Free Republic

Children of God for Life announced today that Neocutis, a bio-pharmaceutical company focused on dermatology and skin care is using aborted fetal cell lines to produce several of their anti-aging skin creams. "It is absolutely deplorable that Neocutis would resort to exploiting the remains of a deliberately slaughtered baby for nothing other than pure vanity and financial gain," stated Executive Director Debi Vinnedge. "There is simply no moral justification for this." ...

A British bishop has been fined €12,000 after a German court found him guilty of denying the Holocaust.Richard Williamson received a letter today from the court in the Bavarian city of Regensburg informing him that he was being fined for incitement over his claim on Swedish television that fewer than 300,000 Jews died in Nazi death camps.In the interview, Williamson alleged that Nazi gas chambers had never existed and "only 200,000 to 300,000 Jews" had been killed by the Nazis.Holocaust denial is classed as a hate crime in Germany and because the interview took place in Regensburg, German prosecutors were...

The devil, so the saying goes, is the ape of God. And so one of his standard methods for deceiving is to create parodies of good things and send them into the world in pairs.Why parodies? Because he cannot make, he can only mock. So instead of love, he offers lust. Instead of justice he offers merciless vengeance. Instead of dignity, he offers pride. Instead of contentment with the world’s goods he offers greed.Why does he send errors into the world in pairs? So that, in fleeing one lie, you will embrace the opposite lie. And so, for instance, he...

A man named Milton Supman died last week. He died quietly, at 83. He'd grown up in the only Jewish family in a small North Carolina town, his father a dry goods merchant who had moved there from Hungary. His family gave him the handle which was to be the origin both of a stage name and of a peculiar, indescribably influential bond with millions of American children - Soupy. When Soupy Sales died last week, a lifelong friend of mine posted video clips of his work on her Facebook page. Her daughter, herself an adult now, added this comment:...

Bishop Tobin / Rep. Patrick Kennedy Providence, R.I., Oct 27, 2009 / 12:32 am (CNA).- Responding to Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), who charged that the Catholic Church is promoting dissent about proposed health care legislation, Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence has replied that the bishops cannot support a proposal that covers abortion. He asked the Congressman to apologize for his “irresponsible comments.”In an interview with CNSNews.com, Rep. Kennedy, son of the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, had accused the Catholic Church of fanning “the flames of dissent and discord” because Catholic bishops declared that they will oppose the proposed...

Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island-- who shows a rare gift for plain speech on public issues-- deserves congratulations for his effort to educate Congressman Patrick Kennedy on the reasons behind the US bishops' opposition to a health-care reform proposal that allows subsidies for abortions. It won't be easy. Kennedy, you will recall, told a reporter that he could not understand why the US bishops are opposing the reform bill. Do they like reform? Isn't it, like, a good thing? In a quick public response, Bishop Tobin characterized Kennedy's statement as "irresponsible and ignorant," explained the political issue in...

There are plenty of questions being asked in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America following a decision in August to allow pastors to be involved in committed, same-gender relationships. In response to the decision, there will be a series of meetings at churches in the ELCA's southeastern Minnesota synod during the coming weeks, including a three-week series starting Sunday at Zumbro Lutheran Church in Rochester. Bishop Harold Usgaard recently recorded a videotaped message to prompt discussion about the fundamental questions raised by this issue. The questions include: Who is welcome in ELCA congregations and who is not? Usgaard also wrote...

Sleepy Eye, Minn. - In addition to Halloween, this Saturday is also a special date of historical significance for many Christians. October 31 is celebrated by Lutherans as Reformation Day, for it is the date Martin Luther is believed to have nailed his 95 Theses, or grievances against the Roman Catholic Church, on the door of All SaintsÂ’ Church in Germany. This act marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, which ultimately led to Lutheranism itself. As many Lutherans look back to their Reformation heritage over the weekend, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are doing some...

CNA STAFF, Oct 25, 2009 / 03:47 pm (CNA).- On Thursday, Catholics will celebrate the feast day of Helen Kafka, better known as Blessed Maria Restituta.  Working as a nurse in the 1940s, she was ordered by the Gestapo to remove crucifixes she had placed in several hospital rooms and was sentenced to death.  Pope John Paul II beatified her on June 21, 1998. Helen Kafka was born in 1894 to a shoemaker and grew up in Vienna, Austria.  At the age of 20, she decided to join the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity and took the name Restituta...

...holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. Avoid such people. (2 Timothy 3:5 RSV) In other words, Paul says that the primary cause of these repetitive cycles of stress and danger is the hypocritical lives of Christians who outwardly look pious, religious, committed and devoted, but are actually unchanged inside and have no power to overcome evil in their lives. Hypocritical Christianity -- that is the bottom line in these times of stress. I do not think any of us really grasps the revelation of Scripture about the nature of the church. The New Testament everywhere...

