Free Republic

Fr. Wei Heping, 41, died in mysterious circumstances, his body dumped in a river in Taiyuan (Shanxi). For the police claim he committed suicide. Family members are not allowed to even see the autopsy report. For Card. Zen the Holy See (which "is not necessarily the Pope") seeks a compromise at all costs with the Chinese government, risking "to sell out the faithful Church". Justice and Peace publish a booklet about Fr. Wei, not to forget.Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - Card. Joseph Zen, Emeritus Bishop of Hong Kong, has asked God to save the Holy See "from the brink of the...

Lawmakers try to block prayers, held since March in protest against mosque closureCLICHY (France) • Around 100 local French lawmakers attempted to block Muslims praying in a street north of Paris and called on the government to ban what they see as an unacceptable use of public space. The lawmakers, led by the head of the regional government of the Paris area, Mrs Valerie Pecresse, disrupted the crowd of around 200 all-male devotees last Friday, and sang the national anthem in the multi-ethnic Clichy suburb. "Public space cannot be taken over in this way," Mrs Pecresse said at the demonstration...

Moscow, November 13, Interfax - The body of Vladimir Lenin must be buried but at present this could shake the political situation in Russia, according to Alexander Shchipkov, first deputy chairman of the Synodal Department for Church, Society and Media Relations, and an advisor to the State Duma speaker. "Let's impose a moratorium, five to ten years [on the subject of reburying the leader]. If we don't bury [him], our children will, he has already lain in state for 70 years! But of course, buried he should be," Shchipkov said during a lecture at the Library of Foreign Literature in...

"It is common knowledge that the advent of Bolshevism in 1917 was devastating for devout believers in the former tsarist empire." "Less well known is the fact that the October Revolution interrupted a reform movement that could have taken the Russian Orthodox Church in a new direction, and that it subsequently caused splintering from which the Church still has not recovered." "Under the tsars, the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) served as an important pillar of the autocratic system. Just how subservient the church was to the state remains a matter of debate. Some historians, such as Gregory Freeze and Scott...

The talk Amir gave earlier this fall in Minnesota is finally up on YouTube. Lots of good history and comments on what the role of the United States may be in Bible prophecy and events to come. An excellent, beautiful speech, and thanks to Olive Tree Ministries for this fantastic convention of end times speakers.

AMERICA Prayer Vigil: Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for our President and Vice President and for AMERICA: Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 JOHN 5:14 Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland wants to be sure that Christian traditions are not subject to “ideological censorship” in the European Union, Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said on Thursday, emphasizing her party’s opposition to Muslim immigration. Along with Hungary, Poland has refused to take in any of its quota of the wave of refugees from Syria and elsewhere who have come to Europe since 2015, on the grounds that Muslim immigrants are a threat to their national security and stability. Szydlo’s eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party appeals directly to the more socially conservative sections of Poland’s overwhelmingly Roman Catholic population....

St. Petersburg, November 9, Interfax - The head of the Madrid-based House of Romanov, Maria Vladimirovna, will meet with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia during a visit timed to coincide with the centenary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. After visiting the cruiser Aurora in St. Petersburg, Maria Vladimirovna will travel to Ryazan and Moscow, her chancellery's director Alexander Zakatov told Interfax. "After St. Petersburg, she will visit Ryazan, an old Russian city, at the governor's invitation. The visit will conclude in Moscow, where meetings will also be held with public figures and the media. Maria Vladimirovna will...

I find it fascinating to watch the praxis of our politically-correct multiculturalist establishment when it comes to Islam. You would think that those PC elites would be, at the very least, offended by the tenets of the Muslim religion, if not very wary of how orthodox Muslims have conducted themselves across the globe in recent years. Their insistent response to Islamic terror and violence has been, almost uniformly, to declare repeatedly that “Islam is a religion of peace,” and that such manifestations as ISIS and Al-Qaeda in Syria, North Africa, Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere are aberrations which don’t represent the...

We don’t look to The Wall Street Journal for its religion reporting. But a recent piece stands out. It shows American Catholicism at a crossroads. It’s rare that a single decision decides the future of a church in a nation. But we face such a moment now. As the Journal explains, the bishops will vote on a crucial staff post. Who will lead the Church’s pro-life efforts? The vote is down to two candidates — Cardinal Blase Cupich, of Chicago, and Archbishop Joseph Naumann, of Kansas City — who represent the ideological poles of the U.S. church and have articulated...

