Free Republic

The Church Obedient It was not the head of the Catholic Church who finally condemned the tyrannical decrees of various state governors that churches are to be “nonessential,” while marijuana dispensaries, liquor stores, and abortuaries can remain open. It was President Donald Trump. He said that he is “correcting this injustice and calling houses of worship essential.”In earlier times, the Church willingly submitting to state decrees in gross violation of its freedom to practice the faith would have been a scandal of epic proportions. A public outcry, beginning at the top, would have ensued, and a contingency of priests no...

[Catholic Caucus] Female ‘Episcopal Vicar’ Violates Canon Law Grandmother appointed to top clerical position FRIBORG, Switzerland (ChurchMilitant.com) - In a historic first, a high-ranking clerical position which canon law reserves exclusively for a priest, has been been conferred on a lay woman in Switzerland. Bishop Charles Morerod of the diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Friborg, has appointed "lay minister" Madame Marianne Pohl-Henzen "episcopal vicar" for the German-speaking part of the canton of Friborg from August 1, 2020, changing her job title to "episcopal delegate" or "episcopal manager."Bp. Charles Morerod of Lausanne, Geneva and Friborg "A lay woman is now hierarchically superior to all priests...

[Barf Alert] Silence over Easter police raids captures ‘through the looking glass’ moment Up and down Italy over the Easter weekend, police entered churches and broke up services, issuing citations and fines to those taking part, in several instances including the parish priest. Yet not only has there been no howl of protest from the country’s Catholic leadership, almost uniformly bishops have sided with the authorities. ROME - In Catholic terms, perhaps nothing captures the “through the looking glass” dynamic of the coronavirus pandemic like this: Up and down Italy over Easter weekend, police entered churches and broke up services...

Bishops against 'confrontational' approach saving babies from abortionHARTFORD, Conn. (ChurchMilitant.com) - A Connecticut crisis pregnancy center (CPC) that confronts women before they enter abortion mills has been told it's "too confrontational" to be part of a coalition of CPCs that receive funds from the diocese of Norwich and its parishes. The Connecticut Catholic Conference, which includes the state's bishops, formed a coalition of CPCs in the area called Connecticut Pregnancy Care Coalition (CPCC). Since it launched in July 2017, it has required its member-centers to take a softer approach to crisis pregnancy help that some believe is not optimal for...