Free Republic

Organizers have confirmed that participants in Germany’s “synodal way” will vote next month on a controversial proposal that would create a powerful permanent “synodal council” to oversee the local Church. The organizers announced on Aug. 22 that a total of 14 papers will be put to a vote at the initiative’s fourth plenary assembly in Frankfurt on Sept. 8-10. They include a text entitled “Sustainable strengthening of Synodality: A Synodal Council for the Catholic Church in Germany,” which will have its second reading on Sept. 9. If the document passes its second reading, it will be formally adopted as a...

Top political adviser Wang Yang met the newly elected leaders of two state-sponsored church bodies in ChinaHe urged them to deepen ‘Sinicisation’ by fostering politically reliable clergy so control remains in the hands of patriotsTop political adviser Wang Yang has urged new Catholic leaders in China to resist foreign influence and ensure that control of the church remains in the hands of patriots. He made the remarks after the two state-sponsored Catholic Church bodies in China elected new leaders at a twice-a-decade conference that wrapped up in Wuhan, Hubei province on Saturday. During the three-day meeting, Archbishop Joseph Li Shan...

A federal judge in Idaho has barred the state from enforcing a strict abortion ban in medical emergencies over concerns that it violates a federal law on emergency care. The ruling Wednesday evening came after a federal judge this week in Texas made the opposite call, barring the federal government from enforcing a legal interpretation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act that would require Texas hospitals to provide abortion services if the health or life of the mother is at risk. In Idaho, the ban makes performing an abortion in any “clinically diagnosable pregnancy” a felony punishable by...

On August 18, the Main Russian Armed Forces’ Cathedral hosted a round table themed "Spiritual foundations of Russian statehood and military service to the Motherland: history of development and cooperation between the Church and the Army". The event was held as part of the International military and technical forum "Army-2022".In his opening address Deputy Defense Minister, Colonel General Victor Goremykin noted that the military victory is always preceded by a spiritual victory. Military chaplains stay with the military units and hold Divine services right in the field conditions. Given the high demand for worship and religious rites among servicemen, who...

The order's fourth monastery in the country stands three and a half hours away from the seat of the diocese of Ketapang. The ceremony, presided over by Bishop Pius Riana Prapdi, was celebrated according to Dayak cultural traditions. Jakarta (AsiaNews) - The Cistercians of the strict observance, or Trappists, yesterday inaugurated their fourth monastery in the country, located in the village of Penggadungan, in the district of Sungai Melayu, West Kalimantan. The village where the new monastery is located is a remote area in the middle of the Indonesian forest (see photo), a three and a half hour drive from...

In a solemn ceremony held at the RF Northern Fleet submarine base in Gadzhievo, Murmansk region, two portable iconostases were consecrated and handed over to crews of two nuclear submarine strategic missile cruisers: Knyaz Oleg and Novosibirsk, the fleet's press service reported. An iconostasis is a wall of icons, used to divide the Altar from the rest of the church space. Portable iconostases for sailing warships are made of wood, but for submarines, they use fabric. Such icons do not take up much space in the very limited space. On church feast days, canvases with icons are unpacked and mounted...

COMMENTARY: This diplomatic policy means that Catholics under persecution by repressive regimes such as Nicaragua, China and Venezuela should not expect rhetorical support from the Vatican.In response to the persecution of the Church in Nicaragua, the Holy See is strictly observing the Gallagher Protocol. But the Gallagher Protocol is not being observed elsewhere, not even in Italy. As cardinals from around the world head to Rome this week, will Archbishop Gallagher himself be able to persuade them to stifle their protests over a brother bishop taken away by Daniel Ortega’s regime? In June 2021, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s...

The season starts Sept. 1 with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and closes with the feast of St. Francis of Assisi on Oct. 4 Sister Kathleen Storms hopes a calendar of prayers and suggestions for action during the upcoming worldwide Season of Creation will help people "understand that simple options can make an important difference in our care for creation." Meatless Mondays and shopping at farmer's markets are among actions proposed by the Care for Creation Team of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to observe the season. Sister Kathleen, a School Sister of...