Free Republic

Now that the whole world is talking about the Third Temple in Jerusalem, let’s go there. I am a Jew, a Chabad’nik, a Rabbi, so you can trust what I’m going to share a lot more than what podcasters have tried to share in ‘my name’. First, the old news: Yes, Jews believe that we will have a Third Temple, on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, in the same location where our first two Temples once stood. It’s not some secret that the Mossad is hiding, nor something that Chabad subtly pushes, and certainly not a code being signaled through...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo meets with professors who found Latin Mass Catholics are more orthodox, notPope Leo XIV on Thursday met in a private audience with Professors Stephen Bullivant and Stephen Cranney, two prominent sociologists who notably published a study showing that the vast majority of faithful who attend the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) accept Catholic teaching and the Second Vatican Council.Pope Leo met with Bullivant, who is a Latin Mass attendee, and Cranney during a March 5 audience, per the Vatican’s daily bulletin, though it is not known what was discussed. The professors notably co-wrote the forthcoming book, Trads:...

I believe it’s safe to say that every true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has their confidence in Christ, and what’s also true is that we have a firm assurance in the validity and accuracy of the Scriptures. With that said, what many people are feeling and saying about Israel amid rising geopolitical tensions, resurgent antisemitism and questions about how Christians should think about the Jewish homeland and the Jewish people must be tested against the Bible. Just as the church has been tested throughout the ages as to whether or not it would obey God’s Word, so today...

Over the years, people have told me that the Rapture must happen after the seven-year Tribulation. More often than not, they support their belief by offering an assortment of statements supposedly confirming their assertion. Of course, those who adhere to Replacement Theology combine the Rapture and Second Coming since they reject the tenets of Premillennialists, such as a literal seven-year period of judgment and Jesus’ thousand-year reign over the nations that includes a restored Israel. Some amillennialists say they believe in a “post-Tribulation Rapture,” but that’s highly misleading since they view the judgments of Revelation chapters 6-18 as either an...

Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia: "May this journey of Ramadan and Lent unite us also in these difficult moments""As leader of the Catholic Church of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, and as Bishop of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and in the name of the entire Catholic Christian community — priests, religious men and women, and lay faithful — whom I represent, I wish to address you in these difficult days, marked by the pain and uncertainty of war, with words of encouragement and hope." Almost a week after the start of the war in the Gulf area (see Fides,...

[Catholic Caucus] Key aide of Pope Francis and Cdl Fernández leaves VaticanFather Daniel Pellizzon has been an overlooked, but important, figure under the last pontificate. Now that era is over.In a notable move, Pope Leo XIV has sent one of Pope Francis’ and Cardinal Fernández’s key aides back to Argentina, raising some speculation about the position of Fernández himself. Father Daniel Pellizzon, of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, is returning to Argentina to become parish priest of the church of San Cayetano de Belgrano near the center of the city of Buenos Aires itself.News of the move, though not announced...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Zen compares SSPX to the prophet Joseph in defence of planned consecrationsThe former bishop of Hong Kong has entered debate over plans by the traditionalist Society of St Pius X to consecrate bishops without the permission of the Holy See in July.In a statement released on X, Cardinal Joseph Zen offered scriptural exegesis and departed from other conservative cardinals by saying the Society’s decision could be justified as a matter of conscience.He said schism “must [be avoided] with every available effort” because “it will cause lasting damage in the Church”.The statement, posted on March 6, 2026, and...

[Catholic Caucus] Who is driving the campaign against the Order of Malta?Somebody has got it in for the Order of Malta, the 900-year-old Catholic order which maintains hospitals and runs charitable activities all over the world. In Italy, a stream of very similar articles has been appearing, beginning with an attack last October in the left-wing newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano, by a journalist writing as Thomas Mackinson. In recent weeks there has been an accelerating series of articles under different names, all of them repeating the same criticisms. People in the Order’s ambit are beginning to wonder who is putting...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican ends probe into priest accused of ‘physical and psychological abuse’ at youth campsThe Vatican closed the canonical case against Fr. Valentino Salvoldi after declining to waive the statute of limitations, mirroring the earlier dismissal of the civil case.The Vatican has closed the canonical case against an Italian missionary priest accused by more than 20 people of sexual and psychological abuse.In 2025, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith confirmed that it would not lift the statute of limitations in the case of Father Valentino Salvoldi, an 80‑year‑old priest from the Diocese of Bergamo, accused by at...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Attorney General Peter Neronha released a sweeping report Wednesday detailing decades of child sexual abuse and systemic coverup within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, identifying 72 clergy members as “credibly accused” of misconduct. The report is the culmination of a yearslong investigation stemming from a 2019 agreement between the state’s top prosecutor and former Bishop Thomas Tobin. The agreement granted state investigators unprecedented access to the church’s “secret archives,” personnel files and internal records dating back to 1950. “Generations of Rhode Island victims, their families and others who have suffered the impacts of this trauma...

