Free Republic

"I Gave It Up for Lent"Harry R. OsborneA few years ago about this time of year, a story appeared in the newspaper about a strange occurrence in France. It seems that a thief cornered a man in a dark place. He threatened to slash the man's throat with his knife unless he handed over his money. As the Victim reached for his wallet, the light caught him in such a way that the thief saw his victim was a priest. The robber quickly apologized for his behavior explaining that he was unaware of the fact that he had preyed upon...

Anti-abortion Catholics can support pro-choice candidates, as long as they agree with the candidate on a range of other issues. That pronouncement in an Italian magazine from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican's top spokesman on Catholic teachings, went unnoticed in the din of presidential election-year politics. But it could reverberate in a close election, which pits President George W. Bush, a conservative Christian abortion opponent, against Democratic Sen. John Kerry, a Catholic who favors abortion rights. Catholics account for about one-fourth of the Michigan electorate and are evenly split between Kerry and Bush, said pollster Ed Sarpolus of the Lansing-based...