Stockholm, Sweden, Oct 25, 2009 / 04:52 pm (CNA).- The Catholic and Orthodox Churches of Sweden have responded with “sadness” to the Swedish Lutheran Church General Synod’s decision to hold homosexual “weddings” in churches, saying the move departs from the Christian tradition and will widen the gap between the churches.Fr. Fredrik Emanuelson, head of ecumenical efforts in the Swedish Catholic Church, joined Orthodox representative Fr. Misha Jaksic in a statement that said the churches learned of the Lutherans’ decision “with sadness.”“It is a swing away not only from Christian tradition but also from the point of view on the nature...

ELCA Vice President Addresses Dissatisfaction with Assembly Decisions 09-236-FI CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Carlos Peña, vice president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), wrote an Oct. 23 letter to the church's 4.6 million members, asking them to consider actions of the ELCA's 2009 Churchwide Assembly "as a catalyst to further strengthen our church and our relationships with each other." Peña related his experiences of devastation after Hurricane Ike struck his hometown of Galveston, Texas, in September 2008. "One year later, I can see the benefits of this experience," he wrote. "Galveston is coming back stronger than before and welcoming...

LOS ANGELES — Authorities say a 37-year-old Los Angeles man has been arrested on suspicion of murder for the death of an unborn child believed to be his. Police said in a press release that Joshua Woodward was arrested Sunday in Los Angeles and is being held on $2 million bail in a county jail. Police say the arrest came after an investigation on Monday revealed "suspicious circumstances of a miscarriage." Investigators estimate the fetus was in its 13th week. Police released no information on the mother or the circumstances of the child's death. The release says Woodward is believed...

[ABOVE: Rifqa Bary] The Fate of Riqua Bary Seems Not to Matter to Authorities Does Riqua Bary's life matter? How the authorities stacked the deck against the runaway Muslim girl from Ohio who converted to Christianity.In virtually unprecedented breach of protocol, the State of Florida ridiculed Riqua Bary's belief that she would be in danger if she, as a Christian convert, were returned to her father and brother's household. Ms Bary is a 17-year-old minor. Being raised in a Muslim household, she was well aware that the crime for apostasy was death. With the help of a Christian missionary,...

ELCA NEWS SERVICE October 25, 2009 ELCA Presiding Bishop Urges Commitment to Strong LWF GENEVA, Switzerland (ELCA) -- In a report highlighting changing contexts of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and its respective member churches, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, LWF president, urged the organization's council to make decisions that reflect commitment to "a sustainable and strong LWF going into the future." Hanson is also presiding bishop of the EvangelicalLutheranChurch in America (ELCA). In a wide-ranging report to the council Oct. 23, Hanson noted that, while the LWF had exercised responsible fiduciary leadership despite the global economy and serious changes...

A hate crimes bill sent to President Obama for his signature raises a red flag for Christians. On Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed a hate crimes bill that Christian leaders have warned for years could greatly infringe on the rights of those who speak to loudly about their religious views. Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel agrees with most observers that President Obama will sign the measure -- adding that the president desires to "throw a bone to homosexual activists because they have been breathing down his neck...and this is a way to hold them off."

October 25 Fr. James T. O’Connor: The Creed:… the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body  

More than two decades ago, some like-minded Lutherans merged to form the nation’s largest Lutheran body, optimistic that they could create a mighty ministry force. But unity among the 4.7 million members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is splintering over a landmark policy change. At its national assembly in August, ELCA members voted to give each church the option of blessing same-sex couples and hiring gay and lesbian clergy in committed relationships. For some of the 176 congregations in South-Central Texas, the change marks a long-awaited and just victory for their gay and lesbian members. But more conservative...

A growing national schism within the country’s largest Lutheran denomination is also being felt locally, with several area churches considering breaking their ties with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). At least one church — Christus Lutheran Church in Clintonville — has already taken the first step in the secession process, following a congregational vote in which 85 percent supported leaving ELCA. A second secession vote must still be staged, after a minimum of three months has elapsed from the first vote, prior to making the move to secede official. The controversy stems from a vote by the ELCA...

 Does the Church teach two Gospels?  Daniel Gregg Also posted at Torahtimes.org          When the preacher says Christ died for our sin, what does it make you think?  Does it make you think that he paid the penalty for sin so that the repentant might be forgiven?   Or does it make you think one only needs to believe to be perfectly righteous in God's sight, and then one is saved on the basis of God's vision of righteousness?     Believe it or not, the Church teaches two gospels.  One is a gospel of repentance and pardon, by which a man may be...

