Free Republic

"For generations now, we have denied the food of revealed truth to our children; and we have permitted the moral polluters to dump their garbage into our culture with abandon. Why then, are we surprised that ours has become a stunted and sick society?" - Patrick J. Buchanan The times are growing very dark. Everywhere signs are emerging which point to the appearance of the Man of Sin. A Brazilian heavy metal band is announcing the Age of Antichrist (see here). We have a Pontiff who preaches a "live and let live" philosophy (see here) which is nothing less than...

These terms -- duty, ability, and rights -- are often conflated, as a result of French and American influences. In this show, I break down the differences between them, how they relate, and how they should be respected on a practical level, all within the Christian context. LISTEN ON YOUTUBE.(Alternative link, via Vimeo.) Summary:I start with quotes from Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and Abraham Lincoln, then transition into the corrupted philosophies found in American and French history. I define the terms, then lay out how they can be applied, especially in the case of anti-Christian persecution in the Middle East. I...

We all are familiar with the political spectrum, that hypothetical horizontal line on which we find our ‘point’ – our personal political ideology. The principle is basic: left is liberal, right is conservative. But while the standard spectrum is still valid as a foundation, in reality it isn’t a flat line at all.

Making controversial statements is nothing new for me. Neither is the reaction that usually follows. But perhaps no other issue causes as much discussion, debate, and condemnation from others than when I present my position on the issue of homosexuality. As a known Christian, I have been told that I MUST think a certain way and that I MUST believe a certain way regarding not only people who are gay, but regarding their entire lifestyle as well.

In a widely praised move, the Church of England recently voted to allow for female bishops. It would seem to follow that the church’s shift toward popular opinion would result in an influx of new members. If one, however, looks at the American branch of the Anglican community, the Episcopalian Church, the predicated impact of the vote is quite the opposite. The Episcopalian Church is far more progressive than its sister church in England. The American church consecrated Barbara Harris as its first female bishop in 1989, and in 2006, Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected as the head of the...

The members of the Uniparty, both Democrat and Republican, no longer feel it is necessary to pretend there are two political Parties in our country. They have no qualms about acknowledging the truth: There is only one Party, the Uniparty which is aligned against us, the American people. The Uniparty continually works against us in its effort to rule every aspect of our lives. New evidence of how pervasive the Uniparty is has just come from the plains of Kansas. If “Fly over country” had a capital state it would probably be Kansas. The Sunflower State has been among the...

Q: Please help me with a matter weighing on my conscience. My husband and I married in our parish church 16 years ago, but I agreed to get married there only because that’s what my parents wanted. Unlike my husband, I wasn’t really practicing my faith, I just went through the motions… gradually I had a reawakening of faith, and now am fully committed to the Catholic Church. But I’m afraid our marriage isn’t valid because I didn’t embrace concepts like indissolubility at the time of our wedding, nor did I want children, although I later changed my mind…. What...

Growing up in New Albany, Ind., during the 1950s, I never heard the term “domestic church,” but I knew what it meant. I knew it because my parents and my friends’ parents made their homes domestic churches, even before that phrase from our Catholic tradition was retrieved during the Second Vatican Council. I guess you could say that my childhood friends and neighbors were at home in church and in church at home. But what did it mean in practical terms that we experienced the family as a domestic church? For one thing, it meant that nearly every Catholic family...

In a narrowly tailored 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court June 30 said closely held companies may be exempted from a government requirement to include contraceptives in employee health insurance coverage under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The court said that Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods, the two family-run companies that objected to the government mandate that employees be covered for a range of contraceptives, including drugs considered to be abortifacients, are protected from the requirement of the Affordable Care Act. The opinion essentially held that for-profit companies may hold protected religious views. But the court also said that government requirements...

Pope Francis telephoned Rome’s chief rabbi to personally express his sadness over the murder of three kidnapped Israeli teens whose bodies were found June 30 in Hebron, West Bank. Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni said the pope phoned him at home late in the afternoon July 1 and said: “Good evening. This is Pope Francis. I wanted to personally express my sadness for the death of the three youths.” The rabbi told Rome’s Il Messaggero newspaper he was surprised since the Vatican press office had already published a strong statement condemning the murders of the boys who were kidnapped in mid-June...

