Free Republic

Will the church view the culture war through the gospel, or will it view the gospel through the culture war? One approach is biblical. The other is deadly.Thanks to a communion controversy being clarified by the U.S. Catholic bishops and a continued insistence by President Joe Biden that his public actions are actually deeply personal matters, abortion is the issue of the day — and with it, questions of religious faithfulness.Corporate media are teaming up with nominal Catholics to smear the faithful as bad-faith political actors, while traditional Catholics work to convince an unconvinceable political class that their deeply held...

As U.S. Catholic bishops draft a controversial document on whether priests can deny communion to politicians who support abortion, one House Democrat has warned that the Catholic Church could lose its tax-exempt status if churches institute such a ban. “If they’re going to politically weaponize religion by ‘rebuking’ Democrats who support women’s reproductive choice, then a ‘rebuke’ of their tax-exempt status may be in order,” wrote Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., in a Twitter post lashing out at Catholic bishops. Huffman's post came after nearly 60 House Democrats released a “statement of principles to warn the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops...

For the Catholic Church in the US, the past few decades have not been good. Thousands have deserted the pews already out of disgust at paedophile priests, cover ups and other manifestations of gross hypocrisy. Bishops for years kept themselves busy moving paedophile priests from parish to parish, diocese to diocese – all the while, presumably, allowing these priests who raped little boys and girls to receive communion. At the same time, countless lay Catholics have been denied access to the Eucharist for "sins" such as remarrying after divorcing an abusive or adulterous spouse. One now-notorious US priest, when challenged...

ROME – On Friday the U.S. State Department confirmed a European tour for United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken next week that will include stops in Italy and the Vatican, where he is expected to meet with top Holy See officials. According to the State Department’s June 18 communique, Blinken’s tour will last from June 22-29. He will first visit Berlin and Paris before coming to Italy, making stops in Rome, the Vatican, Bari, and Matera. While in Rome, he will co-chair a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS alongside Italian Foreign Minister Luigi De Maio, and...

After a long slumber, it looks as if the Catholic bishops are waking up to the nature of the assault on Church teachings from abortion-favoring Democrats, such as Joe Biden, who use their status as Catholics to rope in votes.Here's what they are up to, according to the Associated Press:U.S. Catholic bishops overwhelmingly approved the drafting of a "teaching document" that many of them hope will rebuke Catholic politicians, including President Joe Biden, for receiving Communion despite their support for abortion rights.The decision, vehemently opposed by a minority of bishops, came despite appeals from the Vatican for a more cautious...

VATICAN CITY — Archbishop Augustine Di Noia, adjunct secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said a letter he sent in late May to the president of the U.S. bishops' conference was simply "a letter of acknowledgment" of the receipt of communication from him. Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, read from Di Noia's letter June 16 at the U.S. bishops' meeting. Di Noia said he thought the letter was read "in order to demonstrate the collaborative relationship between the CDF and the USCCB, in order to counter...

Joe Biden looked spooked on Friday when a reporter asked him about Catholic Bishops taking steps to prevent him from receiving Holy Communion. U.S. Catholic bishops have approved the drafting of a “teaching document” that will prevent Joe Biden and other pro-abortion politicians from receiving Communion for their support for the practice. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the move, with 168 in favor and 55 against. It was announced on Friday at the end of the three-day meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, following their vote on Thursday. Blood drained from Joe Biden’s face on Friday...

We're always skeptical of polls, but this one confirms what I hear from the people I go to Mass with. This is from Catholic Vote:CatholicVote released a poll Tuesday showing a strong majority of Mass-attending Catholics believe politicians who oppose Church teaching should not present themselves for Communion.The poll found that 83% of churchgoing Catholics believe politicians who oppose Catholic teachings "create confusion and disunity."74% believe that "Catholic public officials who disagree with their Church on serious or grave matters" should "avoid creating confusion and disunity by not presenting themselves for communion...."The polling data comes just before the U.S. Bishops...

In a story June 14, 2021, about Joe Biden and Pope Francis, the Catholic News Agency, based on information provided by a source, erroneously reported that the U.S. President would meet with the pope on June 15. According to Vatican sources June 15, there is no meeting currently scheduled between Pope Francis and President Joe Biden. (snip) The President’s entourage had originally requested for Biden to attend Mass with the pope early in the morning, but the proposal was nixed by the Vatican after considering the impact that Biden receiving Holy Communion from the pope would have on the discussions...

[Catholic Caucus] Cordileone Won’t Do It For the Sake of "Unity"CrisisMagazine.com editor Eric Sammons asked “conservative” San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone on May 21 why he doesn't deny Communion to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 81, a leading promotor of abortion who lives in his Archdiocese.Cordileone replied that after nine years at the helm of the Archdiocese he is “not at that point yet” because he is still in early stages of discerning what would be best for the Church in “preserving unity.”He argues that Pelosi has “done good” but admitted that this does not justify perpetrating very evil deeds. Asked...