"Why would we ever align ourselves with the constant drone of demeaning rhetoric coming from talk radio and television? We are not called to castigate sinners, we are called to be Jesus in their midst. The world around us hears our murmuring concerning the economy and liberal politicians and Hollywood activists, but do they hear that we stand by grace alone and that before Christ entered our lives we were every bit a sinner as were they? We sit high and aloof in the official press box and observe and critique the lost culture, basking in our situation as if...

Group discusses the ‘rebirth’ of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas -- More exchanges of information are being planned as some Lutheran churches consider breaking away from the national group over differences of opinion, said organizers of a meeting held Thursday night . More than 120 people turned out for the program at Welcome Lutheran Church to discuss the “rebirth” of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas (ELST). “The people brought many questions,” said the Rev. David Klak, pastor of Welcome Lutheran Church and secretary of the ELST’s council. “I hope we were able to answer some of them.” Some...

Tears twinkled in Barbara Schmidt's eyes as she spoke of her church's decision to sever ties with the Evangelical Lutheran Churches of America. "I feel like we are now looking at the Bible as gray instead of black, like it is," she said, her voice breaking with emotion. Schmidt, a member of Zion Mission Valley Lutheran Church, was raised in the congregation her family helped establish. She was baptized when she was two weeks old by a minister who rode to her grandparents home on horseback. "I feel like we all have a purpose, and I think we're getting weighted...

April 20, 2005 newly elected Pope Benedict XVI gave his message at the end of a Mass he had concelebrated with the members of the College of Cardinals. He signaled his mission: “Nourished and sustained by the Eucharist, Catholics cannot but feel encouraged to strive for the full unity for which Christ expressed so ardent a hope in the Upper Room. The Successor of Peter knows that he must make himself especially responsible for his Divine Master's supreme aspiration. Indeed, he is entrusted with the task of strengthening his brethren (cf. Luke 22: 32). With full awareness, therefore, at the...

LifeSiteNews.com) - A Dominican nun has been seen frequenting an abortion facility in Illinois recently - but not, as one might expect, to pray for an end to abortion or to counsel women seeking abortions, but to volunteer as a clinic escort. Local pro-life activists say that they recognized the escort at the ACU Health Center as Sr. Donna Quinn, a nun outspokenly in favor of legalized abortion, after seeing her photo in a Chicago Tribune article. "I've called her sister several times, and she never responded," local pro-lifer John Bray told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN). "But it's her."  Amy Keane, a pro-life...

37 minutes agoCHATHAM, N.J. — A priest has been found dead in a New Jersey church rectory, and investigators are treating it as a crime.There was no word Friday afternoon on how the Rev. Ed Hinds died. The clothed body of the 61-year-old priest was found at St. Patrick's Church in Chatham in the morning.Capt. Jeffrey Paul of the Morris County prosecutor's office tells The Star-Ledger of Newark that the area is "being treated as a crime scene."Police have closed off a four-block area around the church. Chatham is about 10 miles west of Newark.Hinds has been at the parish...

For one area church, discussion of dropping an affiliation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has resulted in a determination to leave. In others, it's stayed a discussion, church officials said this week. Both Singsaas Lutheran Church in rural Hendricks and Christ Lutheran Church in Cottonwood held votes over the weekend to determine whether to leave the ELCA. The vote passed at Singsaas, but narrowly failed at Christ Lutheran. Ending ELCA affiliation is a multi-step process. If a congregation passes a motion to leave the ELCA by a two-thirds majority, they must hold a second vote at least 90...

A Call To Anguish By David Wilkerson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGMG_PVaJoI

CANNON FALLS -- The first southeastern Minnesota congregation to vote on whether to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America after a recent churchwide decision on gay clergy has decided to stay. The Oct. 11 vote at Wangen Prairie Lutheran Church was close, falling just one vote shy of the two-thirds majority needed to start the months-long process of leaving the ELCA, said the Rev. Joy Gonnerman. The vote followed an August decision at the ELCA's Churchwide Assembly allowing churches to hire a pastor in a monogamous, same-sex relationship. The decision has raised the possibility of some churches leaving the...

When MTV first appeared, back in 1981, like many other American young adults, I watched it with interest because it showcased videos of many of the bands that were popular then: The Police, Duran Duran, Squeeze, Genesis, The Go-Gos, Hall & Oats, Blondie, etc. But after the initial novelty of 24-7 music videos wore off and it became apparent that MTV was lurching steadily toward a darker, more erotic, and increasingly decadent format, I tuned out for good. The rapid transmogrification of MTV from a purveyor of meaningless, if at times mildly entertaining, videos of pop rock bands, to full-on,...

