Free Republic

The 13th century Trisulti Charterhouse in the province of Frosinone, central Italy.The Dignitatis Humanae Institute, which is working with President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon to found an academy in Italy to defend Judeo-Christian civilisation, today fought off the Italian government’s latest attempt to remove the academy from an historic abbey near Rome. DHI chairman Benjamin Harnwell, who has always protested his innocence in the face of the state’s accusations, said the court action to remove him from the Trisulti Charterhouse has been entirely politically motivated. “The Ministry of Culture simply wanted me out because I proudly work...

North Dakota lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require priests to violate the seal of confession or face jail time in the state. The measure would remove the ministerial exception from mandatory reporting laws related to child abuse, requiring priests to report knowledge or suspicion of abuse even if it arose from the context of sacramental confession. Senate Bill No. 2180, published on Jan. 12, would amend the state’s Century Code relating to mandatory reporting. It was introduced by state senators Judy Lee (R), Kathy Hogan (D), and Curt Kreun (R). Under the current law, “a member of the...

Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - "The merciless murder of Abida and Sajida is a tragedy that shows how the lives of religious minorities in Pakistan are held by a thread or is worthless. Rape, kidnappings, forced conversions and even murders of young Christian girls are worrying phenomena. The government must not deny this and has the duty to stop the violence against Christians". This is what Nasir Saeed, Director of the NGO CLAAS (Center for Legal Aid Assistance & Settlement) said in a note sent to Agenzia Fides, commenting on the case in recent days which has provoked outrage and the...

(CNS) — Canadian churches faced new restrictions as public health officials tried to contain a post-holiday surge of COVID-19. Churches and all places of worship are once again closing in the province of Quebec in an effort to stop the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision is part of a new series of containment measures announced by Premier Francois Legault Jan. 6. Places of worship will be closed from Jan. 9 to Feb. 8. Only funerals will be authorized, but limited to 10 people. In British Columbia, public health officials extended bans on events and gatherings, including worship...

I have written here before about Delta Hospice in British Columbia, which has been under unremitting pressure by the government of the province — including a funding cutoff — only because it refuses to participate in euthanasia. It is now being forced to lay off clinical workers and faces eviction. From the press release: The board of DHS deeply regrets being compelled to take this action. Tragically, as the video and the attached background document make clear, we have been left no other choice due to the Fraser Health Authority canceling our service agreement and 35-year lease. Fraser Health is...

A Supreme Court case about the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church raises concerns among Catholics too.Eastern Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics in India are watching with concern a Supreme Court case about confession. Last week, the Supreme Court of India agreed to consider a petition by three lay members of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, who argue that the requirement of mandatory annual confession in their denomination violates the Constitutionally protected right to privacy. The lawsuit follows two criminal cases, which started in 2018, where priests of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in Kerala were accused of abusing confession to solicit...

Washington D.C., Jan 11, 2021 / 07:01 pm MT (CNA).- The Supreme Court has given the governor of Nevada eight days to file a response to a church which argued that the state’s COVID-19 protocol was discriminatory against houses of worship. In an order published Jan. 11, the Supreme Court directed Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) to respond to Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley before noon on Jan. 19. Calvary Chapel Dayton has until noon on Jan. 21 to file a reply brief. In November, Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley asked the Supreme Court, again, to consider their case. They argued that the...

London mayor writes to prime minister as some churches, mosques and synagogues close their doorsPlaces of worship in the capital should shut immediately because of the risks of Covid infection, Sadiq Khan has said, amid signs that churches, mosques and synagogues are already closing their doors. In a letter to the prime minister setting out his reasons for declaring a major incident in London, the mayor urged Boris Johnson to order places of worship to close, among other measures to tackle the crisis. Under the lockdown restrictions, places of worship in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are permitted to remain...

Now Congress Opens with a Prayer to Hindu God Brahma: Remember KALI on the Empire State Building? Is It any Surprise That the Fierce Judgment of God is Against Us? Yes, brethren – Congress has opened with a prayer to a demonic Hindu God. Almost six years ago, NYC celebrated the killing of the innocent babies by shining the image of Hindu Goddess KALI – Goddess of Destruction; also known as “The Dark one” and “She who is Death. Brahma is the “Creator god” in Hinduism. Satan must be ecstatically happy that the U.S. is recognizing a Hindu “creator” but...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Jan. 6 loosened COVID-19 restrictions for Mass and other religious gatherings effective Jan. 11, eliminating the maximum capacity of 250 people. Since June 10, churches have been allowed gatherings of no more than 250 people, or 50 percent of a space’s maximum seating capacity, whichever is less. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and other dioceses in Minnesota have cooperated with the Walz administration’s protocols against spread of the novel coronavirus. Minnesota Catholic Conference, which represents the bishops on public policy matters, together with several other denominations and churches petitioned the Walz administration to...

