conference in Germany alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Obama said the "solemn responsibility" of the office and the "extraordinary demands" made on the United States "demands seriousness," and Trump will "figure out pretty fast" that the demands of the job are "not things you can treat casually." "And, if you're not serious about the job, then you probably won't be there very long because it will expose problems," he said. "Even when you're doing a good job, even when you are attentive. There are...

According to a report in Deutsche Welle (DW) on Tuesday, most of the 60 Turkish diplomatic passport holders who are seeking asylum in Germany in the post coup period are military personnel who were representing Turkey at NATO. Given the fact that the military personnel at NATO have classified information regarding Turkey, which is a NATO ally, German officials are reportedly evaluating the applications with sensitivity. In an earlier report in October, German media said that 35 Turkish diplomatic passport holders had applied to Germany for political asylum. Today’s DW story gives this number as 60. However, it has emerged...

The shock election of Donald Trump as US president has forced greater responsibility for defending Western values and interests onto German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s shoulders, analysts say, with some even crowning her the new “leader of the free world”. […] During his campaign Trump signaled a protectionist and anti-immigration stance, while Britain is preoccupied with securing its future outside the European Union after June’s stunning referendum vote to exit the bloc. France’s President François Hollande is grappling with record low ratings ahead of next May’s election that could see far-right Marine Le Pen reaching the second round run-off vote. Merkel,...

German police raided 190 premises this morning, including mosques, in an effort to ban a radical Muslim organization. The group, which calls itself ‘True Religion,’ was ultimately banned by German officials today after it was discovered the group has been recruiting jihadist fighters to engage in conflicts in the Middle-East, namely Syria and Iraq. According to Thomas de Maizière, the German interior minister, although no detentions were made, materials belonging to the organization were confiscated in raids conducted throughout the country, including more than half of its 16 states. “The organization brings Islamic jihadists together under the pretext of the...

A plan by the conservative German Finance Minister to sell off almost half of the country’s Autobahn roadway system to private investors has many Germans up in arms. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU party has put forth a plan to partially privatize the Autobahn network of roads across the country, according to a report by Der Spiegel on Saturday. His plan would involve selling private companies a share of up to 49.9 percent in a national company that would be in charge of construction and maintenance for the Autobahn. The company would be financed through...

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President Obama will depart Monday on his final foreign trip of his presidency — and the main topic of the three-country tour is expected to be President-elect Donald Trump. “We certainly expect that the election will be the primary topic on people’s minds everywhere we go,” deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters, the Wall Street Journal reported. The president will travel to Athens on Monday, then to Berlin on Wednesday and finally Lima, Peru, on Friday. He’s expected to return to Washington, DC, on Sunday. In addition to meeting Greek and German leaders, Obama will meet with President...

While America's so-called "establishment", the legacy political system and mainstream media, appear to be melting, and transforming before our eyes into something that has yet to be determined, Europe also appears to be disintegrating in response to the Trump presidential victory: as the FT reports, in a stunning development, Britain and France on Sunday night snubbed a contentious EU emergency meeting to align the bloc’s approach to Donald Trump’s election, exposing rifts in Europe over the US vote. Hailed by diplomats as a chance to “send a signal of what the EU expects” from Mr Trump, the plan fell into...

How many like him have entered the West? How many will Obama allow into the US before he goes? This jihad murderer was a member of one of Obama’s partners in Syria, the “Free Syrian Army.” That tells you everything about his “vetting” process. ... Austrian prosecutors have charged a member of a Syrian rebel group with 20 counts of murder for allegedly executing wounded government soldiers in his home country. The 27-year-old man was arrested in a refugee shelter in western Austria in June after being denounced by a fellow Syrian. ... The prosecutors were able to bring charges...

In Berlin or in the north of Duisburg there are neighborhoods where colleagues hardly dare to stop a car -- because they know that they'll be surrounded by 40 or 50 men." These attacks amount to a "deliberate challenge to the authority of the state -- attacks in which the perpetrators are expressing their contempt for our society." — Rainer Wendt, President of the German Police Union. SNIP ◾"Once Duisburg-Marxloh was a popular shopping and residential area. Now clans claim the streets for themselves. The police are powerless. The descent of the district is nightmarish." — N24 Television. ◾Police say...

Germany’s highest court has approved the extended detention of a 19-year-old Syrian man who was arrested in March for links to the Islamic State militant group, saying he had scouted out key tourist sites in Berlin for potential attacks for months. In its decision, the Federal Court of Justice said the man, who was not identified by name, could be held for three more months to allow investigators to continue their work, and given the high risk that he could flee the country. It said prosecutors expected to file formal charges soon. The suspect, who arrived in Germany in August...

Marine Le Pen, who is running for president next spring, has long said Trump’s politics were in French interests, congratulated the “free” American people. Viktor Orbán, the hardline nationalist leader of Hungary, said Trump’s victory was great news. “Democracy is still alive,” read a post on his Facebook page. Frauke Petry, the lead of Germany’s rightwing populist Alternative für Deutschland, said the result was “encouraging” as could herald a political sea-change in Europe too. He said: “It was high time that in the United States of America, people who feel disaffected withdrew their vote for the political establishment. Whilst 93%...

THE German defence minister has said he has been left "heavily shocked" after Donald Trump stormed to victory in the US election. Speaking to public TV network ARD, Ursula von der Leyen continued: "Of course, we Europeans know as Nato partners that Donald Trump will ask himself what we are contributing to the alliance. "But we will also be asking, what is your position on the alliance. Many questions are open. A responsible and open America is in our interests.

Hundreds of Berliners packed themselves into bars, cafés and other venues to watch the US presidential election results into early Wednesday morning as Donald Trump emerged as the next president. […] German Jan Hoepper, who came into the viewing party late, said that Trump’s wins across important states was not a surprise. “After Brexit, I was prepared,” Hoepper said. […] “I’m kind of not surprised, to be honest,” said American-Berliner Erin Single from Atlanta, Georgia. “There was a big discrepancy between what I was seeing in the media in Europe versus what I was seeing when I was visiting back...

The Federal Police reported on Friday that the number of crimes increased last year by 31.6 percent, mostly due to violations of immigration laws amid the influx of refugees into the country. The Federal Police recorded 436,387 crimes last year, which was an increase of nearly one-third on 2014. […] The biggest increase in crimes was in categories pertaining to immigration — violations of residency, asylum and freedom of movement laws. These made up nearly 40 percent of all crimes, or 171,477 cases, and an increase of 151.6 percent over 2014. The next largest increase was in the number thefts,...

A 12 foot wall is being built in Munich to separate a housing estate from a new migrant centre that will house 160 unaccompanied minors. Locals living in the Neuperlach Süd housing development in Munich, less than 100 metres from the site at which young migrants will be staying, went to court to get the wall built. Germans living in the area fear bad behaviour among the newcomers, and concern over likely levels of noise when they arrive, will lower the value of their properties if the migrant centre remains for an extended length of time, reports Der Spiegel. The...