Nearly 12 hours before the first of several clergy sexual abuse cases hit the courtroom floor, the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington announces a controversial Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. After attempting settlement negotiations on 13 sexual abuse cases Sunday night, the Diocese decided to file for bankruptcy protection. The filing automatically freezes any pending lawsuits against the Diocese, including the sexual abuse case against former Wilmington Diocese priest, Francis DeLuca, scheduled for trial on Monday morning. Bishop W. Francis Malooly says the decision was a painful one that he hoped he would never have to make. "We have a finite amount...

Broken Keys by Ian Wolfe — October 21, 2009 And when [Jesus] had said this, he breathed on [the disciples] and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” John 20:23 The church has given to her ordained ministers through the gift of the Holy Spirit the power and authority to exercise the apostolic ministry to bind and loose sin.1 Traditionally Luther’s Small Catechism included a section on the Office of the Keys, although not written by Luther himself.2 I note...

A sad reminder of what Catholics in public office still face: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito voiced frustration Tuesday over what he called persistent questions about the court's Roman Catholic majority. Alito aired the topic in a speech to an Italian-American law group in Philadelphia. "There has been so much talk lately about the number of Catholics serving on the Supreme Court," Alito said in a speech to the Justinian Society. "This is one of those questions that does not die." Alito complained about "respectable people who have seriously raised the questions in serious publications about whether these...

Lisbon, Portugal, Oct 21, 2009 / 12:43 am (CNA).- Several experts said this week that the statements by Jose Saramago about the Bible, which he called “a manual of bad customs, a catalogue of cruelties,” should lead the Church to value biblical culture and combat ignorance of Scripture. While promoting his new novel “Cain,” the award-winning Portuguese author said that without the Bible, “a book that had great influence on our culture and even on the way we are,” human beings would “probably be better.” In statements to the Portuguese news agency Ecclesia, Bishop Manuel Clemente of Porto, who is...

Recent events at the University of Notre Dame are creating a great deal of moral confusion. Ever since the university decided to honor our pro-abortion president at its commencement ceremony earlier this year, it seems the institution is on a direct collision course with its long-standing Catholic identity. URGENT petition to Notre Dame: Please drop the chargesFor example: Notre Dame funded a student trip to the National Equality March in Washington, D.C, held on October 11. The pro-homosexual march demanded same-sex “marriage” and the abolition of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Notre Dame’s Gender Relations Center announces troubling activities...

The Archdiocese of New Orleans and its charitable arm, Catholic Charities, said Tuesday they will pay $5.182 million to an undisclosed number of adults who claimed that years ago as children they were beaten, berated and sexually molested at two Catholic orphanages that were supposed to shelter them because their families were in disarray. The archdiocese announced a package settlement of 20 lawsuits, most of them filed by adults alleging that in the 1950s and 1960s they were abused at Madonna Manor and nearby Hope Haven on the West Bank. "I hope these mediations and negotiations will bring some peace...

Anglicans Incoming! By Diogenes | October 20, 2009 The Holy See took the ecumenical imperative out of the hands of ecumenists, with the result that the reunion of Christians -- at least in one limited area of schism -- ensued. From the Vatican website:With the preparation of an Apostolic Constitution, the Catholic Church is responding to the many requests that have been submitted to the Holy See from groups of Anglican clergy and faithful in different parts of the world who wish to enter into full visible communion. In this Apostolic Constitution the Holy Father has introduced a canonical structure...

One of the questions, often raised by those in disagreement with an institution or entity that they previously have supported, is whether or not it is appropriate and faithful to use the redirection of financial support away from that institution or entity as a means to influence policy. Having never been much of a political activist, my first encounter with this concept came in my seminary years. In describing the possible ways we would be able to allocate our pension funds as new pastors, we were introduced to what were called “social purpose funds” through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...

  The last time I can remember big media taking an interest in the ecclesiastical affairs of Atlantic Canada was 20 years ago. There had been little interest before that, either, but the degree of attention that was suddenly granted compensated for many years of neglect. The issue was allegations of physical and sexual abuse against members of the Christian Brothers of Ireland in Canada, who had staffed the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John's, Newfoundland.   By the time that was wrapped up, a Canadian parliamentary Royal Commission had investigated the affair, along with provincial and Church commissions,...