COLOGNE, Germany — A spokeswoman for Denmark’s Catholic Church said draft legislation requiring all sermons and homilies to be translated into Danish will fuel ill-feeling and damage religious freedom. “This law is directed primarily at Muslims — its proponents say they want to prevent parallel societies and things being preached which no one else understands and could be used for radicalization and calls for terror,” said Precious Blood Sister Anna Mirijam Kaschner, general secretary and spokeswoman of the Nordic bishops’ conference. “But all church congregations, free church congregations, Jewish congregations, everything we have here in Denmark — 40 different religious...

A campaign on GiveSendGo, the “#1 Free Christian Fundraising site,” has raised more than $100,000 for the legal defense of Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, the Afro-Cuban international chairman of the far-right Proud Boys group who was arrested Monday for the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic Washington, D.C., church.Tarrio, 36, who was found with high-capacity firearm magazines, was also banned on Tuesday from entering the District of Columbia, with very limited exceptions to meet with his attorney or appear in court until June, the Sun Sentinel reported.The court order banning Tarrio from Washington, D.C., prevented him from...

Save for the remnant that follows Bible prophecy diligently, many adherents of the Sunday ritual would probably miss the relevance of Luke 17:26-27. More so if they are part of the scoffing fraternity. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” Are we in the days of the Son of Man? Quite a lot like it despite the surge...

In last week’s article (World Government Looming), I listed some of my opinions about what is going on in the U.S. today. Here are some things I left off the list: The purpose of censorship, lying and deception is to control the information we read. Globalists do not want us to believe things that contradict what they say. They are trying to silence all opposition to their New World Order (NWO). Most of the media owners are part of the globalist movement, or at the very least, catering to it. The purpose of gun control is to disarm U.S. citizens...

Social media giant Twitter frequently censors pro-life conservatives but is refusing to remove a tweet from communist China celebrating forcing women to have abortions. As LifeNews.com reported, the Chinese Communist government celebrated a decline in births Thursday in a region where it has aggressively persecuted minorities by forcing them to abort their unborn babies. Chinese Embassy in the U.S. treated the report as good news, even highlighting how its government’s “process of eradicating [religious] extremism” contributed to the declining birth rates. The Chinese Communist Party’s eradication “process” reportedly involves massive persecution of Uygur Muslims in the Xinjiang region by detaining...

In Delaney v. Baker, (D MA, Jan. 6, 2021), a Massachusetts federal district court rejected plaintiff's claims that COVID-19 orders imposing maximum occupancy limits and requiring a mask and social distancing at Catholic religious services, as well as more general mask requirements, violate his free exercise rights. The court held that plaintiff's claims as to restrictions at religious services should be dismissed for lack of standing: Delaney’s ... challenge ... that his First Amendment right to freely exercise his religion is infringed by the maximum occupancy limits, fails.... This injury is not concrete and particularized, nor is it actual or...

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – Northern Ireland’s bishops say they “support the unequivocal message” from health officials that public gathering should be minimized due the COVID-19 pandemic and are suspending public celebrations of the Mass for at least one month. “Following further briefing today by the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Scientific Officer, and in consultation with The Executive Office, we are very concerned at the current serious public health position in which Northern Ireland finds itself: With the extremely high level of transmission of the Covid-19 virus; the continuing escalation of numbers in hospital and intensive care; the number...

Comply or disobey? Priest explains just vs unjust lawsEditor’s note: The following homily was delivered by Father Steven Reuter, SSPX on January 1, 2021, which traditionally is the Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord.January 8, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — “After eight days were accomplished, that the child should be circumcised.” In the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, amen. Dear faithful, on this eighth day after the birth of Jesus, we would like to consider: why was it that on this eighth day, the child needed to be circumcised?In order to understand this,...

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi referenced the Epiphany, St. Francis of Assisi, and also uttered a prayer as the House of Representatives reconvened the night of Jan. 6 to confirm the Electoral College win of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. in the November presidential election. The count had been interrupted by hundreds of marauders who breached the Capitol that afternoon, bringing the count to a halt. "Today, Jan. 6, is the feast of the Epiphany," when the Christ Child was first revealed as a human beyond Mary and St. Joseph, Pelosi, D-California, said. "On this day of revelation, let...

Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - The "Way of the Holy Family" is "the Christmas gift that Egypt gives to the world". Even the pandemic, which has also paralyzed tourism around the world, has not stopped the great project supported by the Egyptian authorities aimed at opening up to international pilgrimages the itinerary that unites places crossed, according to millenila traditions, by Mary, Joseph and the Child Jesus when they were in Egypt to escape the violence of Herod. This was reiterated at the beginning of 2021 by Adel al Gindy, director general of International Relations at the Authority for the Development...