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An ecumenical group of religious historians and other scholars will convene at the University of Notre Dame’s McKenna Hall on Dec. 5-6 (Thursday-Friday) for a conference titled “Catholics and Mormons: A New Dialogue.” The conference will explore relationships among Catholics and Mormons as their churches are increasingly allied in common social, political and relief efforts. Its themes will include “The Lay of the Land: Contemporary Mormonism and Catholicism,” “Catholicism and Mormonism in Historical Context,” “Revelation: Scriptures, Traditions, and Authoritative Teachings” and “Theologies of Encounter, Unity, and Diversity.”

Last week I received the following e-mail, and I felt it would be best to share my response here on the blog. Dear Mr. White, For someone considering converting to Catholicism, what questions would you put to them in order to discern whether or not they have examined their situation sufficiently? Say, a Top 10 list. Thanks. When I posted this question in our chat channel a number of folks commented that it was in fact a great question, and we started to throw out some possible answers. Here is my "Top Ten List" in response to this fine inquiry....

A FRENCH magazine has said it had carried out experiments that proved the Shroud of Turin, believed by some Christians to be their religion's holiest relic, was a fraud. "A mediaeval technique helped us to make a Shroud," Science & Vie (Science and Life) said in its July issue. The Shroud is claimed by its defenders to be the cloth in which the body of Jesus Christ was wrapped after his crucifixion. It bears the faint image of a blood-covered man with holes in his hand and wounds in his body and head, the apparent result of being crucified, stabbed...

New Pope Book Says Communism Was 'Necessary Evil'Oct 7, 6:23 AM (ET)By Philip PullellaVATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Communism was a "necessary evil" that God allowed to happen in the 20th century in order to create opportunities for good after its demise, Pope John Paul says in his new book. "Memory and Identity," which is due to be published early next year, is the ailing 84-year-old pontiff's latest and perhaps last book intended for a mass circulation audience. All of his previous books have been international bestsellers. In one chapter, the pope, who lived through both Nazism and Communism in his...

Bettinelli reports: I just got this message from Rod Dreher: "On Sunday, The Dallas Morning News will begin publishing the results of a major yearlong investigation into a largely uncovered aspect of the Catholic sex abuse scandal. The series of stories are international in scope, and will make headlines nationally and overseas. I’m not at liberty to disclose details yet, but I’ve seen advanced copies of the articles, and they are devastating. I believe at this point, more details will be available on Friday morning, when one of the reporters on the series does an interview on National Public Radio’s...

President Bush will award Pope John Paul the Presidential Medal of Freedom Friday, the highest U.S. civilian award, a U.S. official said Thursday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the pontiff was being honored for "years of fighting for freedom and for his important moral voice."

CHRISTMAS is the second most important festival of the Church, after Easter, but it holds a special appeal for most Christians. The miracle of Bethlehem speaks to the heart of redeemed mankind. The little town had been identified in prophecy as the birthplace of the Messiah and this was only the first of innumerable instances in the life of Our Lord that scrupulously fulfilled the forecasts of the prophets, culminating on Calvary in the realisation of David’s words: "They have pierced my hands and my feet, they have numbered all my bones." The Feast of the Nativity is very much...

"It is as it was." This, Peggy Noonan reports in the Opinion Journal, was the Pope's comment to his good friend Msgr. Stanislaw Dziwisz after watching "The Passion of Christ," Mel Gibson's much-maligned film. In other words, the Holy Father feels that Mel Gibson's film accurately shows how events unfolded in the last days of Christ on Earth. The Vatican has had no official comment on the movie, but Noonan in her latest column tells us that "John Paul II, who even with the challenges of his current illness has more good sense than many of his cardinals, knew of...

Radio Free Republic Presents Click on the radio to listen live! The Banana Republican Radio Hour With your host Luis Gonzalez This week's topic: WHY DO CONSERVATIVES EAT THEIR OWN? Thursday, August 15th., 9 PM, EST. Are we our own worst enemies? Are the divisions so evident in FreeRepublic indicative of the future of the conservative movement? Can we stand united, or will be fall divided? Call in and tell us what's on your mind!!! Brought to you by FreeRepublic.com and The Free Republic Network. RadioFR Every Thursday at 9PM EST/6PM PSTFree Republic Radio is only heard on the internet...