Free Republic

IRELAND, July 26, 2018, (LifeSiteNews) – Ireland’s Catholic bishops have reportedly caved into government demands to provide “marriage care service” that includes “marriage preparation” and “marital sex therapy” to homosexual couples. The bishops’ decision, seen as a move to avoid losing government funding, seems to place fiscal considerations over fidelity to Church teaching. At issue is nearly €1.6 million in government funding for Accord, the counseling service administered by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ICBC). In 2016, the Irish government, now headed by the homosexual Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, supplied roughly one quarter of Accord’s operating budget. Back in January,...

OXFORD, England – Spain's Catholic Church has voiced "deep concern" over plans by the new government to curb religious teaching and re-examine past accords with the Vatican. "It is necessary to remember the rights to religious freedom and education -- these inalienable rights ... are reflected in our constitution," the executive committee of the Madrid-based bishops' conference said in a statement. "Religion must be given adequate consideration in the educational system, as required for the person's integral formation -- it cannot be replaced by state ethics imposed by public powers." The Spanish government said it plans to cut subsidies for...

Fourteen years ago, Reuben Ekeme Inwe’s wife, Roselyn, had a dream. In it Inwe is preaching to a large crowd—not unusual given the young pastor had been delivering sermons in Lagos for years—but this time the faces in the audience aren’t black but white. A material like white sand falls on the building where Inwe and his fictive congregation have gathered. “We later recognized this was snow. There’s definitely no snow in Lagos,” Inwe says, seated at a cafe in York’s old city center of winding lanes and overhanging second-story shops. Roselyn’s dream, or “vision” as Inwe now refers to...

The Washington Post writes about its retired hometown cardinal, Uncle Teddy McCarrick. Once a globe-trotting representative of the Catholic Church worldwide and one of the architects of the church’s policy on sexual abuse, McCarrick’s precipitous fall over the past month has shocked Catholics, especially in Washington, where he was a popular archbishop from 2001 to 2006.McCarrick’s future now rests with Pope Francis, who as pontiff oversees the cardinals. Many church-watchers think this is a make-or-break moment for Francis because of McCarrick’s stature and the fact that Catholic clerical sex-abuse crises are exploding in Chile and Honduras.It is, or ought to...

Venezuelan seminarians are struggling to continue their formation for the priesthood in the midst of a deepening national crisisI’ve known Oscar for only a couple days, but I already think he has some gifts that would make him a great priest. The 19-year-old seminarian, who is just finishing his second year of formation, has been a translator of sorts for me during my visit to Buen Pastor Seminary in Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela. Although he doesn’t speak any English, he patiently and clearly explains things in a way that I can understand with my limited Spanish—a welcome contrast to the typical...

One obvious next step in the Cardinal McCarrick story is uncovering more victims of his abuse. We now know of two. I would bet that there will surely be more. But that’s not the most interesting or important part of the story. The key now is to uncover the networks within the clergy and episcopate. Some of you might have seen the shocking story that reader Mark Crawford told in the comments section here in recent days. I found that he told the same story in testimony before the New Jersey legislature in 2004. Here’s a portion of that testimony:...

Former Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen was beloved by many and castigated by others for his support of nuclear disarmament, gay rights and broader roles for women within the church.Raymond G. Hunthausen, who led the Seattle Archdiocese from 1975 to 1991 and became one of the nation’s most controversial bishops, beloved by many and castigated by others for his support of nuclear disarmament, gay rights and broader roles for women within the church, died Sunday. He was 96. The archbishop emeritus, a Montana native, died at his home in Helena, according to a news release late Sunday from the Seattle Archdiocese. “He...

Fr. Paul Morton rebukes fellow priest for refusing to push LGBT agendaGLASGOW, Scotland (ChurchMilitant.com) - A gay-friendly priest in Glasgow, Scotland received so much backlash to a pro-gay letter that he had to take it down. Father Paul Morton of St. Bride's Church in Cambuslang, southeastern Glasgow, published a lengthy letter on his parish's Facebook page Wednesday rebuking fellow Glaswegian Fr. Mark Morris, fired from Glasgow Caledonian University for offering a "Rosary of reparation for the gross offense to God which is Pride Glasgow." "You will know by now that your invitation and this initiative has deeply hurt both many...

Four Generations of Clerical Sexual Predators When is Enough, Enough?IntroductionIt’s been an “open secret,” for almost 100 years, that the American hierarchy has been plagued by homosexual/pederast predators within its ranks. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the current debacle over the revelations of homosexual tricks turned over by Cardinal “call-me-Uncle Teddy” McCarrick has provided an albeit totally unexpected but welcome opportunity for the handful of decent prelates who still have their religious and moral miters on straight to demonstrate to the long-suffering Catholic laity that they are both willing and able to take the lead in...

The Patriarch of Moscow led a pilgrimage to the sites where the tsar and his family were murdered. The revolution is rooted in western ideas of progress and well-being. Like Dostoevsky, Kirill calls for the rejection of “temptations coming from abroad".Moscow (AsiaNews) – Last Monday night (16 July), the Patriarch of Moscow Kirill (Gundyayev) led the pilgrimage to the places where Tsar Nicholas II and his family met their martyrdom, together with the bishops gathered for a special session of the Synod. The Solemnity had been prepared to mark the 1,030th anniversary of the Baptism of Kievan Rus', which according...

