Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Attendance at Mass and How to Fix ItIn October of every year, my diocese, the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, conducts a “head count” in order to determine average Mass attendance. The results of the 2024 count were published in the diocesan newspaper, The Arlington Catholic Herald, in the Jan. 30 – Feb. 12, 2025 edition. Out of an estimated 433,000 registered Catholics in the diocese, approximately 28.8% attended “weekend” Mass in October, 2024.The article compared this result to national attendance rates, citing a Gallup survey in 2024 that showed 23% weekly Mass attendance and a Georgetown University survey...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, 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.1 John 5:20 "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true...

SOLEDAD, Calif. — An inmate is being investigated for the attempted murder of a peace officer on Tuesday at Salinas Valey State Prison, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials. Anthony G. Ramirez, 43, allegedly attacked a custody staff member on a dayroom floor with an improvised weapon that was concealed in his waistband, according to the CDCR.

Kirsty Coventry has been elected as the 10th President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), becoming the first woman and African to ever be elected to the position. Coventry, 41, will also be the youngest ever to assume the role and came through a field of seven contenders in the seaside resort of Costa Navarino in Greece to land the most powerful job in world sport. Coventry will officially take up the role on June 24, after incumbent Thomas Bach steps down following a 12-year spell in charge. Coventry will arrive at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty around the...

TRENTON, N.J. — President Donald Trump on Monday named his one-time defense attorney and current White House counselor Alina Habba to be the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey. Habba, who turns 41 Tuesday, takes over the interim post from John Giordano, whom the president said he's naming to be the U.S. ambassador for the southwestern African country of Namibia. A partner in a small New Jersey law firm near Trump’s Bedminster golf course, Habba served as a senior adviser for Trump's political action committee, defended him in court in several civil lawsuits and acted as a spokesperson last year...

Arrested on corruption charges and charged in court. By the feds. So far, it look like almost every African American woman elected to office is corrupt. Tiffany Henyard comes to mind for starters.

Nearly a year after a mob attacked UCLA students and faculty who formed an encampment protesting Israel’s war in Gaza, participants in that encampment are suing senior officials from the University of California and UCLA, alleging that the system violated their civil rights and rights to free expression by summoning law enforcement to clear their protest. The suit also alleges that UC officials discriminated against pro-Palestinian supporters and failed to protect members of the encampment from the attackers. The students and faculty, plus members of the public, are also suing individuals the legal team alleges attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment last...

"BREAKING: Pete Hegseth answered a question about the Signal Chats: "So you're talking about a deceitful and highly discredited, so-called journalist who's made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again to include the, I don't know, the hoaxes of Russia, Russia, Russia, or the fine people on both sides hoax or suckers and losers hoax." "So this is the guy that pedals in the garbage. This is what he does." "I would love to comment on the Houthi campaign because of the skill and courage of our troops, I've monitored it very closely from the beginning."' ...

New York University’s website was hacked on Saturday and its homepage replaced with purported SAT and ACT scores and GPAs for the 2024 student cohort, broken down by race.The hacker accused NYU of illegal admissions practices based on race. The alleged data posted on the hacked page reportedly showed that Asian students had higher average ACT and SAT scores, while white students had higher GPAs, compared to Hispanic and black applicants.The page featured a black background with green writing and the message: “On June 29 2023, racial affirmative action in college admissions was ruled illegal. Computer N–ggy Exploitation (CNE) reveals...

“We’re not going to allow this mass deportation,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said during an appearance on The David Pakman Show, making it clear that state police will not cooperate. “We’re not going to allow this mass deportation,” Hochul said, explaining that they will cooperate only when there is a warrant or someone is on the terrorism watch list. “Where we will cooperate — and I did this even under the Biden administration — if you have a warrant, or you know, someone’s on a terrorism watch list or committing crimes in their home country, or committing crimes...

An Israel Defense Forces carried out an airstrike on a Gaza hospital on Sunday night, killing the new "Hamas Prime Minister". The militant group has confirmed his death. IDF claimed that Hamas has been exploiting civilian infrastructure like hospitals to hide terrorists. The Gaza health ministry run by Hamas said the strike was targeted at the surgery department of the hospital. Who was Ismail Barhoum? Identified as Ismail Barhoum, the top Hamas official had replaced Issam Da’alis as the "prime minister" of the militant group in Gaza. Barhoum, who was injured in an earlier airstrike, was being treated at the...