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced July 1 that it is selling six nursing homes and one assisted living facility operated by archdiocesan Catholic Health Care Services to a Flushing, New York, health care management company for $145 million. The company, Center Management Group, owns and operates 15 nursing homes in New York and New Jersey. Under the agreement, the company has pledged to maintain the Catholic character of the nursing homes. The date for the sale has not been set. The $145 million sale price for the nursing homes will be decreased by certain obligations under the terms of the...

Asking for forgiveness, Pope Francis told abuse survivors that “despicable actions” caused by clergy have been hidden for too long and had been “camouflaged with a complicity that cannot be explained.” “There is no place in the church’s ministry for those who commit these abuses, and I commit myself not to tolerate harm done to a minor by any individual, whether a cleric or not,” and to hold all bishops accountable for protecting young people, the pope said during a special early morning Mass for six survivors of abuse by clergy. The Mass and private meetings held later with each...

From the head of the U.S. agency in charge of the welfare of more than 50,000 Central American children who have been apprehended at the Mexican border, to the Honduran cardinal who heads the international Catholic relief agency, Caritas, the message was clear, those minors are as much refugees as the people fleeing upheaval in Syria or South Sudan. “How are these children different from refugees from Sudan” or other war-torn countries, asked Eskinder Negash, director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, known as ORR, in the Department of Health and Human Services. “Regardless of whether they have family here,...

Archbishop William E. Lori joined with Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston July 14 to urge all U.S. senators to reject legislation aiming to compel all employers to provide insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization and abortifacients. In a letter sent to all senators, the archbishops outlined how the “misnamed” “Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act of 2014” (S. 2578) would violate federal religious freedom and conscience protections. The bill, introduced by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wa.), is a response to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, which exempts closely held for-profit companies from providing insurance coverage...

Baltimore Auxiliary Bishop Denis J. Madden is enthused by the fruit that came from recent discussions between U.S. bishops and Iran’s religious leaders. “When you build a certain sense of trust and respect, then you can move forward and deal with the issues,” he said. The faith leaders announced June 14 that they oppose actions that endanger the life, health, dignity and welfare of others, including the creation of weapons of mass destruction. That declaration was the result of a March dialogue between a delegation from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Supreme Council of the Seminary Teachers...

While the British government is making its own citizens pay for the jihadis allowed to return to the UK from Syria and Iraq, both in terms of money – through the £1.1 billion cash injection for defence announced today, £800 million of which will fund an extra investment in intelligence and surveillance to deal with the threat of terrorism – and in terms of intrusion and greater state power – through emergency laws to monitor phone and internet records “to stop terrorists" –, people hear of the establishment of a caliphate in the Middle East without the media –...

In this episode, I answer the title’s question, perhaps one of the biggest on everyone’s minds today: Has Islam ever been peaceful? I herein go through some of the most important historical battles and events for Muslims, also mentioning the Qur’an when relevant. WATCH ON YOUTUBE (Alternative link, via Vimeo.) Summary: I start out the show by running through Islam's violent beginnings, then transition into its tyrannical rule in Jerusalem and Cordoba. Then, I talk about the key battles of Covadonga and Lepanto, at which Islam was curtailed. Next, I skim over the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire....

Last September, I noted how Deacon Scott Colley, the administrator (at least at the time if not still so) of the Facebook page for the North Quabbin Catholic Community, which includes several parishes in and around Athol, Massachusetts, banned me for taking issue with the applause which often breaks out during Holy Mass at Our Lady Immaculate Parish in Athol. See here. And back in 2011, I disagreed with Father Krzysztof Korcz when he blamed parents as being the sole cause of the lack of vocations and the exodus of young people from Catholic life. See here. Lastly, I noted...

We tried. We really did try as hard as we could. Over the past 238 years we have poured out the lives of generations of our young men and women to defend our liberties. We have willingly sacrificed our treasure and our tears fighting to keep the wolves of tranny away from our door. But unless we change course now we will die on the battlefield of Good versus Evil. Today we find ourselves looking more like the patriots who were overwhelmed at The Alamo and crushed at Corregidor, than the brave signers of our Declaration of Independence. Try as...

Q: My family is doing genealogical research, and we’ve discovered discrepancies in the birth-dates of a couple of our great-grandparents…. They married very young, and depending on which birth-dates are correct, we’re thinking it’s possible they may really have been too young to marry validly in the Church. If a marriage is invalid due to the age of the spouses, does it automatically become valid when they’re old enough? Or do they need to have another wedding ceremony once they’ve reached the minimum age? –Frank