Continue to praise hospital after Alfie Evans' deathUK's Catholic bishops are doubling down after the death of Alfie Evans. In a statement released the day the toddler died, the archbishop of Liverpool thanked Alder Hey Hospital for its "professional care of Alfie." Cardinal Vincent Nichols, head of the U.K. bishops, went even farther, demonizing critics in comments made over the weekend, claiming some Alfie supporters "sought political capital" from the case and pursued avenues that "didn't serve the good of the child." He was likely referring to British leaders who blasted the bishops for their inaction. Member of Parliament Nadine...

The 185-year-old St Malachy's seminary opened just four years after Catholic EmancipationSt Malachy’s Seminary, the only Catholic seminary in Northern Ireland, is to close in September, Church authorities have announced. The Diocese of Down and Connor said it took the decision after Queen’s University Belfast – where seminarians study for their degrees – closed its Department of Scholastic Philosophy and progressively withdrew modules in the subject. This placed a “great strain on the required philosophical training of clerical students”, the diocese said. From September this year, all seminarians will be relocated elsewhere to continue their training. Bishop William Crolly founded...

James was 11 years old when Father Theodore E. McCarrick came into his bedroom in Northern New Jersey, looking for the bathroom. Father McCarrick, then 39 and a rising star in the Roman Catholic church, was a close family friend, whom James and his six siblings called Uncle Teddy. James was changing out of his bathing suit to get ready for dinner. “He said, turn around,” James, who is now 60, recalled in an interview last week. “And I really don’t want to, because I don’t want to show anybody anything.” But he did, he said, and was shocked when...

Bp. James Foley of Cairns diocese quotes pedophile-enabler Alfred Kinsey to support thesisCAIRNS, Queensland, Australia (ChurchMilitant.com) - The bishop of the Cairns diocese in Australia is offering the possibility of multiple sexualities, contrary to Church teaching. He has also shown support for a controversial Jesuit priest known for promoting same-sex marriage. Church Militant reached out to Foley in recent months to ask whether he'd be issuing a statement against pro-gay Jesuit Fr. Frank Brennan, a featured speaker at the Catholic Secondary Principals Australia Conference (CASPA), a gathering of Catholic school principals that took place in mid-July. Brennan has been widely...

LEICESTER, United Kingdom - In the wake of Ireland’s May 25 referendum legalizing abortion in the country, the Irish Labour Party has started a petition seeking a referendum to end religious schools in the country.Unlike in the United States, the government funds religious schools in Ireland, and about 96 percent of elementary schools in the country are under the patronage of a religious group, and approximately 90 percent of these schools are run by the Catholic Church.“It’s time for a national conversation about how we achieve a modern, secular and equality-based education system for the Ireland of today, and what...

A pastor who has started hundreds of churches in Pakistan, where he suffered persecution for his faith, has chronicled his extraordinary journey in a new book where he says that divine healings and prophetic dreams are leading many Muslims to Jesus Christ.Pastor M El Masih, who started Cry of the Persecuted Church and now lives with his family in the United States, shared in an interview with The Christian Post some of his most difficult challenges growing up in Pakistan, where he studied and followed Islam and the Quran for years.In his book, From Persecution to the Promised Land, Masih,...

‘Catholics must learn new ways in which they can win young hearts,’ says Diarmuid MartinIrish Catholicism today is “foreign” to young people and needs to wake up to the situation, according to Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin. “Change is painful; there is, however, no alternative,” he said. “Irish religious culture is changing. The main body of the membership of Irish Catholicism and its leadership belong to an age and cultural group that is in many ways foreign to the culture of young people. The Irish church needs to waken itself to the urgency of this situation,” he said. “This will...

Illinois bishop openly rejects USCCB position on Supreme Court's Janus v. AFSCMESPRINGFIELD, Ill. (ChurchMilitant.com) - An American bishop is voicing his disagreement with an official statement from the American bishops' conference. On June 27, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public sector employees cannot be required to pay fees for labor unions that they don't want to be a part of. The case, Janus v. AFSCME, had an Illinois state employee arguing that he should not be forced to pay union dues on the grounds that the union was giving money to political organizations with agendas contrary to his own...

Fr Mark Morris held a Rosary and Benediction service to atone for the 'gross offence' of Glasgow PrideA priest who offered a service of reparation for the “gross offence against God” of Glasgow Pride has been removed as a university chaplain. Fr Mark Morris offered a Rosary, Litany and Benediction at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Balornock, Glasgow on Monday night. Glasgow Caledonian University sacked him as Catholic chaplain the following day, saying his views were at odds with those of the educational institution. University Principal Professor Pamela Gillies said: “Following due consultation Father Mark Morris will not return...

How to preserve architecture without disrespecting sacred groundsVATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - An international conference discussing the rash of closed churches and how to dispose of them is scheduled at the Vatican for November. On Tuesday, Vatican officials announced they were planning a two-day conference to address the many parishes being shuttered around the world and sold off for profane use. They explained that the purpose of the conference is not "whether or when to dispose of or sell a church — the ultimate choice is that of the bishops and sometimes it is an obligatory choice — but rather to...