Free Republic

Father Miguel Pro praying before execution. It used to be that Ireland followed America. Now we’re following Ireland, filthy, anti-Catholic Ireland. It’s come to my attention that David French at the National Review has reported that: A state court in Massachusetts has ruled that a Catholic preparatory school violated the state's antidiscrimination law when it rescinded a job offer to a man because he was married to another man. Matthew Barrett had accepted a job as Food Service Director at the Fontbonne Academy, a Catholic girls school. On his employment forms, he listed his husband as his emergency contact - a...

I would like to share a critical point about Chanukah, now that the chag is over. It's not just about Chanukah. The ideas are relevant year-round. We must not confine discussions relating to the Maccabean Revolt to annual Chanukah celebrations, since the original noble war to preserve the Torah's sanctity continued well beyond the miracle of the oil. Since the battle against Hellenism will surely continue until the arrival of Moshiach, we must wage war against Hellenism in every generation, in a manner that recalls our unrelenting war with Amalek. Since the time when the Greeks first polluted our waters,...

Trust me, I know that it is hard to write accurate, easy-to-read articles about complicated Vatican theological documents. This is especially true when dealing with materials focusing on very nuanced issues that continue to cause behind-the-scenes debates among Catholics. It's even harder to write informative, catchy and, yes, accurate headlines for these kinds of stories. This brings me to a recent New York Times report that ran with this headline: "Vatican Says Catholics Should Not Try to Convert Jews." The problem with that headline is that it is simplistic to the point of being inaccurate -- that is, if the...

Every Obama event somehow has to offend Christians and Jews. Could Obama pull it off for Chanukah? Yes, he could. I already wrote about Susan Talve's bizarre pre-Menorah lighting rant at the White House Chanukah party. Then, not satisfied with having made a disgrace of the Chanukah ceremony, Susan Talve declared, "I stand here to light these lights to say no the darkness of Islamophobia and Homophobia and Transphobia." Talve babbled about insuring "justice for Palestinians" and began gleefully chanting, "Ins'Allah, Ins'Allah". Or "Allah Willing".

A leading Jewish Messianic group in America has responded to the Vatican's recent claim that Jews do not need to be believers in Jesus Christ to be saved, by saying that the Apostle Paul would have been "horrified" at the suggestion. David Brickner, executive director of Jews for Jesus, said in a statement late last week that the suggestions of the Vatican's Commission for Religious Relations with Jews are : ... egregious, especially coming from an institution which seeks to represent a significant number of Christians in the world." He further pointed out that the document's title, "The Gifts and...

CARDINAL KOCH & RABBI ROSEN Catholics should not try to convert Jews and should work with them to fight anti-Semitism, the Vatican said on Thursday in a major document drawing the Church further away from the strained relations of the past. It was the latest move on a host of issues, such as gay rights and re-marriage, that the Vatican or Pope Francis have made showing a desire to be more compassionate and open and to move further away from entrenched traditions. In the past, for example, Catholic prayers have denounced Jews for not believing in Jesus. Jews have also...

It’s Hanukkah and I am in hiding. I don't want to see Facebook posts and news items about weird creative Hanukkah candelabras in which each flame stands for some new-fangled liberal cause. I don't want to see the significance of potato pancakes explained to senators or read that Obama is Jewish in his soul. I want to keep Hanukkah close to my heart, away from those who would tamper with its true meaning which is this: The Jews fought a war against assimilation and won. Those flickering Hanukkah lights have nothing to do with equality, integration, and multiculturalism. They have...

A fine thread running through many of our columns is that the legitimacy of Islam’s religious claims to Jerusalem is in inverse proportion to the volume and frequency with which they are made. Now comes along a renowned Muslim Egyptian scholar, of all people, to corroborate our point. Prof. Youssef Ziedan, a specialist in Arabic and Islamic studies and a prolific author, has given a series of interviews to Egyptian television stations in recent days, in all of which he emphasizes one issue: There is actually no connection between Jerusalem and ancient Islam. When Islam was founded during the 7th...

The chief rabbis of Finland and Serbia have joined 23 other rabbis in Europe, Israel, and the United States in issuing an Orthodox rabbinic statement on Christianity. "As did Maimonides and Yehudah Halevi, we acknowledge that Christianity is neither an accident nor an error, but the willed divine outcome and gift to the nations," the rabbis said in their statement. "In separating Judaism and Christianity, G-d willed a separation between partners with significant theological differences, not a separation between enemies."

