Free Republic

In a world that changes constantly, people wonder if the Church can change its doctrine.

Biden’s picture with the Pope hangs in the spot directly behind where the president sitsWASHINGTON, D.C., January 25, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — As is customary upon taking office, President Joe Biden has placed his mark on the Oval Office, decorating the room with artwork representing various historical figures. Among the most notable changes is the addition of a framed image of Biden meeting Pope Francis, nestled among pictures of his family, and the removal of the military flags that Trump had standing behind the Resolute Desk. Biden replaced those flags with the American flag and a flag emblazoned with the presidential...

ROSARIO, Argentina — The mayor of a small town in southern Spain forcibly removed a cross from the doors of a convent. The crucifix was then found in a garbage dump. The events took place last week in the town of Aguilar de la Frontera, in the Diocese of Cordoba, in the Andalusia region in southern Spain. The cross was located at the entrance of the church that belongs to the adjoining convent of the Discalced Carmelites, and had been there since 1939. It was erected to honor the Nationalist victims of Spain’s civil war, although the plaque noting this...

Washington D.C., Jan 25, 2021 / 10:35 am MT (CNA).- President Joe Biden has a “very developed approach” to abortion, Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of the Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, said during a recent panel discussion hosted by the National Catholic Reporter. Campbell, who also offered a prayer at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, said at the Jan. 21 discussion that the “political obsession” with the “criminialization of abortion” has broken the Church apart. Campbell said she hopes someone interviews Biden “about what he thinks” on the issue. “He has a very--I know from a conversation with...

Priest at Joe Biden’s First Mass Slammed Trump as Not Pro-Life Because He Enforced Death PenaltyPresident Joe Biden attended Mass on Sunday where a priest criticized President Donald Trump for not being pro-life because he enforced the death penalty.Biden also received communion during the service at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C. even though he wants to expand abortions and force taxpayers to pay for unborn babies’ abortion deaths. Just two days earlier, Biden celebrated the anniversary of Roe v. Wade by promising to “codify” the pro-abortion ruling into federal lawAt the Mass Sunday, Jesuit...

Cdl. Müller: Biden administration leads campaign ‘to de-Christianize Western culture’‘I cannot support a pro-abortion politician because he builds social housing,’ Müller said in an interview with German media.January 26, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — Former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Cardinal Gerhard Müller has warned that the United States government under President Joe Biden, “with its concentrated political, media and economic power, is at the forefront of the most subtly brutal campaign in the last 100 years to de-Christianize Western culture.”In an interview with German-speaking Catholic news website kath.net released earlier today, Müller said there are “good...

January 26 2021 Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, bishops Church of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, Airoli, Mumbai, India Lectionary 520/318Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White.Readings for the feriaReadings for the memorialThese are the readings for the feriaThe following reading is proper to the memorial, and must be used even if you have otherwise chosen to use the ferial readings.First reading2 Timothy 1:1-8 ©Fan into a flame the gift God gave youFrom Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus in his design to promise life in Christ Jesus; to Timothy, dear child of mine, wishing...

Concerning the Eucharist and how what was supposed to be the exception to the rule after Vatican II goes against previous councils, and against popes in agreement with those councils both during, before and after each, etc: 1.) St. Sixtus 1 (circa 115): "The Sacred Vessels are not to be handled by others than those consecrated to the Lord." 2.) St. Basil the Great, Doctor of the Church (330-379): "The right to receive Holy Communion in the hand is permitted only in times of persecution." St. Basil the Great considered Communion in the hand so irregular that he did not...

The Bishop of Palakkad, Jacob Manathodath, has courted controversy after recommending a Catholic as a candidate for the Communist Party of India (CPI) for an election in Kerala. In his letter, dated 11th January, to Kanam Rajendram, the CPI State secretary, the bishop demanded the candidature of Isaac Varghese, a local industrialist for the upcoming elections for Kerala’s 140-seat legislative assembly. “Mr Isaac Varghesse who has applied to you for animation to contend the election for the Legislative Assembly constituency of Mannarkkad is a prominent and respected member of our community,” he wrote. “He will therefore get our support. He...

ROSARIO, Argentina — On Sunday, the Catholic Church in Latin America launched a consultation process that involves not only the hierarchy but also the laity, and Pope Francis reminded those taking part that “an elite illumined by one ideology or another” is not the Church. “This Ecclesial Assembly [cannot] be an elite, separated from the holy faithful People of God,” said Francis in a video message sent to the online presentation of the Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean. An assembly, the pope says, is a sign of a Church that doesn’t exclude anyone. The pope’s words were...

