Free Republic

Just one day after the Supreme Court said the government can’t force the Little Sisters of the Poor to fund abortions, the CEO of the Planned Parenthood abortion business said it would “fight back” against the decision and not give up on forcing the Catholic nuns, and all Americans, to fund abortions. As LifeNews reported, the Supreme Court issued a ruling upholding a pro-life order from President Donald Trump that protected the Little Sisters of the Poor from being force to pay for abortion-causing drugs under their health insurance plan. Abortion advocates have spent years trying to force the Catholic...

Denver Newsroom, Jul 14, 2020 / 11:30 am MT (CNA).- A California Catholic university has placed a statue of St. Junipero Serra in storage after at least three statues of the saint have been toppled by protestors in the state. “In response to a statement from Archbishop Gomez, an outdoor statue of St. Junipero Serra on the University of San Diego campus was moved to temporary storage after several outdoor statues of the saint have been damaged in California,” a spokesman for the University of San Diego told CNA July 14. The university referenced a June 29 letter from Archbishop...

[Catholic Caucus] Viganò Calls Francis An "Argentinian Liquidator” Already before Vatican II, the Faith was weak, Archbishop Viganò wrote on June 24 to Italian Father Alfredo Morselli (MarcoTosatti.com, July 14).Viganò explains that many bishops at Vatican II were intellectually corrupt, since the solid preparatory documents could so easily be replaced with cheap innovation texts.For Viganò, Vatican II was a "dishonest operation" and a "scam carried out against the faithful and the clergy.”Since Vatican II, he explains, the Church went on a "slippery, unfortunate and destructive path” that finally reached "the bankruptcy of the company at the hands of its Argentinian...

'Let the Church come to you in your homes'TUCSON, Ariz. (ChurchMilitant.com) - An Arizona prelate is announcing a new ban on public Masses and sacraments, suspending "public worship" for up to four months — and perhaps longer. Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger of Tucson announced last week that "our parishes will no longer be open to the public." "At this time we're returning to the protocols we were following just prior to the reopening of our parishes," he elaborated. The bishop said Tucson Catholics "should anticipate a suspension of approximately four weeks but the matter will be reviewed daily and the...

A pessimistic look at (catholic) church re-openings after Covid-19 Father Illo: I think we'll be down to 5-10 percent Father Joesph Illo, pastor of Star of the Sea in San Francisco,  gave a 14-minute homily of Sunday, July 12.A 15-second excerpt:Our church leaders are hoping that when the church restrictions are lifted that people will all come back to Mass. I don’t see it , Before Covid, 75 percent of Catholics did not come to Mass every Sunday on a regular basis. How many of the 25 percent attending will return? I think we’ll be down to 5-10 percent of...

Islam: Conquer Rome After Constantinople Historian warns Islam will target St. Peter's after Hagia Sophia ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) - A distinguished Italian historian is warning that radical Islam's goal is to conquer Rome now that it has reoccupied the ancient Byzantine basilica of Hagia Sophia. "The goal of Islam is clear — after Saint Sophia, Saint Peter," Professor Roberto de Mattei told Church Militant, following Pope Francis' six word non-condemnation of Turkey's inflammatory decision to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque.  Pope Francis visiting Istanbul in 2014 On Sunday, after mounting international pressure to condemn the Islamic takeover of Hagia Sophia, Pope...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis has already signed ‘ambitious’ Roman Curia reform document: Vatican observer 'It is perhaps the most ambitious project of the current pontificate.' VATICAN CITY, July 14, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — According to a report by the French Catholic newspaper La Croix, Pope Francis’s long-awaited document reforming the Roman Curia has already been signed and is currently being translated into various languages. The new constitution will lead to dozens of new appointments within the Vatican bureaucracy. The La Croix article, written by Robert Mickens, did not provide any significant details of the new constitution, which it says is titled...

July 14 2020 Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin Reading 1 Is 7:1-9 In the days of Ahaz, king of Judah, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, king of Israel, son of Remaliah, went up to attack Jerusalem, but they were not able to conquer it. When word came to the house of David that Aram was encamped in Ephraim, the heart of the king and the heart of the people trembled, as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind.Then the LORD said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz, you...

[Catholic Caucus] Catholic filmmakers to create ‘stunning’ documentary on richness, beauty of Traditional Mass 'The documentary aims to show that the beauty of our timeless traditional liturgy will begin to restore the Church.' OAKWOOD, Ohio, July 12, 2020, (LifeSiteNews) – A group of filmmakers is working to create a “stunning” documentary about the Traditional Latin Mass that will show the “beauty of our timeless traditional liturgy” with the hope that such a film will help “begin to restore the Church.” The film, called “Mass of the Ages,” will focus on the beauty and meaning of the Latin Mass as well...

