Free Republic

WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation on Friday to protect abortion services against growing Republican-backed state restrictions, including a Texas law that imposes a near-total ban on abortion, but the bill is unlikely to pass the Senate. The Democratic-controlled House voted 218-211 largely along party lines to pass the legislation called the Women's Health Protection Act. Just one Democrat, Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas, voted against the proposal. The bill would protect abortion services and pre-empt many restrictions Republicans have passed at the state level, such as those requiring ultrasounds or other tests. The...

Shortly after Artur Pawlowski got off a plane, he was handcuffed, arrested and taken to jail.(LifeSiteNews) – Canadian Christian pastor Artur Pawlowski was arrested by customs officials Monday for offenses said to have occurred months ago upon returning home to Calgary from a tour of the United States. Video of the arrest filmed from inside a private plane and posted on Pawlowski’s YouTube channel shows a border guard handcuff Pawlowski only inches away from the plane’s wing and escort him away. According to a Rebel News report, Pawlowski was arrested on two charges, one related to a “court order” and...

The Archbishop of York is to deliver an update on Vision and StrategyTHE establishment of 10,000 new, predominantly lay-led churches in the next ten years is among the ambitious targets that will be discussed at the General Synod this month when the Archbishop of York, the Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, delivers an update on the Vision and Strategy discussions announced last year (News, 26 November 2020). It is one of six outcomes set out in a briefing paper, published last week, which also envisages the doubling of the number of children and “young active disciples” in the C of E...

The new fundraiser will bring the cathedral into the 21st century. The Archdiocese of Paris is asking for more funds to help bring much needed updates to Notre Dame. The campaign is seeking between 5 and 6 million euros to help modernize the interior. Notre Dame de Paris was devastated by fire in April, 2019. Even as it was burning, Catholics around the world were pledging donations to restore the iconic French church. The Archdiocese reportedly raised over 800 million euros, but this money is limited in its use. The regulations around Notre Dame’s funds are due to a law...

Pope Francis chides traditional-minded seminarians and priestsAccording to Pope Francis, "rigidity" is a bad word. For the duration of his papacy, he has browbeaten Catholics trying to follow Church law, all while giving comfort to those who hate the Church and Her rigid teachings. The pope continued this trend in a speech he gave on Thursday to seminarians at the Pius XI seminary in Ancona, Italy. There, he called rigidity one of the "manifestations of clericalism" and "a perversion of the priesthood." He went on to say, "When I find a seminarian or a young priest who is rigid, I...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Several members of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church are requesting Father Christopher Rhodes be removed as its priest. Rhodes is assigned to three primarily Black Catholic churches in the West End — Saint Augustine, Christ the King, and Immaculate Heart of Mary. On Tuesday, Immaculate Heart members told WAVE 3 News the church is being run by Rhodes with no input from the congregation. They also said several parish leaders had been removed. “We are a West End poor Catholic African American Church,” a member of Immaculate Heart said. “We feel as if we have...