Free Republic

Hindus Take Over North Carolina; Muslims Take Over Texas; Catholics Take Over Parish BasementsThe moral framework upon which America was founded, upon which the Constitution rests, is that of Christianity. Our system of government is incapable of functioning without this framework.On January 16, 2019, 130 acres of rural North Carolina land near Raleigh were purchased by Carolina Murugan Temple (CMT). A month prior, their plans to build the largest Hindu statue in North America were approved by the county. Under construction now, CMT plans to build a 155-foot-tall statue, which will sit on a 35-foot pedestal. It will be taller...

[Catholic Caucus] Francis-instituted Vatican Commission says NO to Female Diaconate - English Translation of Full ReportAnnounced today -- report by Vatican News (followed by our translation of the full text of letter and report submitted to Pope Leo XIV):Petrocchi Commission says no to female diaconate, though judgment not definitiveA report presenting the results of the Commission’s work has been released. It rules out admitting women to the diaconate understood as a degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders, but says that it is not currently possible “to formulate a definitive judgment, as in the case of priestly ordination.” [Vatican News]***Summary...

Pope Leo urges Christians to ‘be less fearful’ of Islam, encourages ‘dialogue’ with Muslims'One of the values of this trip is precisely to raise the world’s attention to the possibility that dialogue and friendship between Muslims and Christians is possible,' Leo stated.Pope Leo XIV has spoken warmly about the relationship between Muslims and Christians and downplaying fears of Islamization.During his recent international trip to Turkey and Lebanon, the Pope gave a speech at an interfaith meeting held at Martyrs’ Square in Beirut.“Dear friends, your presence here today, in this extraordinary place where minarets and bell towers stand side by side,...

The world continues to grow more polarized over what is good and what is evil. At Colorado State University, a Catholic student and chapter member of Turning Point USA, Blake Jones, became the target of anti-ICE protestors. In a Fox News report, Jones said he, along with three other students from TPUSA, attended a protest against ICE activity on campus, organized by groups such as the Young Democratic Socialists of America and Students for Justice in Palestine. The group followed the plan to engage in conversation with the other students and to write chalk Bible verses on the school plaza....

US (Catholic) parish places 'ICE was here' sign in cribSt Susanna Parish in Denham, Massachusetts, USA is an active Pax Christi parish. For this year's outdoor Nativity scene, the figurines of the Holy Family are not displayed - instead, the parish placed a sign: "ICE was here."When contacted by a Boston Globe reporter who asked if the photo was authentic and if ICE actually had visited the church, St Susanna's pastor Fr Steve Josomo confirmed the veracity of the image and wrote the following response:"Each year our Peace and Justice group (Pax Christi) tries to hold a mirror up to...

Dear friends, two thousand years ago, Simeon was "waiting" for His Savior's first advent (Luke 2:25)! This same word "waiting" is used in (Titus 2:13), “Looking" for the blessed hope! Simeon was "waiting" with all eager anticipation and expectancy, "looking" for the Messiah to come, longing for the Messiah to come, eagerly expecting His first coming! Oh dear friends, how many believers in this same Jesus today look with all eager anticipation and expectancy like Simeon did 2000 years ago, not for Messiah's first coming but for His return for His Body in the clouds? Tragically, not too many. Simeon...

[Catholic / Orthodox Caucus] Pope Leo XIV issues joint blessing with Orthodox Patriarch BartholomewPope Leo concluded his two-day trip to Turkey with a shared blessing alongside Patriarch Bartholomew I before flying out to Beirut, Lebanon.As part of the last public act of his apostolic journey to Turkey, Pope Leo XIV imparted an ecumenical blessing together with the Eastern Patriarch Bartholomew I.On November 30, Pope Leo XIV and Patriarch Bartholomew I appeared on the square of the Church of Saint George in Constantinople to bless the crowd in turn, in Latin and in Greek, respectively. Afterward, they took each other by...

[Catholic Caucus] Tucho's Marian Kerfuffle - by Roberto de MatteiThe Consequences of the Marian Note of Cardinal Fernandezby Roberto de Matteifor Corrispondenza RomanaOn November 4, 2025, the doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis was published, with which the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sought to clarify the meaning and limits of certain Marian titles referring to Mary's cooperation in the work of salvation. The statement caused dismay and consternation among the faithful, but also among Mariologists, because it represents an objective diminution of the privileges traditionally reserved for Our Lady by the Tradition of the Church. One wonders now...

Where ever you go now during this "holiday" season, Christmas music is playing and many of the Christmas songs have a sound Biblical message of salvation. What Child is This?, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Holy Night, O Come Emanuel, Go Tell it on the Mountain, O Come all Ye Faithful, The First Noel, Angels We Have Heard on High, O Come Let Us Adore Him, Joy to the World etc.. are all screaming the wondrous TRUTH that a Savior is born! However... as these songs play with their saving message they sail far...

