Free Republic

President Obama and Pope Francis may be sympatico on climate change, capitalism, and other far-left issues, but when it comes to the teachings of the Catholic Church, they don't agree on much. The president will put this to the test, because he has invited a pro-abortion nun, a gay bishop, and a transgender female to the White House to meet the pontiff. Pope Francis has shown himself to be tolerant, but isn't this a slap in the face to so publicly challenge Catholic doctrine?

President Obama will apparently test just how far Pope Francis’ notorious tolerance will go by inviting a rogue’s gallery of people opposed to Catholic teaching to greet the pontiff at the White House during his visit next week. In a stunning show of political indecorum, Obama has invited a series of individuals who publicly flout Catholic teaching, including a pro-abortion religious sister, a transgender woman and the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, along with at least two Catholic gay activists. The White House was illuminated in gay pride colors on June 26, 2015, after the Supreme Court legalized gay same-sex...

On the eve of Pope Francis’s arrival in the U.S., the Vatican has taken offense at the Obama administration’s decision to invite to the pope’s welcome ceremony transgender activists, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop and an activist nun who leads a group criticized by the Vatican for its silence on abortion and euthanasia. According to a senior Vatican official, the Holy See worries that any photos of the pope with these guests at the White House welcoming ceremony next Wednesday could be interpreted as an endorsement of their activities.

The Holy See has welcomed Iran’s efforts to reduce or convert its nuclear facilities to peaceful purposes in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. In a statement delivered to the 59th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna on Monday, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, said the Vatican “values positively” Iran’s recent agreement with the European Union and the so-called ‘P5 plus 1’ group of nations because “it considers that the way to resolve disputes and difficulties should always be that of dialogue and negotiation”.

CINCINNATI – A commercial released Tuesday that poked fun at the recent same-sex marriage fight in Rowan County, Kentucky using Tide products will not air on television. The commercial, which was not backed by home goods giant Procter & Gamble, was a “spec spot,” said director Mark Nickelsburg...

The Washington Post loves pushing those stuffy conservative church folk around in the Sunday paper. The entire top half of the Sunday Outlook section carried a condom package with wings and the headline “Why the church needs condoms: A more honest position on contraception would help reestablish the Vatican’s moral authority.” That’s according to former New York Times religion reporter (and liberal Catholic writer) Peter Steinfels. Like every secular liberal, Steinfels thinks the contraception ban is not only “dishonest,” but even “offensive,” starting with Obamacare. Polls of Catholics easily show a majority of Catholics -- many of whom don't attend...

Nearly 20 years after California became the first state to legalize the medical use of marijuana, legislators have a plan to impose order on the erratic patchwork of inconsistent policies that currently govern the billion-dollar industry. “We’re making up for two decades of inaction”, said state senator Mike McGuire, whose district includes the “Emerald Triangle” in Northern California where 60% of the marijuana grown in the US is cultivated. “This legislation brings clarity and desperately needed rules and regulations.” In the final hours of the legislative session that ended late Friday night, lawmakers passed a trio of bills that create...

After her surprise confrontation with Sen. Ted Cruz in Iowa last month, openly gay actress Ellen Page sat down with Daily Beast and delved deeper into her issues with him and former Arkansas Gov. Huckabee, as well as her takes on Republicans and religion. n the interview published Saturday, Page — who’s known for role in the pro-adoption movie “Juno” — said she wanted to talk to the GOP presidential candidate “out of genuine curiosity.” “I’ve seen multiple videos and read multiple quotes of Ted Cruz discussing gay issues, as well as Mike Huckabee, and it goes exactly as you’d...

A notorious dissenting priest in the archdiocese of Boston, Msgr. Paul Garrity, is advocating for heretical changes at the upcoming Ordinary Synod on the Family — and he's doing so with the help of the archdiocese of Boston's official newspaper, The Pilot. In an article published earlier today, Msgr. Garrity, pastor of Sacred Heart and St. Brigid parishes in Lexington, addressing the "hopes and fears" surrounding this fall's synod, effectively smears proponents of orthodoxy while promoting blatant heresy. In his article, pitting "history and experience against dogmatism and unchanging truths," he takes up Cdl. Walter Kasper's scandalous proposal for finding...

Religious Protestants, Catholics, and Jews have been under strict scrutiny by the activist courts for violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment for simple, peaceful, and innocuous displays of religious symbols. Some of these religious symbols, such as a replica of the Ten Commandments, or references to God, such as the one in the Pledge of Allegiance, have been a part of this country since its founding. Yet, the legal community feels that anything short of eradicating public display of Judeo-Christian symbols violates the constitutional directive against establishing a national religion. Why shouldn’t paganism and secular agenda items, which...

