Free Republic

Anyone who is still wondering how to vote on November 8, and who sincerely wants to vote their conscience, need only listen to this extraordinary homily given by a priest who knows exactly who to vote for. On October 2, 2016, the Very Reverend John Lankeit of the Diocese of Phoenix began his homily by warning the congregation that the devil is a divider who will use almost any tactic to separate Christians from Christ. “He doesn’t typically come right out and say, ‘Deny Jesus Christ!’ because he knows that someone who loves Jesus would immediately reject the suggestion. So,...

Action to remove priest angers parishioners By Lawn Griffiths East Valley TribuneBishop Thomas Olmsted’s action to remove the Rev. John Cunningham as pastor of the Gilbert parish he founded in 2002 has infuriated parishioners who say the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix has been unwilling to hear their appeals of support for the veteran priest. The parishioners of St. Mary Magdalene say the new bishop targeted Cunningham because he is a progressive, liberal priest who embraces diversity. Cunningham, 55, was first suspended from his duties on April 30 on accusations he violated church law by performing a wedding last spring at...

Some 4 1/2 months into his tenure, Bishop Thomas Olmsted has left no doubt that he is what the Vatican ordered when he was named to head the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. A rapid series of recent diocesan actions underscores that Olmsted is a loyal and ardently faithful servant to Pope John Paul II, with whom the bishop once regularly worked during assignments with the Curia in the early 1980s. The pope tapped the 31-year priest last fall to leave his bishop's job in the Diocese of Wichita, Kan., to come to Arizona to rebuild a church rocked by...

Love Means Giving Oneself Away (Homily given by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, Coadjutor Bishop of Wichita, Kansas, on January 20, 2001) "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life." (John 3:16) God created us in love; God created us out of love; God created us for love. God gave us two great commandments: "You shall love your God with all your mind, with all your heart, with all your strength and with all your soul. You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love,...