Free Republic

Vatican declaration 'lacks pastoral care'ANTWERP, Belgium (ChurchMilitant.com) - A Belgian bishop apologized to all who feel that the Vatican's recent reaffirmation of the sanctity of Christian marriage and the inadmissibility of blessing homosexual unions, saying of gay couples: "Their pain is mine today." Writing as a "bishop and theologian," Bp. Johan Bonny of Antwerp on March 17 wrote an op-ed for the Flemish-language De Staandard in reference to the declaration by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that ruled out any blessings for same-sex couples as "illicit" and "unlawful." In response to the directive, Bp. Bonny wrote...

Russia has proposed its strategic Arctic shipping route as an alternative to the Suez Canal after a 400-meter cargo ship got stuck in the canal, blocking one of the world’s key shipping routes and sparking fears of a rise in oil prices. “If you get icebound, we have icebreakers, well to break the ice,” Rosatom added, attaching an article on Rosatom icebreakers rescuing a cargo ship trapped in the ice in late December and early January. While sailing the Northern Sea Route cuts about 40% of the distance between China and European ports compared with taking the Suez Canal, traffic...

In Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, (9th Cir., March 18, 2021), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Washington state school board's dismissal of a high school football coach who insisted on prominently praying at the 50-yard line immediately after football games. The long-running high-profile case was before the 9th Circuit for the second time. (See prior posting.) The court issued a Summary of its decision along with the opinion, saying in part: The panel held that the record before it and binding Supreme Court precedent compelled the conclusion that the District would have violated the Establishment Clause...

In 2004, Boris Johnson, now the UK’s Prime Minister, famously wrote: “If I am ever asked, on the streets of London, or in any other venue, public or private, to produce my ID card as evidence that I am who I say I am, when I have done nothing wrong and when I am simply ambling along and breathing God’s fresh air like any other freeborn Englishman, then I will take that card out of my wallet and physically eat it in the presence of whatever emanation of the state has demanded that I produce it. "If I am incapable...

On Thursday Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) signed a sweeping bill that overhauls his state’s election laws that includes new restrictions on mail-in voting. The legislation was pushed through Georgia’s House and Senate after Kemp and the crooked Secretary of State handed Georgia over to the Democrats in TWO separate elections. Because of mail-in ballots, ballot drop boxes, no signature checks and ballot harvesting, the Democrats took control of the White House and flipped the Senate blue. Kemp finally signed new election laws that would require a photo ID in order to vote by absentee ballot and it would limit...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is once again calling for reform of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) Section 230 – as he once is again appearing before a US Congress committee. Zuckerberg’s testimony on Thursday before the House Energy Committee revealed that Zuckerberg is proposing replacing automatic immunity from prosecution for user generated content with platforms like his own demonstrating that they have implemented “adequate” moderation and censorship systems. He said that these systems would be used for “identifying unlawful content and removing it.” The thought behind this seems to be to convince critics that tech giants are doing everything to...

New photos reveal several cheat sheets used by President Joe Biden during his Thursday press conference — including one with the headshots and names of reporters he planned to call on. The president also used notes to assist with facts about US infrastructure, a policy area Biden is focusing on during his first months in the White House. “The United States now ranks 13th globally in infrastructure quality — down from 5th place in 2002,” read one bullet point. But despite having the answers in front of him, Biden still slipped up, saying America ranked 85th in the world in...

The Chinese regime is taking on foreign apparel and footwear brands amid global fallout over its genocide against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region. Undeterred by growing international condemnation over its human rights abuses, Beijing is pressing companies to reverse their position on Xinjiang by way of boycotts. The regime has dredged up past statements made by companies—some up to two years old—to distance themselves from sourcing materials from the northwestern Chinese region over potential forced labor abuses. It hopes to stoke nationalist fervor and encourage a nationwide boycott. The outrage from Beijing followed days after the...

A former psychiatry professor at Yale University is suing the Ivy League school, alleging that she was fired because of her mental health diagnosis of President Donald Trump, whom she had never met. Dr. Bandy Lee, who previously worked as an affiliated faculty member in the psychiatry department of Yale’s medical school, on Monday filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the university, reported student newspaper the Yale Daily News. She demands reinstatement and compensation for damages, including “economic losses” and “emotional distress.” Lee has been questioning the mental health of Trump since 2017, when she became the editor of “The...