Linking the defunding of Planned Parenthood to a government funding bill is "an exercise in futility," according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Kentucky Republican lawmaker, in an interview with Politico Friday, says he'll support instead a plan to fund the government into December with no conditions. "It's an exercise in futility," McConnell says of the Planned Parenthood defunding effort. "I'm anxious to defund Planned Parenthood" but "the honest answer of that is that's not going to happen until you have a president who has a similar view." "It's better to be honest with the American people and say,...

General audience with Pope Francis, April 17, 2013. Credit: Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk. Washington D.C., Sep 11, 2015 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As Pope Francis' trip to the U.S. nears, the LGBT advocacy organization GLAAD has released a media guide encouraging journalists to favor its narrative. But one media critic is calling it spin. “It's important to remember that GLAAD doesn’t determine Church teaching, no matter how much it might wish it,” said Dan Gainor, vice president of business and culture at the Media Research Center. The group “seeks to redefine what the Church is,” he told CNA. “Journalists should understand that...

Homosexual Activists Tell Kim Davis: ‘We Will Kidnap Your Husband, Tie Him Up And Force Him To Watch Us Raping You. We Will Burn You Alive.’ Civil Unrest Is Coming To America Homosexual activists are sending sadistic threats to Kim Davis, saying that they will capture her husband, tie him up and force him to watch them rape her. They also said that they will burn her house as they sleep and burn them to death. Here is the video with the full story and commentary: Kim Davis said in an interview:  They told my husband they were going...

It could have been the first general election rally of a Trump-Cruz 2016 ticket. In front of a crowd of more than a thousand on a blisteringly hot Wednesday outside the U.S. Capitol, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas fired up the crowd for Donald Trump, who brought them to frenzy status at a rally in opposition to President Barack Obama’s proposed nuclear deal with Iran. It is certainly too far off to say it could happen, but not too far off to envision a similar scenario playing out a little less than a year from now on the larger stage...

Michigan has followed New Hampshire by banning the sale of Founders Brewery’s Oatmeal Breakfast Stout because a baby appears on the label The Grand Rapids-based brewery announced last week it was changing the label after the image was said to promote underage drinking.

GRAYSON, Ky. (AP) — After five days behind bars, county clerk Kim Davis was ordered released from jail Tuesday by the judge who locked her up for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. U.S. District Judge David Bunning lifted the contempt order against Davis, saying he was satisfied that her deputies are fulfilling their obligation to grant licenses to same-sex couples in her absence. But he warned Davis not to interfere with them. The move came down just before Davis was to receive jailhouse visits from presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz. Dozens of her had supporters...

Just announced; awaiting article

Opinions are sometimes right, and sometimes wrong. But they aren't law. In the early days of our government, Supreme Court opinions were so insignificant that Congress didn't bother preserving them. Opinions were left to individuals to keep track of, and were not congressionally-funded into official records until 1874, almost a century after our independence. Before Congress stepped in, Court records were printed and kept under copyright by private citizens and reporters, who sold them for profit. Opinions of the Court were kept "loosey-goosey" for decades, and not preserved with certified integrity. Actual statute was held officially and carefully, in order...

When the Supreme Court ruled by the narrowest possible margin that Kentucky's definition of marriage is unconstitutional, the court's decision was qualified by its assurance that religious freedom would not be jeopardized. "The First Amendment ensures that religious organizations and persons are given proper protection," the court solemnly intoned on June 26. In the Appalachian hills of eastern Kentucky, one brave woman is testing whether Justice Anthony Kennedy really meant it when he wrote those words. But the local federal judge for eastern Kentucky, David Bunning, has wrongly sent Kim Davis to jail for her beliefs, without respecting or accommodating...

Gov Huckabee interview on ABC News HUCKABEE: I think it’s -- again, it’s a very different equation altogether because this is a redefinition. Marriage is not defined in the federal Constitution at all; it’s a matter for the states. And applying the Fourteenth Amendment to the equality of men and women and their relationship in marriage is totally different than redefining marriage. And I think what we’ve seen here is the overreach of the judiciary. This, if allowed to stand without any congressional approval, without any kind of enabling legislation, is what Jefferson warned us about. That’s judicial tyranny. STEPHANOPOULOS:...