Two Competing Visions of the Priesthood: The New Synodal Document vs. the SSPXRome’s new Synodal blueprint for forming priests marks a decisive break with the Catholic understanding of the priesthood. As the Vatican threatens the SSPX with censure, the real conflict is no longer about obedience—but about two irreconcilable visions of the Church.Under the direction of Leo XIV, the “General Secretariat of the Synod” published two reports of Synod on Synodality study groups on March 3rd, one related to “the digital environment” and another related to the formation of priests. The document on the formation of priests — “The revision...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican Synod Report Urges Women’s Input in Preparing Future PriestsThe report also warns seminaries must not become an “artificial environment” detached from the ordinary life of the faithful.The General Secretariat of the Synod has published a preliminary report urging that women’s “views and assessments” be given due weight in the discernment of candidates for priesthood and warning against seminary models that separate future priests from the ordinary life of the people of God. The proposals are not definitive and have been forwarded to Pope Leo XIV for review.The text gathers conclusions from a synod study group tasked with...

Jesus spoke in many parables before the masses using agrarian imagery and common motifs to illustrate profound truths. And these truths were only meant for those with eyes that would see and ears that could hear. In other words, Jesus spoke to all but intended for His followers to understand the hidden lessons behind the parable. Even then, He would need to expound upon them until the disciples understood their meaning. Out of 39 parables that Jesus taught, two were of the fig tree. One of them contained the barren fig tree as described in Luke 13:6-9. The vineyard owner...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV "Cannot Comment" on Jimmy Lai’s ImprisonmentAs he left Castel Gandolfo for the Vatican this evening, Pope Leo XIV spoke to journalists again. However, he took only one question from EWTN.It was about Jimmy Lai's 20-year sentence under Hong Kong's national security law. Leo XIV replied: "I can't comment on that."He then added that "we must pray for peace, work for peace and reduce hatred". He continued: 'Hatred is constantly increasing in the world. We must seek to promote dialogue and find solutions.”On 23 December, he “couldn’t comment” on a question about his appointment of the effeminate...

[Catholic Caucus] Heterodox Austrian priest criticizes celibacy while appearing with female companion in publicThe chaplain of Vienna’s St. Stephen Cathedral has taken many heterodox positions in the past, including support for female ordinations and blessings of same-sex couples.The chaplain of Vienna’s St. Stephen Cathedral has repeatedly appeared with a blonde woman at high society events while downplaying priestly celibacy as an “elastic concept.”Chaplain Anton (called “Toni”) Faber has drawn the attention of the press in recent months for appearing at high society events like the famous Vienna Opera Ball with a blonde woman named Natalie Nemec accompanying him as his...

[Catholic Caucus] Pro-Homosexual Bishop, Enemy of Latin Mass, Closes 70 Churches in the NetherandsSeventy church buildings in the Diocese of Roermond are currently in the process of being closed, Bishop Cornelis Van den Hout, 61, of Roermond, Netherlands, told Nd.nl on March 3.In 2026, he employed a full-time economist to oversee the closure of church buildings. "It's an urgent issue. The financial figures leave us with no other option," Bishop Van den Hout said.He believes that the downward spiral will not stop after the closing of the seventy churches. "At the moment, the diocese has 280 church buildings. Around the...

[Catholic Caucus] Cdl. Erdo was early leader in conclave before Leo elected to carry Pope Francis’ torch: new bookRobert Prevost was seen as the best qualified candidate to continue the program of Pope Francis, cardinals told an author-journalist team who were friends with the late pope. A soon-to-be-published book recounts the inside story of how in last year’s papal conclave an early lead by Cardinal Péter Erdő morphed into support for Cardinal Robert Prevost, who was expected to carry the torch of Pope Francis.“The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Surprise of Pope Francis,” pulls from the testimony of...

Pastor Greg Laurie talks about the war in Iran, the Ezekiel 38 War, Gog and Magog and just what is going to happen on the prophetic calendar. 👉 Is the stage being set for end-times prophecy? 👉 Is the Ezekiel 38 War coming? 👉 A breakdown of the prophetic calendar Watch now and be encouraged — prophecy isn’t meant to scare us, but to prepare us.

Leo XIV: "Not Our Task to Build a Christendom"Today, Leo XIV received a delegation from the ecumenical 'World Council of Churches', reports Oikoumene.org.The delegation included the German lay bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, the Armenian archbishop Vicken Aykazian, the Baptist preacher Merlyn Hyde Riley, and the Protestant preacher Jerry Pillay.According to Pillay, Leo XIV stressed "the need for visible Christian unity, recognising the challenges this presents even within the Roman Catholic Church due to the existence of different and diverse views".Pillay said that Leo XIV affirmed that, "while our task is not to build a Christendom yet Christians must work together in...

Frustrated New York City residents are flooding social media with complaints about the Islamic call to prayer blasting from mosque loudspeakers during Ramadan. Muslims defend the broadcasts as their First Amendment right to religious freedom and cultural identity. However, a former Muslim explained that this is primarily a tool for asserting political dominance rather than fulfilling religious devotion.