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Link only due to copyright issues: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/opinion/2016/04/07/cruz-teavangelical-can-win/82711226/

BOSTON — Is the entirety of a property owned by a religious organization tax-exempt, or can portions not essential to religious worship be carved off and taxed like a house or office building? That’s the question debated before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Tuesday as lawyers for the National Shrine of Our Lady of LaSalette sought to overturn a state Appellate Tax Board ruling upholding a $92,292 tax bill from the city of Attleboro. The justices heard arguments and asked questions for just short of an hour during the proceeding in which attorney Diane Tillotson represented LaSalette and Mike Siddall...

The local bishop, students, alumni and now a group of faculty have joined The Cardinal Newman Society in criticizing the University of Notre Dame administration for its scandalous decision to award abortion and same-sex marriage advocate Vice President Joe Biden with "the oldest and most prestigious honor accorded to American Catholics." "Notre Dame claims to award the Laetare Medal 'annually to an American Catholic in recognition of outstanding service to Church and society.' But our Faculty for Life Chapter agrees with Bishop Kevin Rhoades that the awarding of the Laetare Medal to Vice-President Biden is a scandalous violation of the...

Catholics celebrated the Feast of the Annunciation on Monday, when the Virgin Mary said “yes” to God and Christ was conceived in her womb through the power of the Holy Spirit. But at the University of Notre Dame, a number of students spent Monday night on campus listening to former Texas State Senator Wendy Davis describe the benefits for women of choosing abortion or using contraception.During Mass on Monday, Pope Francis encouraged the faithful to open their hearts to God and to say “yes” to his message of salvation. “Mary’s ‘yes’ opens the door to Jesus’ ‘yes’: I have come...

Ted Cruz is simply the best — by far — on our top two issues: Israel’s security and school choice. We send politicians and “Shtadlanim” (special pleaders/lobbyists) to Washington and state capitals with the hope that they will advocate on our behalf. We hope they can lobby the powers-that-be, to be sensitive to our community’s concerns. Imagine having a President that unapologetically advocates for our values… himself! Foreign policy: Israel The most concerning foreign policy issue to our community — and it’s not even close — is the safety and security of our brothers and sisters, “the six million Jews”...

Psalm 70:4 But Fill the Followers of God with Joy. Let those who Love Your Salvation Exclaim, "What a Wonderful God He is!"

“It’s possible that Rome may betray us,” said Fr Dong, before he said Mass in the city of Shijiazhuang in Hebei province. “If this happens, I will resign. I won’t join a Church which is controlled by the Communist Party. “We are suffering like Jesus on the cross. We fight for religious freedom and follow the Gospel – but we are not supported by either Rome or China.”

Richmond, Va., Apr 3, 2016 / 04:26 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The veto of a religious freedom bill means faith-based groups that support marriage as a union of a man and a woman won't have needed protections, the state's Catholic bishops said. "The Virginia Catholic Conference is deeply dismayed by the governor’s action," the conference said March 30. "This veto risks the destruction of Virginia's long tradition of upholding the religious freedom of faith communities which dates back to Thomas Jefferson." The bill would have forbidden the state of Virginia from punishing religious groups that follow their sincerely held beliefs that...

Cities across Poland are bracing themselves for mass demonstrations against the country's right-wing government, after its prime minister admitted she favoured a total ban on abortion, even in the instance of rape or incest. Roman Catholic churches in the country are also participating in a campaign against the procedure, with priests reading a letter from a bishops' conference that calls for the last of Poland's already strictly limited abortion rights to be removed. Pro-choice campaigners say this is part of a concerted build-up to introducing legislation in the country's parliament. Speaking to public radio earlier in the week, Szydlo was...

The song you are about to hear is from a Las Vegas Diamond Rio concert. They received an immediate resounding standing ovation, and continue to do so every time they perform. Sadly, it is considered "politically incorrect." Consequently, the song was not released to the public.