BEIT SHEMESH, Israel — The carved stone block is about the size of an occasional table. It has held its secrets for two millenniums. Whoever engraved its enigmatic symbols was apparently depicting the ancient Jewish temples. But what makes the stone such a rare find in biblical archaeology, according to scholars, is that when it was carved, the Second Temple still stood in Jerusalem for the carver to see. The stone is a kind of ancient snapshot. And it is upending some long-held scholarly assumptions about ancient synagogues and their relationship with the Temple, a center of Jewish pilgrimage and...

First part: President Obama: “Tonight, Jews in America, Israel, and around the world come together to light the first candle of the Festival of Lights. At its heart, Hanukkah is about the struggle for justice in the face of overwhelming obstacles.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.): “Today Heidi and I wish the Jewish Community a very Happy Chanukah. On this holiday, we remember the miracle that enabled a freedom-loving people – led by the heroic Maccabees – to defeat the oppressive dictator Antiochus so that they could once again freely worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For the eight...

Hanukkah is the festival when Jews celebrate their victory in the fight for religious freedom more than 2,000 years ago. Tragically, that fight is no less important today, and not only for Jews, but for people of all faiths. The Jewish story is simple enough. In about 165 B.C., Antiochus IV, ruler of the Syrian branch of the Alexandrian empire, began to impose Greek culture on the Jews of the land of Israel. Funds were diverted from the Temple to public games and drama competitions. A statue of Zeus was erected in Jerusalem. Jewish religious rituals such as circumcision and...

In leaked recording of Likud faction meeting, prime minister also questions how New York would cope with wave of violence similar to one faced by Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel could destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem if it wanted to – but doing so "would be contrary to everything we represent." Netanyahu was speaking during a meeting of the Likud Knesset faction on Thursday. A recording of his words was published by Army Radio. Responding to what he said was Palestinian incitement regarding Israel's supposed interest in getting rid of...

"Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the Universe, Who forms light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates all." (Shacharis prayer) Like anything written by Chazal, these words are filled with eternal significance. What do they have to do with Chanukah? Plenty. What is darkness? Is it simply the absence of light or does it have substance in itself? Darkness is associated with suffering. "In the evening one lies down weeping, but with dawn . . . a cry of joy" (Tehillim 30). In Mitzrayim, during the ninth plague, the darkness was so thick it prevented the Egyptians...

Please pray for my brother tonight as he checks himself into the hospital for alcohol abuse. He recently lost his job while at the same time celebrating the birth of his third child. He feels lost and inadequate.

Have you ever been in a discussion with a skeptic about God and morality? Perhaps you've admirably made the case that God's good character is the basis for human dignity and worth. Maybe you've shown how objective moral values and duties can't be explained naturalistically. Then someone takes the wind out of your sails by asking, "Well, if God is so good, why would He command Israel to engage in ethnic cleansing and genocidal warfare against the Canaanites? After all, doesn't Deuteronomy 20:16-17 plainly state this? 'Only in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving...

Dëvar Torah – Parashath Va-Yétzé' (Genesis XXVII, 10 -- XXXII, 3)Our parasha tells the story of Ya'aqov's ("Jacob's") sojourn with his uncle and father-in-law, Lavan. As we read at the end of last week's parasha (XXVII, 42 -- XXVIII, 9), Rivqa ("Rebecca") persuaded Ya'aqov to flee to her brother in Charan both to escape from the wrath of his brother 'Esav and to find himself a proper wife. Just as Avraham had opposed the marriage of Yitzchaq to any daughter of the depraved Canaanites (XXIV, 3), so too did Rivqa consider any such prospect repugnant.When Ya'aqov arrived in Charan,...

Your substantiality will always be found in me for I will part the waters for you in all you come against! So never let something appear as impossible but "speak grace to your mountains" proudly for as My Blood was shed for you it is I that Rend the Heavens to aid you with My healing Balm of Grace. (( ( Declare ) )) My Children everything "into substance and Being" for I AM your Sword as you speak your needs into LIFE! Step up from faith into the "KNOWING" you CAN Trust , Lean on and Rest in the...

Your days are not ending they are merely flowing into Me.So don't worry in trying to catch up for you have already arrived, Just be seated in my righteousness and dwell in my glory with the understanding that the fullness of my spirit is with you as I AM your heartbeat and breathe so I own you for you have given your life to me. So now just rest in me as I complete my agenda for I AM your daily bread, counselor and King . . . Matthew 11:27-30 27 All things have been entrusted and delivered to Me...

AP - The largest movement of Judaism in the U.S. passed the most far-reaching resolution in support of transgender rights of any major religious organization, saying Thursday that it's a continuation of a tradition of inclusion in the Reform Jewish movement.