When the nation’s Catholic bishops gather in Baltimore next week for their annual fall meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), they’ll attempt to set an agenda in reaction to two of the world’s most closely-watched and consequential figures: Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump. While the priorities of the pontiff will be instrumental in shaping their focus, it will likely be the actions of the president that yield the most immediate responses. Since Trump was elected in November 2016, the conference has issued nearly 100 more statements than the previous year -a clear indication of...

The US president should stop making threats and start negotiating with North Korea’s strongman, says Abbot Primate-emeritus Notker Wolf. Abbot Notker Wolf, the former representative head of all Benedictine monks and nuns throughout the world, has called on US President Donald Trump to stop making ominous threats against Communist North Korea and meet its leader Kim Jong Un “on an equal footing”. “I know from personal experience that one can negotiate with the North Koreans,” the abbot said in a November 4th interview with the German Catholic press agency KNA. Wolf, who headed the Archabbey of Sankt Ottilien in Bavaria...

This past June it was announced that the new Irish prime minister would be conducting a referendum on the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Ireland, to be held in 2018.  This amendment, as it currently stands, enshrines protections for unborn children in Ireland.  The general weakening of the Catholic faith in Ireland and the finger-wagging of the anti-life UN (Useless Nincompoops) are two factors. The Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child, along with other pro-life groups, are engaged in a battle to save not only countless Irish babies, but the vestiges of the Catholicism that at one...

Tens of thousands of patriots gathered in Poland’s capital Warsaw today for one of Europe’s biggest marches. The festivities were a tribute to 11 November; Poland’s Independence Day.The slogan for this year’s event was “We Want God”: Three words of a Polish religious song that president Trump quoted in July while visiting Warsaw. Trump praised Poland for what he described as the country’s defence of Western civilisation.

There is now an Iranian base very near Damascus, and a Russian-made drone has been intercepted by Israel. Also, there have been attempts to blame Israel for much of what is happening in the last few days, so that Israel's enemies can go forward knowing that Israel must be extra cautious in order not to get blamed in world opinion.Listen carefully and use Amir's knowledge to help you filter the news reports.As always, occupy until He comes, watchmen.

Texas religious leaders gathered Thursday to bless an abortion clinic and its staff as a judge considers whether to allow the state to ban brutal dismemberment abortions on live unborn babies. The pro-abortion clergy prayed at the Whole Woman’s Health abortion facility in Fort Worth, Texas, blessing its staff and patients, saying prayers and singing “Hallelujah,” according to the Daily Caller. The Texas abortion chain is one of the groups challenging the state dismemberment abortion ban. It also has a poor reputation for patient health and safety, racking up dozens of health and safety violations in the past decade. They...

This is a fascinating insight into how Christian values and the Russian church itself directly influences Russian society and how the country sees itself. The organization, called The World Russian People’s Council, (Wikipedia) was conceived of by the current Patriarch in the 1990s - with the goal of bringing together and uniting Russians from all over the world who were scattered over many different countries - to gather and discuss all issues of importance to Russian people everywhere. In Russian, the name has a different connotation than in English. The Russian word ‘sobor’, can be translated as ‘council’, but it...

By supporting the UNFCCC, the United States can direct attention and resources towards adaptation measures that help all people, especially the poor, adapt to the effects of climate change globally.

Saudi Arabia's asking its people to leave Lebanon will create a crisis, as they are taking their money and the banks will fail. Lebanon's government is now essentially nonfunctioning. Macron has arrived unexpectedly in Saudi to try to make peace. More on the Europeans and Soros's meddling, donating to people and parties in the European Union parliament. And meanwhile Russia is silent. Repercussions of all of this on Israel, of course. An excellent summary and update. Look up, as always.

Barronelle Stutzman is facing death threats and million-dollar lawsuits for adhering to her Christian beliefs.NEW YORK CITY — When Barronelle Stutzman took a stand for her Christian beliefs four and a half years ago, she never imagined that she would eventually be appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend her decision. But that’s exactly what happened. “This was never on my bucket list,” Barronelle told CNA. The 72-year-old grandmother is the owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, Washington, and is currently involved in a lawsuit involving a customer of nearly 10 years, Rob Ingersoll. Barronelle knew Rob was homosexual...