Free Republic

On Tuesday evening, the Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV spoke out against anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States, as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s bellicose rhetoric. At an unusual gathering of military leaders earlier that day, Hegseth had told the top brass to be “prepared for war, not for defense,” while espousing the use of “overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy” and promising to “untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the enemies of our country.” Speaking to reporters in Italian, Leo called Hegseth’s rhetoric “worrying,” per the Catholic News Agency, “because it shows...

[Catholic Caucus] The Brew: Pope Leo Smothers Pro-Lifers in the ‘Seamless Garment.’Well, the mystery man has taken off his disguise. Like traumatized children who hope that their mama’s new boyfriend won’t beat them as much as the last one, Catholics greeted the new man called “Il Papa” with hope. And indeed Leo XIV is a big improvement in some ways over Pope Francis. Leo doesn’t seem to be a sociopath, and is probably even a theist.But as we reported yesterday, Leo’s latest public statement has given away that he embraces one of the most detestable heresies in Church history since...

[Catholic Caucus] Michigan’s new ‘Catholic Caucus’ features two pro-abortion Democrat lawmakersGOP State Rep. Jim DeSana is pushing back against the Michigan Catholic Conference after the group announced two pro-abortion Democrats would co-chair its official legislative caucus.A traditional Catholic lawmaker in Michigan is pushing back against the state’s Catholic Conference (MCC) after the group announced that two pro-abortion Democrats would co-chair its official legislative caucus.GOP State Representative Jim DeSana granted reporter Stephen Kokx an exclusive interview on Wednesday to speak out against the decision.“I feel it is problematic and even scandalous for me as a Catholic state representative to participate in...

Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Friday allowing healthcare workers the option of anonymously mailing abortion drugs into red states to skirt pro-life laws. The law, AB 260, bolsters the state’s existing shield laws designed to protect abortionists from out-of-state prosecutions. Democrat Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry said she introduced the legislation in direct response to a Texas man suing a California doctor for sending his girlfriend abortion pills, Politico reported. Newsom also signed a bill that would keep the abortion drug mifepristone available in the state, even if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided to...

Money talks: Why Cupich may be honoring pro-abortion Sen. DurbinCupich has a long and friendly history with Durbin, who has pulled the federal purse strings for the Chicago archdiocese. Chicago’s Cardinal Blase Cupich is doubling down in the face of backlash to his decision to honor pro-abort Sen. Dick Durbin. Durbin is a Catholic who lives in Chicago, with a long track record of voting in favor of abortion.“Recently some have criticized the decision of the Archdiocese of Chicago to recognize Senator Dick Durbin at our annual fundraiser for our immigration ministry, Keep Hope Alive,” he wrote in a Sept....

Pregnant women are filming themselves taking Tylenol in defiance against Donald Trump's shaky claim the painkiller causes autism in children. The president announced that doctors in the US will begin advising expectant mothers against taking the drug because of an apparent link. Trump, 79, claimed that taking Tylenol 'is no good', adding that pregnant women should 'fight like hell' to avoid taking it, except for in cases of extreme fever. Several moms have gone viral on TikTok for posting videos of themselves taking Tylenol in protest. 'Here's me, a PREGNANT woman, taking TYLENOL because I believe in science and not...

US Army apologizes to pro-life groups for calling them ‘terrorists’ under Biden adminThe secretary of the Army formally apologized to Operation Rescue and the National Right to Life for a Biden-era military presentation labeling the pro-life organizations ‘terrorist groups.’The Trump administration’s work to rectify its predecessors’ misconduct continues, this time with a formal apology from the U.S. Army for a Biden-era military presentation that labeled mainstream pro-life organizations “terrorist groups.”As LifeSiteNews covered last year, a photograph leaked of a presentation shown during an anti-terrorism briefing at Fort Bragg (renamed Fort Liberty at the time), right after one about the Islamist...

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority struck down the state’s 176-year-old abortion ban on Wednesday, ruling 4-3 that it was superseded by newer state laws regulating the procedure, including statutes that criminalize abortions only after a fetus can survive outside the womb.The ruling came as no surprise given that liberal justices control the high court. One of them went so far as promising to uphold abortion rights during her campaign two years ago, and they blasted the ban during oral arguments in November. The statute Wisconsin legislators adopted in 1849, widely interpreted as a near-total ban...

ealth and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pushed discredited claims that the MMR vaccine contains "a lot of aborted fetus debris." He made the remarks during a town hall event on Newsnation on Wednesday, saying this "debris" was the reason many religious groups don't get vaccinated. Why It Matters The claim comes amid a serious measles outbreak in Texas that has already claimed the lives of two children in a Mennonite community with low vaccination rates. Kennedy Jr., who has long faced criticism over his comments about vaccines, has vowed to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule. Despite...

Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed a bill forcing Colorado taxpayers to fund abortions. Polis signed SB25-183, a recently approved state measure that would allocate a minimum of $1.5 million per year of taxpayer funds to cover elective abortions. With Colorado having abortions up to birth, that means taxpayers will be on the hook for paying for killing viable babies who could easily live outside the womb. And with the $1.5 million figure a minimum, Colorado residents may be forced to pay even more to kill thousands of babies. “One thing pro-life and pro-choice people agree on nationwide is that...