CNA Staff, Jan 25, 2021 / 02:24 pm MT (CNA).- A second alleged victim has accused activist Chicago priest Fr. Michael Pfleger of sexually abusing him as a minor decades ago, the Chicago archdiocese has confirmed to local media. The priest has strongly denied both accusations, which come from two brothers. The Chicago archdiocese’s general counsel had “just received” the second allegation Sunday evening, a spokesperson told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It is important to note that Fr. Pfleger remains removed from ministry pending the outcome of civil and church investigations,” said the spokesperson. “We will continue to follow our process...

Bishops’ Biden RemorseToo little, too lateCardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, along with four other American prelates, released a statement on Friday to express their concerns over one of the executive orders Biden signed on his first day.The order seeks to "prevent and combat discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation."But while Dolan had little to say prior to the election, he and his four fellow bishops are now worried Biden's pro-LGBT order "threatens to infringe the rights of people who recognize the truth of sexual difference or who uphold the institution of lifelong marriage between one...

US bishops’ pro-life chair criticizes Biden for celebrating Roe v. Wade anniversaryIt is deeply disturbing and tragic that any President would praise and commit to codifying a Supreme Court ruling that denies unborn children their most basic human and civil right, the right to life, under the euphemistic disguise of a health service.'President Joe Biden’s celebration of Roe v. Wade’s 48th anniversary this month was “disturbing and tragic,” according to Kansas City Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.Last week, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris marked the occasion by declaring...

Biden attends Sunday Mass at ultra-liberal Jesuit-run churchHoly Trinity Parish, located near Georgetown University, displays a Black Lives Matter banner near its entrance.Jesuit-run, ultra-liberal Holy Trinity Church in Washington, D.C.WASHINGTON, D.C., January 25, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — Joe Biden, the man who now occupies the White House, chose to attend Sunday Mass at Jesuit-run Holy Trinity Church, arguably the most effete liberal Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Washington.Mainstream media – normally appalled at the least hint of Christianity in the life of Washington politicians – were thrilled at the Biden clan’s Holy Trinity Mass attendance, ostensibly because the new President...

SHOCKING!! PRO-ABORTIONISTS STORM CATHOLIC PROLIFE MASS! Have to see what happened at Pro-life mass in Columbus. We must fight for prolife with peaceful means: FASTING AND PRAYER. ***Video said it happened in Columbus, so I believe they mean Ohio.

Joe Biden’s “Religions of Love” Is A Hashtag for ExclusionJoe Biden’s “Religions of Love” Is A Hashtag for ExclusionThe New York Times published an encomium on Joe Biden’s Catholic Faith, written by Elizabeth Dias who covers faith topics for the newspaper. Dias calls Biden “the most religiously observant commander in chief in half a century.” She makes a big effort to show that Biden’s abortionist stances don’t contradict her assessment but rather are in keeping with Francis’ new Church which according to Dias - she repeats this several times - is not focused on “sexual politics” as if killing babies...

January 25 is the feast day of the ancient martyrs, Juventius and Maximus (sometimes called Juventinus and Maximinus). These two were soldiers during the time of Julian the Apostate and suffered martyrdom at his hands, most likely in AD 363. You may remember from similar posts on this blog that although Julian had a deep animosity toward Christianity, he refrained from enacting a wholesale persecution in the style of Diocletian because he had seen that such methods failed to suppress the Faith and indeed, seemed to enhance its appeal. As a result, Julian had taken a more subtle approach to...

U.S. Bishop Chairmen Express Concerns with Executive Order on Supreme Court DecisionWASHINGTON — Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee for Religious Liberty; Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Bishop Michael C. Barber, S.J., of Oakland, chairman of the Committee on Catholic Education; Bishop Shelton J. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism; and Bishop David A. Konderla of Tulsa, chairman of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, issued a statement responding...

Catholic bishops sign statement to LGBT youth: ‘God created you, God loves you.’A group of U.S. Catholic bishops, including a cardinal and an archbishop, have signed a statement of support for L.G.B.T. youth, telling them, “God created you, God loves you and God is on your side.”“As we see in the Gospels, Jesus Christ taught love, mercy and welcome for all people, especially for those who felt persecuted or marginalized in any way; and the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that LGBT people are to be treated with ‘respect, compassion and sensitivity,’” reads the statement, released by the Tyler...

Today in daily Mass we read the well-known story of St. Paul’s conversion. There is a detail in the story that I have often pondered. Although I am speculating on the specifics, I think it ought not to be overlooked. Even my choice of the words “speculating” and “overlooked” (both of which refer to the eyes) indicate that we ought to “give an eye” to St. Paul’s eyes.As you probably recall, St. Paul was not just struck down on the road to Damascus—he was blinded as well.Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he...