President Father John Jenkins South Bend, Ind., Oct 19, 2009 / 04:48 pm (CNA).- The Board of Trustees of the University of Notre Dame has elected Fr. John I. Jenkins, CSC, to a second five-year term as university president. While Notre Dame officials praised him for his commitment to the Catholic character of the school, others have questioned the direction of the prestigious school.Fr. Jenkins’ tenure has featured continued controversy over the school’s Catholic identity, especially concerning the invitation to President Barack Obama to speak at the university's commencement ceremony and to receive an honorary degree. Critics had charged...

A number of my friends have children with disabilities. Their problems range from cerebral palsy to Turner's syndrome to Trisomy 18, which is extremely serious. But I want to focus on one fairly common genetic disability to make my point. I'm referring to Trisomy 21, or Down syndrome.   You may already know that Down is not a disease. It's a genetic disorder with a variety of symptoms. Therapy can ease the burden of those symptoms, but Down syndrome is permanent. There's no cure. People with Down syndrome have mild to moderate developmental delays. They have low to middling...

'Child-witches' of Nigeria seek refuge Mary is a pretty five-year-old girl with big brown eyes and a father who kicked her out onto the streets in one of the most dangerous parts of the world. Her crime: the local priest had denounced her as a witch and blamed her "evil powers" for causing her mother's death. Ostracised, vulnerable and frightened, she wandered the streets in south-eastern Nigeria, sleeping rough, struggling to stay alive. Mary was found by a British charity worker and today lives at a refuge in Akwa Ibom province with 150 other children who have been branded witches,...

Preaching and short cut of the hymn, There Is A Fountain.

www.catholicnewsagency.com Ex-abortionist says Divine Mercy is answer to worldly cynicism Dr. John Bruchalski Related articles: Divine Mercy ChapletDivine Mercy PrayersNine Day Divine Mercy NovenaDivine Mercy Novena Washington D.C., Oct 17, 2009 / 08:03 am (CNA).- A former abortionist has said he believes that Our Lady of Guadalupe enlightened him about the destructive nature of his work, adding that Jesus’ mercy has affected and forgiven him. Devotion to The Divine Mercy, he said, is an answer to the pessimism, skepticism, relativism and cynicism of the world.Dr. John Bruchalski, who founded the pro-life Tepeyac Family Center in Virginia in 1994, performed...

Washington D.C., Oct 17, 2009 / 04:05 pm (CNA).- The University of Notre Dame’s Student Activities Office is facing criticism for allowing a group of five students to use student activities funds to travel to a national homosexual political demonstration that advocated for same-sex “marriage” and related issues.The Office approved Notre Dame’s Progressive Student Alliance (PSA) request to use PSA funding to travel to Washington, D.C. for the National Equality March on the weekend of Oct. 9-11, the Notre Dame Observer reports.The March, organized by the group Equality Across America, says on its website that the march was for ...

Remarks to Phoenix Catholic Physicians' Guild I want to talk tonight about the kind of people we’re becoming, and what we can do about it. Especially what you can do about it. But it’s always good to start with a few facts before offering an opinion. So that’s what I’ll do. A number of my friends have children with disabilities. Their problems range from cerebral palsy to Turner’s syndrome to Trisomy 18, which is extremely serious. But I want to focus on one fairly common genetic disability to make my point. I’m referring to Trisomy 21, or Down syndrome. Those...

Lutheran churches around the nation are doing some soul searching in response to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America’s decision to allow the ordination of sexually active gay clergy. And there’s a growing feeling that the end result could be some congregations splitting from the ELCA, whose national assembly in August rejected a requirement that gay and lesbian clergy remain celibate. That vote drew criticism that ELCA has moved away traditional Lutheranism and values and has triggered an uprising of sorts, including the formation of alternatives to ELCA. “The ELCA has already broken fellowship with us, in the traditional understanding...

Suggested Guidelines for Individual Catholics on How to Appreciate and When Necessary, Admonish the State of Israel Folks, the following post is a translation of Part VII of a series which I wrote against the shenanigans of an Argentina-based blog, self-styled Santa Iglesia Militante, for its blatant display, storage, and enthusiastic endorsement of the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, a known anti-Semitic forgery that was, and continues to be, fodder for the persecution of Jewish people across the world. In this essay, I analyze certain anti-Semitic currents flowing not far below the surface of anti-Zionism and prescribe, based...

The Torah addresses the true nature of human beings in its opening chapter on the story of Adam's and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The salient points of the story are certainly pertinent to our lives and times. Adam and Eve disobey God's commandment and mistakenly substitute the quest for human knowledge, wisdom and opinion for the Divine will. The tendency of humans, even those who deem themselves to be pious and faithful, is to believe somehow that they know better - better than tradition, than experience, better than God Himself. Thus every ideal, policy, analysis created by...

This video of inspirational singing was by o7jimmy and family! Presentation is given be creatures from wildlife.