Free Republic

Pope Francis has appointed a new bishop to a Texas-based diocese who will replace a theologically conservative critic of the pontiff who was removed from office last year. The Catholic Diocese of Tyler announced last Friday that Francis appointed the Most Rev. Gregory Kelly, auxiliary bishop of Dallas, to lead the regional body. Kelly will fill the vacancy left after Francis removed Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, the former head of the diocese who had criticized the pontiff for some of his policies on LGBT issues and overall doctrine. “I am grateful to the Holy Father for this surprising pre-Christmas gift,...

One man died, and two others were hospitalized after a shooting at a Detroit gas station over a $4 purchase being declined, officials said. Gregory Kelly, 37, of Detroit, was fatally shot around 3 a.m. Saturday, May 6, at a gas station in the 12800 block of West McNichols, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release. Samuel Anthony McCray, 27, of Detroit, is charged with first-degree murder and other crimes related to the incident. A 60-year-old man and 37-year-old man were also injured in the shooting, the release said. It is alleged that, shortly after 3 a.m....