[Pics at site. Can't post Getty] A new steam vent near Nymph Lake in Yellowstone National Park attracted a lot of attention when it suddenly appeared in August 2024. Even in the ever-changing landscape of Yellowstone, it’s not every day that people see a new thermal feature emerge. The U.S. Geological Survey was observing the new steam vent until the winter snow prevented easy access. Once they’re able to get back to it, the new feature might already be gone. “That new vent was much diminished by the end of last year,” said Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano...

The South African Air Force (SAAF) only has six operational military aircraft and 325 that are getting rusty .. The country would have to rely on two fighter jets and land-based air defence systems to protect itself .. South Africans are fuming with the government, blaming the African National Congress for the situation

A CBS station in Boston was a bit skeptical about Tom Homan's claim that Boston police, in particular, and Massachusetts law enforcement, in general, were releasing violent illegal aliens in order to avoid handing them over to ICE. Homan has been very critical of Boston's policies, and when Homan is unhappy, the world as a whole knows that he is. In a world where bureaucrats keep their heads down unless they are resisting Donald Trump, Homan stands out.Tom Homan Sent A FAFO Message To The Police Commissioner Of Boston For Defying ICE and Releasing Criminal Pedophile Illegal Aliens Back Into...

Keir Starmer has spoken of how he personally “likes and respects” the US president, Donald Trump, and understands what he is trying to achieve. The prime minister made the comments in an interview with the New York Times, saying: “President Trump has a point when he says there needs to be a greater burden borne by European countries for the collective self-defence of Europe.” He said it was a critical moment for the UK and it would not be right to pick either Europe or the US to side with. “Churchill didn’t do it. Attlee didn’t do it. It’d be...

Have you taken a look around today at what's going on? Things are going rather well, economically-speaking. Sure, the stock market didn't like the uncertainty of the impact of tariffs at all, tanking for the better part of a month. But if one just ganders at the economic development and investment committed to begin in the United States due to the threat of tariffs, it's staggering when you start looking at all the zeros after the crooked numbers. There are going to be trillions of dollars flowing into America...trillions that would have remained working against American workers and taxpayers had...

In a nutshell * Compound K, a rare ginseng metabolite, fights skin aging through multiple pathways simultaneously — strengthening skin barrier, boosting collagen, and reducing inflammation * Unlike many anti-aging ingredients, Compound K can penetrate skin effectively and may activate longevity genes while improving cellular energy production * While laboratory results are promising, most research is still in early stages with limited human clinical trials to confirm effectiveness in commercial products ==================================================================================== GUANGZHOU, China — For thousands of years, ginseng has been treasured in Eastern medicine for its health-promoting properties. Now, modern science is uncovering the remarkable potential of one...

President Trump on Monday selected Dr. Susan Monarez, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for the permanent role, replacing David Weldon, whose nomination was withdrawn because of senators' opposition. Monarez has worked in federal government since 2006. Until her appointment to the Trump administration on Jan. 23, she was deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services. Previously she worked in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the U.S. National Security Council and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. "Dr. Monarez brings decades of experience...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Schneider urges Pope Francis to ‘retract’ texts undermining the faithWith Pope Francis having now left the hospital, the Kazakhstan bishop said that he must make every effort to 'rectify some confusions and some ambiguities which were made in his pontificate and which he himself made.'Bishop Athanasius Schneider has urged Catholics to pray for Pope Francis that he might “retract” certain documents and statements which have “undermined the clarity” of the faith.With Pope Francis having recently returned to the Vatican on Sunday after spending 38 days in the Gemelli hospital for bilateral pneumonia, many of his close supporters...

This ought to save the taxpayers a few dollars. On Monday, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced the signing of a "memorandum of understanding" ending the use of federal monies to house illegal aliens, directing that any such funds should go to helping American citizens. What an amazing idea.U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem today signed the “American Housing Programs for American Citizens” Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), to end...