Doubts about the omnipotent oracular-ness of "America's Doctor" are starting to spread... and not just among the extreme-right-nazi-anti-vaxx-COVID-deniers (that constitute anyone who ever raises any doubts about any aspect of Biden/Fauci's public health policy).The coronavirus pandemic has been a great tragedy, there can be no doubt about that. But, as Scott Atlas recently noted, it has also exposed profound issues in America that now threaten the very principles of freedom and order that we Americans often take for granted.First, I have been shocked at the enormous power of the government, to unilaterally decree, to simply close businesses and schools by...

Joe Biden’s first press conference since inauguration was littered with lies and confusion. One of the most hateful and dishonest remarks he made was that his predecessor Donald Trump was starving children at the border — inside Mexico. Joe Biden: “The idea that I’m gonna say, which I would never do, that if an accompanied child ends up at the border we’re just gonna let him starve to death and stay on the other side — no previous administration did that either, except Trump. I’m not gonna do it.” Of course, the media did not push back on anything Joe...

Diversity, Inclusion and Equity policies have shown that they have failed the test dramatically. Rather than provide a better environment for students. This initiative is undermining other areas of education that could greatly benefit students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Evidence from a 2018 study shows that in the North American case, the percentage of enrolled students per ethnic groups have been fairly consistent from 1990 to 2015. The researchers, suggest more diversity instead of changing the approach. Is that really a wise choice considering the record that shows such diversity efforts are mostly ineffective? The question to ask then are...

Nearly 2,900 unaccompanied minors tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival at U.S. government shelters over the past year — including around 300 currently in the system — a Department of Health and Human Services official tells Axios. The big picture: The numbers highlight the staggering challenges in trying to manage a child migration crisis during a pandemic, while weighing human rights and child welfare concerns against immigration laws. Details: Of the unaccompanied children currently in shelters, only about 3% are currently in isolation after testing positive when they arrived, according to the latest statistics provided to Axios. * About 7.4%...

Americans hate woke culture, as I noted in these pages not too long ago. Black, white, Republican and Democrat, a large majority of Americans oppose it. Even people like former President Barack Obama, Bill Maher and ultra-liberal comedienne Sarah Silverman hate it (Maher calls it “Stalinist”). But it keeps going. Why is that? And what can you do about it — especially if you or someone you are close to comes under attack? In short, it keeps going because it’s easy and fun — and you have to make it less so. Lesson one: Don’t panic — and don’t give...

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan has begun mass production of a long-range missile and is developing three other models, a senior official said on Thursday, in a rare admission of efforts to develop strike capacity amid growing Chinese pressure. China, which claims democratic Taiwan as its own territory, has stepped up military activity near the island, as it tries to force the government in Taipei to accept Beijing's claims of sovereignty. Taiwan's armed forces, dwarfed by China's, are in the midst of a modernisation programme to offer a more effective deterrent, including the ability to hit back at bases deep within...

(CNN)President Joe Biden held the first formal news conference of his presidency on Thursday, taking questions in the East Room of the White House on immigration, foreign policy, the Senate filibuster, his political future and other subjects. Here is a fact check of some of the claims he made. Here's a look at our recent fact checks. Migrant families and the border Defending his approach to migration at the southern border, Biden claimed that "we're sending back the vast majority of the families that are coming." Facts First: This was not true in February, the last month for which we...

"For the few that can maneuver social media with the grace of Cox or Andrew Yang or Justin Amash, keep it up — and stay out of needless battles (with political opponents or trees). For everyone else, just leave it up to the communications team."

The folks who like to claim they are the “party of science” seem to have a problem with some basic scientific concepts, particularly when it comes to biology. The basic principle that women and men should have equal rights under the law has evolved from that for some Democrats to come to mean men and women are the same thing or there is no difference. That’s just biological and anatomical nonsense. But listen to Joe Biden, the guy who has his hands on our nuclear codes, a frightening thought. BIDEN: "There's not a single thing a man can do that...

The Larsens’ bodies were discovered by a snowplow driver working for Caltrans on Highway 395 early in the morning of Nov. 9, after the area’s first major snowfall of the season. The couple was found on the highway’s shoulder about 10 miles north of Bridgeport, not far from the Nevada border, where officials say they had no known connection. The location is about a six-hour drive from Los Angeles. Authorities have yet to release a cause of death for the pair. It’s still unclear whether the Larsens died by the highway or if their bodies were dumped there. Other than...