Free Republic

American Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien doesn’t know what will come out of the Synod on the Family set for October, but the former archbishop of Baltimore believes it will be significant. “Hold onto your seats,” Cardinal O’Brien told a gathering of seminarians and faculty at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore. “I think Pope Francis wants to stir things up and allow people to raise questions. I don’t think we’re going to see a change in doctrine, but we will see a change in tone, and we might see some disciplinary modifications.” -snip- The principal job of the council...

O'Brien urges Muslims to say sorry for 9/11EDDIE BARNESTHE leader of Scotland's Roman Catholics, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, has called for Muslims to apologise for the 9/11 and 7/7 bomb attacks, declaring that the public should not have to live "in fear of attack" from believers of the Islamic faith.... O'Brien said: "There have been no apologies for the shooting of the nun [in Somalia after the Pope made his remarks], let alone for 9/11 or the London bombings. I would like to see some reciprocal moves from the Islamic side. We shouldn't have to live in fear of attack from...

LONDON, August 1, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Department of Health report for 2005 on abortion in England and Wales indicates the abortion rate is rising, and confirms a growing awareness in Parliament that it needs to revisit the 1967 Abortion Act in order to address the rise of abortions throughout the United Kingdom, reports Zenit.org. According to the data published July 4 by Britain’s Department of Health (DOH), abortion rates increased for resident women in England and Wales by .4%, up from 186,416, compared with 185,700 a year earlier. The data indicated also that Britain has acted as a haven...

EDINBURGH, January 16, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A decision by Scottish lawmakers to allow same-sex couples to adopt has been condemned by Roman Catholic prelate Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who warned that the measure would make Scotland’s orphans “guinea pigs in some distorted social experiment.” The Cardinal has asked that Catholic adoption agencies be allowed a “conscience clause” to exempt them from the ruling, so as not to be forced to place children in homes with same-sex guardians. O’Brien is worried that Catholic adoption agencies would eventually be forced into placing children with same-sex couples. Galloway Bishop John Cunningham, chair of the...