Free Republic

I can’t remember where I came across this riveting Civil War question, “Why didn’t the Civil War soldiers turn in battle when facing canons loaded with canister?” I often wondered how men kept marching forward in the face of near-certain death by having their flesh mercilessly shredded. Surely there was uncommon valor and bravery. Yet, was there another dynamic moving them forward in the face of a hideous death? Civil War soldiers marched into battle in units composed of men from their hometowns and home states. If a man turned in battle, his cowardice meant that he couldn’t go home...

Corruption is like “bad breath,” says Pope Francis, “it is hard for the one who has it to realize it; others realize it and have to tell him.” In an address to a delegation of the International Association of Penal Law this morning, Francis commented on a variety of troubling international legal issues, including the widespread problem of corruption, which he called “a greater evil than sin.”

Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, was an active participant in this month’s Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme “The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization.” The synod’s purpose was to examine challenges to the family today, and ultimately to develop a more effective pastoral approach for the Church in addressing those challenges. In addition to speaking out in defense of the unborn, Archbishop Kurtz has been a vocal supporter of the traditional family against legal recognition of same-sex marriage. During the two-week-long...

Cardinal Vincent Nichols has said that the lives of Catholics who cohabitate outside of marriage are “marked by real goodness”. In a pastoral letter to the Diocese of Westminster reflecting on the family synod, Cardinal Nichols said: “A central principle for this pastoral care emerged clearly: that in trying to walk alongside people in difficult or exceptional situations, it is important to see clearly and with humility all the good aspects of their lives. That is what comes first. From this point, we learn to move together towards conversion and towards the goodness of life that God has for us...

As the final furlongs of the 2014 midterm election season approach, it is important that as conservatives we reflect upon not simply on polling data and the issues that drive individual races, but precisely what drives our political activism. While establishment Republicans and Tea Party enthusiasts alike fully recognize the failings and inadequacies of the GOP, we need fully recognize that our goals of a more perfect Union and the future of our children depends on electing men and women who share and reflect our values to the US Senate, Governors mansions and (possibly of even greater importance) state legislature...

In my mind, the Relatio (The mid Synod report), released today October 13th, is the equivalent of standing out in a field during a thunderstorm holding a 50ft lightning rod, daring God to hit it! A snippet... 45. Divorced people who have not remarried should be invited to find in the Eucharist the nourishment they need to sustain them in their state. The local community and pastors have to accompany these people with solicitude, particularly when there are children involved or they find themselves in a serious situation of poverty. 46. In the same way the situation of the divorced...

We got this letter some hours ago, and asked this reader in Africa for his permission to post it. He just asked to have any information that could identify him or the diocese removed. Dear friends of rorate-caeli.blogspot.com, I live in the diocese of [omitted] in [a small country in East Africa], a diocese that's very full of life, marriages, baptisms, confirmations, vocations are so abundant that they would seem improbable elsewhere. Since I lived for many years in Belgium and in Ireland years ago, I know what I'm talking about. Our bishop, [name omitted], though not at all old,...

It never ceases to outrage when those who abide unabashedly and unrepentantly in sin claim to be Christians. Like the two churchgoing San Diego couples whom we previously wrote about – Will and Shirley and Nate and Faith – whose idea of a small group was a casino gambling ring. They were featured in the documentary film “Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians.” More recently there was Alexis McGill Johnson, who this past spring became the chairwoman of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s foremost abortionist. Johnson publicly professes herself a Christian but thinks there nothing wrong with killing...

This week my denomination, through its executive committee, voted to "disfellowship" a congregation in California that has acted to affirm same-sex sexual relationships. This sad but necessary move is hardly surprising, since this network of churches shares a Christian sexual ethic with all orthodox Christians of every denomination for 2,000 years. One of the arguments made by some, though, is that this is hypocritical since so many ministers in our tradition marry people who have been previously divorced. The argument is that conservative Protestants already embrace a "third way" because we've done so on divorce. Couples divorce, sometimes remarry others,...

The Tswana people of South Africa practice polygamy. (Photo/Wikipedia) Say “family issues” to most Americans or Europeans, and they’re likely to flash on divorce, or the challenges of single-parent households, or perhaps same-sex relationships and the push for gay marriage.What probably wouldn’t come naturally to mind is polygamy. Yet in many parts of the non-Western world, polygamy is a major feature of family life, and thus a major pastoral challenge for the Catholic Church.Discussion of polygamy is likely to surface at the Oct. 5-19 Synod of Bishops on the family in the Vatican, and could be a factor in the...