The annual excitement over Girl Scout Cookie season took an unexpected turn this year when a viral report alleged that the beloved treats contain heavy metals and pesticides. The claim was initially met with skepticism, but has now escalated into legal action, leaving consumers questioning the safety of the iconic cookies. The controversy began when two consumer groups, Moms Across America and GMO Science, conducted a study analyzing 25 cookie samples from California, Iowa, and Louisiana. The report, which was published in December, claimed that 100% of the tested samples contained detectable levels of heavy metals, including aluminum, arsenic, lead,...

America’s public high schools are strange places to find displays of the alphabet. Perhaps with plummeting standardized test scores and a substantial increase in English-as-a-second-language students in sanctuary districts, high school educators feel the need to review kindergarten basics. In Fairfax County, Virginia’s West Springfield High School, located just 17 miles from the White House, school administrators and teachers have decorated the history hallway this month with a special, leftist rendition of the alphabet. The display, titled “The ABCs to ME,” is decorated with the school’s colors: a blue background lined with an orange border. Featured in the display is...

The DuPage County Board voted 10-5 at its Tuesday meeting to remove the Republican congressman’s name from the building and related offices in Wheaton. While Democrats and Republicans voted along party lines on the issue, Democrats Lynn LaPlante and Lucy Chang Evans abstained from the vote and expressed disappointment that the matter was raised. […] “Here in DuPage County, public buildings serve all people, regardless of race, gender, faith or … economic status,” board Chair Deb Conroy, a Democrat from Elmhurst, said ahead the vote. “This resolution reinforces the notion that the buildings on this campus support the rights of...

Ohio Democrats are looking to make a statement in favor of killing unborn babies by abortion by introducing the “Contraception Begins at Erection Act.” The bill, which will be introduced by Democrat state Reps. Anita Somani and Tristan Rader, would make it illegal for men to have sex without trying to create a child, Local12 reported. The bill is modeled after similar legislation introduced by Democrat Mississippi state Sen. Bradford Blackmon. “Fair is fair, right?” Somani said in video posted to Bluesky. “If this legislature is so dedicated to regulating women’s bodies and their access to contraceptives and abortion care...

In a powerful demonstration of support for reproductive rights, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed new legislation designed to strengthen New York’s position as a sanctuary for reproductive health care in America. The bill, known as S.36A/A.2145A, allows healthcare providers who prescribe medication used for abortions to have the name of their practice appear on prescription labels rather than their own. This measure aims to protect the privacy of medical professionals in an era of increasing hostility toward reproductive healthcare, both from state governments and the federal level. “Reproductive freedom will always be protected in the State of New York — and...

The biggest abortion business in America is not happy that President Donald Trump pardoned two dozen pro-life Americans. As LifeNews reported, Trump signed an executive order pardoning the 23 pro-life Americans Joe Biden imprisoned for protesting abortion. “This is a great honor to sign this,” Trump said, condemning Biden’s lawfare, especially targeted at “elderly people.” Please subscribe to the LifeNews YouTube channel for the latest pro-life videos. Many of the pro-life advocates who Joe Biden targeted with lawfare were praying or singing at abortion centers in an attempt to save babies or help moms choose life instead of abortion. But...

New York Times Highlights Christian and Jewish ‘Blessings’ for Abortion ClinicsThe New York Times has published a glowing article in praise of Christian and Jewish ministers who conduct “blessings” of abortion clinics in America.A Baptist minister, a Presbyterian pastor, and a Jewish cantor walked quietly through an abortion clinic where they “blessed the exam tables and their stirrups, the boxes of disposable gowns and the cushioned chairs in the recovery room,” the Times notes approvingly in Friday’s article.“Through a ritual blessing of the year-old clinic,” the piece states, the faith leaders “wanted to show that religion could be a source...

The Satanic Temple of Iowa is hosting the “family-friendly” “Satanic Holiday Joy” at the Iowa State Capitol this coming Saturday, where they tell attendees to expect, along with handing out coloring pages and an ornament decorating station for the kids, “Satanic holiday carols, a large Satanic altar and display, a devilish Sol Invictus/Saturnalia ornament making station, and ritual!” They will also have a costume contest with prizes for whoever dresses up as the best ‘Krampus,’ which is a horned, half-goat, half-demon figure from Central and Eastern European folklore who punishes children who misbehave. We last wrote about TST after they...

Police in Concord are investigating after someone vandalized a Satanic Temple holiday display at the State House. The statue, which the city sanctioned after explaining it was allowed because of the First Amendment, was unveiled Saturday night and was damaged shortly after. Visitors to the State House on Tuesday could see a Christmas tree, nativity scene and Bill of Rights display, but the Satanic Temple holiday display was taken down after it was damaged. The display depicted the pagan deity Baphomet and the Satanic Temple's seven fundamental tenets. In one hand, the figure held an apple to honor Isaac Newton...

[Catholic Caucus] Jesuit-run America Magazine op-ed blames ‘misogyny’ for Trump winning Catholic voteThe heterodox Jesuit-run America Magazine published an op-ed earlier this month that blamed 'misogyny' for Catholics voting overwhelming for Trump, going as far as accusing St. Thomas Aquinas and Church teaching as being in error.The heterodox Jesuit-run America Magazine published an op-ed earlier this month that blamed 'misogyny' for Catholics voting overwhelming for Trump, going as far as accusing St. Thomas Aquinas and Church teaching as being in error. Absent female authority in the church, and given this theological throughline, it is not surprising that female authority is...