Javier del Rio, archbishop of Peru's second city, warns Catholics against voting for candidates who support marriage equality and legal abortion in certain cases.A Peruvian archbishop told congregants they would be committing "a sin" if they vote for two left-leaning presidential candidates because of their stances on abortion and gay rights. The comment on Sunday by Javier del Rio, responsible for the archdiocese of Peru's second biggest city Arequipa with more than one million Catholics, was aimed at Veronika Mendoza and Alfredo Barnechea, who were virtually tied for third place in opinion polls two weeks before the April 10 election....

A woman named Dawn sent us the following disturbing information about a church she used to attend. She’s asked that her anonymity be preserved, so I’ve edited out anything that might indicate where she lives and which church is referred to. This sort of “educational” material can only gain traction where there is widespread ignorance about the history and doctrines of Islam. Disinformation flourishes among well-meaning but ill-informed people. This is why websites such as Gates of Vienna, Vlad Tepes, Tundra Tabloids, The Religion of Peace, Politically Incorrect, Snaphanen, Jihad Watch, and Pamela Geller exist — to provide an education...

An estimated 20,000 people were baptised on Easter night. Just outside Shanghai, 27 baptised people join a community of 100. Rampant materialism and individualism drive people to convert. Underground communities celebrated Easter without songs and in small groups.Beijing (AsiaNews) - On Easter night, more than 100 adults were baptised in Beijing's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (pictured). Wrapped in a white robe, accompanied by godparents, they confessed their adherence to faith in Jesus Christ who died and rose again, baptised by Archbishop Joseph Li Shan. The same ritual was repeated in all of China's Catholic churches during Easter eve vigil....

Nehemiah 9:5 Stand Up and Praise the Lord Your God Forever and Ever, And Let them Praise Thy Glorious Name, O God, Which Excelleth Above All Thanksgiving and Praise.

A British father has been banned from taking his son to a church after the boy's Muslim mother won a controversial court order preventing the boy from attending. The father – a non-practising Muslim who has forged close connections to his local Christian community and is divorced from the boy's mother – has been warned that he could be denied access to the nine-year-old if he attempts to take him to church or to a leisure centre it runs. Now the father, who was born in the UK to Pakistani parents, is challenging the ruling made by District Judge Williscroft...

We live in an age where we almost have to apologize for being Christian. Thankfully, that is not the case here, and now. The Resurrection is the central message of Christianity. I wish all of you a happy Easter. We need to unite to defend the faith now in ways that are more important than ever. Happy Easter!

FULL TITLE: The Little Sisters of the Poor Case Isn't About Contraception. It's About When the Government Can Force You to Violate Your Conscience. The real issue is more foundational, however: When an American says a law or regulation infringes on his conscience, under what circumstances should he be exempted from it, and under what circumstances should he be forced to comply anyway? It's a tricky question to which there isn't a fully established answer (though I've ruminated on the topic before). As Justice Stephen Breyer put it today, "I'm [still] trying to find the distinction between those things we...

When the government demands that the Little Sisters of the Poor bend the knee to a mandate that they provide free abortifacients and contraceptives, you can add this to the list of low moments in our nation’s religious-liberty history: Baptist preachers flogged and jailed in 1770s Virginia for singing hymns in public or preaching without a state license; Governor Lilburn Boggs’s 1838 directive that state police drive Mormons from Missouri or “exterminate” them; General Ulysses S. Grant’s 1862 order expelling Jews from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi for alleged war profiteering; the passage of Blaine Amendments in most state constitutions, to...

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a group of cases challenging the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that non-profit employers offer health-care coverage that includes contraception, abortifacients, and sterilization. The challengers in the consolidated cases, captioned Zubik v. Burwell, include Little Sisters of the Poor, Priests for Life, and a variety of religious non-profits. Many of the arguments that have been put forth in support of the plaintiffs involve conscience rights. These are important arguments that certainly deserve attention. However, in the amicus brief I filed in on behalf of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, I emphasized public-health...

Members of the United States Congress have voiced their support for the Little Sisters of the Poor before their case is argued before the Supreme Court on Wednesday. “We talk a lot about public service up here. Well, these are the people who live it,” House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) said of the sisters on the House Floor on Tuesday, noting that they serve the poor in 31 countries. “They are the definition of public service.” On Wednesday, oral arguments for Zubik v. Burwell will take place at the Supreme Court. The case is a bundle of seven cases against...