A single mother, people who have been married before and couples who have been living together "in sin" were married by Pope Francis in a taboo-challenging ceremony at the Vatican on Sunday. In another signal of the openness of his papacy, Francis asked to marry 40 people from different social backgrounds who would be a realistic sample of modern couples. It comes three weeks before a major synod of the Catholic Church will discuss the divisive issues of marriage, divorce and conception.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: Whoever lives beneath the cross of Jesus, and has discerned in the cross of Jesus the utter ungodliness of all people and of their own hearts, will find there is no sin that can ever be unfamiliar. Whoever has once been appalled by the horror of their own sin, which nailed Jesus to the cross, will no longer be appalled by even the most serious sin of another Christian; rather they know the human heart from the cross of Jesus. Such persons know how totally lost is the human heart in sin and weakness, how it...

Once upon a time there was a church founded on God’s entering into human history in order to give humanity a path to eternal life and happiness with him. The Savior that God sent, his only-begotten Son, did not write a book but founded a community, a church, upon the witness and ministry of twelve apostles. He sent this church the gift of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of love between Father and Son, the Spirit of the truth that God had revealed about himself and humanity by breaking into the history of human sinfulness. This church, a hierarchical communion,...

Doing pro-life work is often met with resistance, sometimes from where we least expect it. Whether we make the Biblical case for public pro-life action or for a boycott of companies that support Planned Parenthood, Christians have responded that there are too many societal sins to justify a focus on fighting abortion. And when we point out the urgency of God’s command to do all we can to save “those that are ready to be slain,” others defend their inaction by saying something along these lines: “Remember, all sins are equal!” It is not my intention to vilify those people....

New survey research shows that Christians who support same-sex marriage are more likely to hold permissive views on other sexual morality issues, such as divorce and pornography, similar to the general population and far different from Christians who support traditional marriage.The "Relationships in America" survey, conducted by University of Texas sociologist Mark Regnerus, interviewed 15,738 Americans between the ages of 18 and 60. From that sample, Regnerus compared the average views on a range of sexual morality issues of churchgoing Christians who oppose same-sex marriage (2,659 in the sample) and churchgoing Christians who support same-sex marriage (990 in the sample)....

"Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!” (Psalms 19:13) If you as a believer know what you need to do to overcome lust but then do the opposite, you are acting in willful disobedience. This is presumptuous and arrogant sinning and it comes with a price. As David understood fully, by arrogantly and selfishly entering into sin, you are allowing sin to gain dominion over you. You become an “addict” to a life-dominating sin—a slave with no way out.

There was an interfaith gathering Tuesday evening to support marriage equality in Warren at Renaissance Unity Church. About 80 people were in attendance....

Amid the reports emerging out of Liberia, it’s difficult to discern what is true and what isn’t. But the fear they carry is undeniable: Fear of the disease, fear of dead bodies, fear that God himself has sent down a terrible plague to blight the people of Liberia for their transgressions.There are local reports that “armed men” are allegedly trying to poison wells “to kill in the name of Ebola.” There are reports that the government is dumping bodies by the truckload at a mass grave on the west bank of a river and nearby residents fret over water contamination. And there...

For those who do not understand the blind loyalty of people who follow Al Gore and his Global Warming crusade, you must understand that to them it is nothing short of a religious belief.That’s right; Global Warming is a religion whose god is Mother Earth. For Al Gore and other politicians, it’s just another means to control the masses, but the religious aspect of Global Warming is ultimately how they are able to convince so many people that it truly does exist and man is responsible for creating it.To really explain what it is I mean, I need to...

Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) announced his support for gay marriage Monday, saying that he believes it is "fully appropriate" for a state to recognize both same-sex marriages and "traditional" ones, even though he, as a Christian, believes in the the latter. When asked by The Washington Post whether he supports gay marriage, in light of a Florida judge's decision last week to overturn the state's ban, Jolly said that his personal views on marriage are that it should be limited to one man and one woman. But, he added, states should not be defining the "sanctity" of marriage.