[Catholic Caucus] The Italian Bishops Endorse State-Sponsored LGBT Indoctrination The Italian journal Bussola Quotidiana, in a piece by Giuliano Guzzo, has reported the news — at this point in the post-conciliar debacle is anyone surprised? — that Avvenire, the official newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference, has published an editorial endorsing the so-called Zan bill, establishing in Italy a national “Day Against Homophobia” and a “national strategy against gender violence.” Meaning, as if anyone didn’t know, any criticism of sodomy and those who practice it or any criticism of sexual perversion generally.The editorialist for Avvenire, Lucciano Moia, evidently one of...

In Doe v. Archdiocese of Galveston- Houston, (TX App., July 7, 2020), a Texas state appellate court affirmed the dismissal on ecclesiastical abstention grounds of a suit against a Catholic elementary school claiming breach of contract, violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress, tortious interference, and conspiracy. The school claimed that one of plaintiffs' sons, Bob, was seriously misbehaving, including hitting and kicking classmates. Bob's parents in turn suspected that Bob's teacher was bullying and verbally abusing Bob. The parents hid a recording device on Bob to determine what was going on. When...

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There is a lot of goodness in prisons. At times, I am sure, prisons may be hell on earth. I was fortunate to be kept safe and treated well. I was impressed by the professionalism of the warders, the faith of the prisoners, and the existence of a moral sense even in the darkest places. I was in solitary confinement for thirteen months, ten at the Melbourne Assessment Prison and three at Barwon Prison. In Melbourne the prison uniform was a green tracksuit, but in Barwon I was issued the bright red colors of a cardinal. I had been convicted...

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Msgr. Charles Pope Not Peace but the Sword In words that are nothing less than shocking, the Lord says in today’s Gospel: Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against...

The stones of the Hagia Sophia will still cry out As the highly emotional and equally unreasonable “cancel culture” spreads across the globe, it is worth recalling the words of the American diplomat and historian George F. Kennan (1904-2005): “Without a generation of civilized people to study history, to preserve its records, to absorb its lessons, and relate them to its own problems, history would lose its meaning.”Those seeking to desecrate and destroy historic monuments know that marble and stone can be just as effective as the written word in preserving history in all its messiness and glory.The Hagia Sophia...

On Sunday, Pope Francis broke his silence regarding the decision by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to convert Hagia Sophia, the foremost cathedral in the Christian world for nearly a thousand years, to a mosque. If you blinked, however, you might have missed it. “I think of Hagia Sophia,” the Pope said, “and I am very saddened.” It was quite clear why he didn’t choose to say more: virtually anything he added would have landed him in troubles that he doesn’t want to have. The Pope’s tardy statement, such as it is, manifests a studied ambiguity. What exactly is he...

July 13 2020 Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Is 1:10-17 Hear the word of the LORD, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah! What care I for the number of your sacrifices? says the LORD. I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings; In the blood of calves, lambs and goats I find no pleasure.When you come in to visit me, who asks these things of you? Trample my courts no more! Bring no more worthless offerings; your incense is loathsome to me. New moon...

Trump’s Catholic Tweets A peculiar article suggests Catholics at the White House don’t like them. An odd article by the Catholic News Agency (CNA) appeared this week, alleging that Catholics at the White House resent Trump’s tweets touting “two figures with polarizing reputations among Catholics: former papal nuncio to the United States Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, and the author and online polemicist Taylor Marshall.” The title of the article is, “Why White House Catholics are concerned about Trump’s Catholic tweets.”“White House Catholics” apparently refer to a couple of opportunistic Never Trump-style Catholics who snuck into the White House and are...

[Catholic Caucus] Peruvian bishop: Pope sees Amazon region, new ‘Amazon Ecclesial Conference’ as ‘testing ground’ (VC II Barf Alert) Upon the explicit request of Pope Francis, this new structure is not called an Episcopal Conference. July 10, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – While people have been distracted by the current coronacrisis or other, election-related or Black Lives Matter-related topics, Pope Francis has quietly continued to work with the Amazon bishops to implement the ideas as set forth during the October 2019 Amazon Synod. As the Peruvian Bishop David Martinez de Aguirre Guinea of Puerto Maldonado – Vice-President of the newly established Amazon...

The spire of Notre Dame cathedral, which was destroyed in a fire last April, will be restored according to the original Gothic design. French President Emmanuel Macron announced the decision, putting an end to speculation that the spire would be rebuilt in a modern style. Mr Macron had previously hinted he was in favour of a "contemporary gesture". However he has said he wants the restoration to be completed by 2024, when Paris is hosting the Olympics. The Elysée said Mr Macron's main concern was "not delaying the reconstruction and making it complicated - things had to be cleared up...