Update: Vatican Refused June 15 Meeting, Morning Mass No Longer on the AgendaThe President's entourage had originally requested for President Biden to attend Mass with the Pope early in the morning, but the proposal was nixed by the Vatican Pope Francis and Joe Biden at the White House on September 23, 2015. (photo: David Lienemann / Public domain) Vatican June 15, 2021 Editor's Note: According to Vatican sources June 15, there is no meeting currently scheduled between Pope Francis and President Joe Biden. The story has been amended in light of this breaking news.VATICAN CITY — President Joe Biden's...

Biden likes to talk a big Catholic game when he’s campaigning, but like most Democrats, the moment power is achieved is the moment that Catholicism gets tossed out of the window. As a result, American bishops are going to have a meeting to discuss whether or not he should be denied Holy Communion.According to Fox News, the meeting between the bishops will take place virtually and talk about, not only Biden but any politician who embraces any stances that run contrary to Catholicism’s teachings:The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will hold their annual meeting, virtually, from Wednesday through Friday,...

Last week, Nancy Pelosi said it should be up to her own judgement whether she should receive communion despite her longstanding pro-abortion record. But a Catholic Archbishop is rebuking her today, saying she is “cooperating with evil” by supporting abortion. As LifeNews.com reported last week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she should be able to get communion even though she is a pro-abortion Catholic. The ardent abortion advocate insists she can use her own judgment on whether or not she is eligible to receive the sacrament despite winning pro-abortion awards and blocking a bill to stop infanticide. “I think I can...

Vatican puts brakes on US bishops confronting problem of pro-abortion Biden receiving Holy CommunionYhe Vatican's doctrine head said that any policy from the US bishops on Communion for pro-abortion politicians would have to respect the 'prerogatives of the Holy See'UNITED STATES, May 10, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican is warning the United States’ top bishop that a forthcoming policy on giving Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians who call themselves Catholic, such as President Joe Biden, may become a “source of discord” for the country’s episcopate and would unfairly target “only one category of Catholics.”In a May 7 letter to U.S....

Irish Government (!) FORBIDS Receiving Communion, ConcelebrationAhead of "allowing" again Masses on May 10, the Irish government issued rubrics for religious services.In modern states which recognise religious freedom, it is an exclusive matter of the Church to decide how to worship - not so in Ireland where politicians believe they are entitled to decide over the liturgy. Thus, they imposed the following liturgical rubrics:• Those handing out Holy Communion must wear face masks or must stand behind a screen. Further they must disinfect their hands.• The faithful must use disinfects before receiving Communion.• The state suggests that “Communion could be...

United States bishops are considering formalizing their opposition to pro-abortion Catholic politicians receiving communion as they continue to speak out against President Joe Biden, a Catholic, over his support for abortion. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, scheduled to hold a national meeting in June, is considering approving a draft document that would advise Catholic politicians who support abortion not to receive communion. The consideration of the document comes as Biden continues to advocate for liberal abortion policies that directly conflict with the teachings of his faith, specifically, that all human life is sacred from natural conception until natural death....

When U.S. Catholic bishops hold their next national meeting in June, they’ll be deciding whether to send a tougher-than-ever message to President Joe Biden and other Catholic politicians: Don’t receive Communion if you persist in public advocacy of abortion rights. At issue is a document that will be prepared for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops by its Committee on Doctrine, with the aim of clarifying the church’s stance on an issue that has repeatedly vexed the bishops in recent decades. It’s taken on new urgency now, in the eyes of many bishops, because Biden — only the second Catholic...

I was very lucky to be able to make this little film.

The Body of ChristThe Holy Eucharist denied and misunderstoodThe doctrine of the Holy Eucharist — central to Catholic Church teaching — is either not known or outright denied by most Catholics today.According to a 2019 Pew Research poll, seven out of 10 U.S. Catholics don't believe that the Holy Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This is despite the constant teaching of the Church going back to the times of the Apostles.And the Apostles heard it directly from the mouth of Our Lord Himself, Who in John 6:54–57 told His followers:Amen, amen I...

Priest Would Refuse Joe Biden Communion Because He’s Pro-Abortion: “Over My Dead Body, Not Until He Repents”In a deeply emotional message to his congregation, an Arizona priest mourned how President Joe Biden, a supposedly devout Catholic, is working to expand the killing of unborn babies in abortions.Father William Kosko of St. Henry’s Parish in Buckeye, Arizona, said he would welcome Biden to attend Mass but not to participate in communion unless he repents, The New American reports.“Over my dead body; not until he repents,” Kosko said. “He’s a public figure. He needs to publicly repent, and we need to pray...