I am new to this and don't know how to include your request in italics as all of you are doingYou need to insert HTML markup commands into your post. They are pretty simple, about the only ones I ever use are for italics, bold, new paragraph, line break (for a return without skipping a line), and blockquote which indents a large block of text that you are pasting from some source.
The one thing I have forgotten is how to place HTML markups into a post as text so that I could show you how to do it.
I am still having problems with the "authority" of the USCCB in completely removing the discipline of our Holy Church as to the requirement of penance on Friday. The explanation as to it being purely ecclestical law and therefore allowing for the dispensation seems to open a Pandora's box for me.
This is an excellent question and one that does not have an easy answer. Consider also this: if it's bad enough to allow the episcopal conference to eliminate penance on Friday, then how much worse is it to allow the episcopal conference to tinker with the Mass?
You can read the instructions from FreeRepublic at the botton of the "Posting Comment" page regarding using HTML or not. I think I can give you a list of the most common commands if I insert spaces so FR does not interpret them as HTML. Just remove the extra spaces.
< B > Bold
< I > Italic
< P > New Paragraph
< BR > Line Break
< Blockquote > Skip a line and indent to format large block
< /B > End Bold
< /I > End Italic
< /P > End Paragraph (Not required -- happens by default)
< /Blockquote > Returns to stand indent and format
The most annoying part is that FR will automatically format a web address as a hyperlink if you don't use any HTML. But if you do use some HTML somewhere in you post, like bold or something, then you have to format the hyperlink as well.
< a href="
http://www.xyz.com" > XYZ Website
The text "XYZ Website" will be formatted as a link to the URL that you put within quotation marks inside the HTML markup brackets.