Hundreds of pro-life students from Christendom College prayed outside a Virginia abortion facility as part of the annual “Mega Shield” event. Students from the Front Royal Catholic college traveled an hour and a half to Falls Church, Virginia for the November 15 event. Students in the Shield of Roses Club regularly pray outside the abortion facility on other days as well. The group said more than two hundred students attended – the school’s total enrollment is just around 550. The event is part of the students’ “identity” as Catholics, the club’s president told The College Fix. “Mega Shield is an...

Nigerian human rights advocate: Cardinal Parolin is ‘emboldening’ Muslim attacks against ChristiansCardinal Parolin downplaying the Islamic genocide of Nigerian Christians ‘provides cover for those perpetrating the violence’ and ‘emboldens’ Muslim terrorists, Emeka Umeagbalasi said. The board chair of a Nigerian human rights organization, during an interview last week with Crux, slammed Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin for downplaying the role of Islam in the brutal genocide against the country’s Christians and said that he is encouraging further acts of Islamic terrorism against the faithful.During the interview, which was published on November 27, Emeka Umeagbalasi, the board chair of...

[Catholic Caucus] Towards the Francis Dream of an Extermination of Opus Dei?When Summorum Pontificum was promulgated, we had great hopes for a liturgical renewal of Opus Dei, the particular order founded by Josemaría Escrivá and later transformed in the only Personal Prelature, a novel figure created (for them, apparently) in the new Code of Canon Law.We knew many priests of "The Work" loved the Traditional Mass, that Escrivá celebrated until the end of his life. But the order from above, as far as we could discern, was that the priests of Opus should, whenever possible, refrain from the Traditional Mass,...

Pope Leo lays wreath at grave of Turkish leader Atatürk despite links to anti-Christian genocidesUnder the leadership of Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, his forces committed widespread murder and persecution of Greek, Armenian, and other Christian minorities.Pope Leo XIV paid homage at Atatürk’s tomb on November 27, 2025, at Anıtkabir in Ankara, despite the Turkish leader’s links to genocides against Christian minorities.On November 27, 2025, in Ankara, Pope Leo XIV – arriving for his first apostolic visit to Turkey – paused at Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, where he laid a wreath and signed the Honor...

Brussels officials are investigating after the infant Jesus figure in the city’s newly installed nativity scene was found beheaded overnight, according to a report circulated by Radio Genoa early Monday. Police have not released details on possible suspects, and the city has not yet confirmed when the damage occurred. The incident took place at the Grand-Place, where the redesigned display—made of recycled fabric and featuring faceless, patchwork figures—was unveiled last week as part of the city’s Christmas program, reports the European Conservative. The nativity, titled Fabrics of the Nativity, was meant to introduce what organizers called an “inclusive mix of...

Pope Leo XIV concluded the first day of his apostolic visit to Lebanon with a vist to the Monastery of the Carmelite Sisters of the Theotokos in Harissa.

Pope Leo XIV called a two-state arrangement the “only solution” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, doubling down on the Holy See’s longstanding position in his first airborne news conference en route to Lebanon on Sunday. “We all know that at this time Israel still does not accept that solution, but we see it as the only solution,” he said, as he flew from Istanbul to Beirut for the second and final leg of his maiden voyage as pope. “We are also friends with Israel, and we are seeking to be a mediating voice between the two parties that might help...

The Praise and Worship Band at the church I attend recently sang “Come, Jesus, Come.” Here are the words to the Chorus: Come, Jesus, come We’ve been waiting so long For the day You return To heal every hurt and right every wrong We need You right now Come and turn this around Deep down I know this world isn’t home Come, Jesus, come Here are the words to the verses: Sometimes I fall to my knees and pray Come, Jesus, come Let today be the day Sometimes I feel like I’m gonna break But I’m holding on To a...

How do you solve a problem like Fernández?The Advent season begins this Sunday, and that means The Sound of Music will soon be on television in the United States. The ABC network airs the film classic starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer each year before Christmas, a broadcasting tradition that began in 2002. (It would air before Easter when I was a child, which shows my age.)As I considered the latest contretemps involving the prefect of the Dicastery of for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), Argentine Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, a song from the film came to mind.“How do...

[Catholic Caucus] New Cardinal of Krakow: “I Don't Want Any Other Church Than That of Francis”Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, 61, has learned “everything I believe in about the Church from Francis,” he said according to Onet.pl after Leo XIV appointed him as Archbishop of Krakow on November 26.Francis taught Cardinal Ryś “how to understand the Church”.And: “I don't want another Church. I simply don't want it. I cannot imagine another Church than the one Francis taught us.”Experience at Francis’ TombCardinal Ryś recounted an experience during the days leading up to the conclave. He visited Francis' tomb with Cardinal Konrad Krajewski. There,...

You have probably heard that something extraordinary is happening in the Catholic Church in France. The French bishops’ conference announced in April that more than 10,000 adults were due to be baptised in 2025 – a 45 per cent increase on the year before. It’s not just adult baptisms that are booming. A record 19,000 people, many young, attended this year’s Paris to Chartres pilgrimage. An unprecedented 13,500 high school students took part in the 2025 Lourdes FRAT pilgrimage, a major annual youth event. The country is also seeing what French media call a 'boom biblique': a rapid rise in...