Free Republic

Dear Cardinal Dew here, not speaking about the family but the favourite of many senior clergy: homosexuality. No wonder Cardinal Dolan says the traditional family is today an excluded minority, even in the Church. Anyhow Dew is uncomfortable with the phrase 'intrinsically disordered', he wants us to find a new way of expressing something which 'even if there is something which is against Church teaching we put it in such a way that is friendly to them...'. The problem is the Cardinal is confused, the Church is not speaking about homosexual persons but genital acts, which is Church politely, trying...

Eileen DiFranco sang the hymns, prayed and took Communion as she had done at countless other Catholic Masses.But yesterday, for the first time, she led the service as an ordained priest - and received a warm reception from hundreds of Catholics and others."Nothing is impossible with our God," she told a congregation at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown. "Not even a woman priest."Applause rippled across the steamy sanctuary, where many fanned themselves with programs titled: "First Mass. Eileen DiFranco."DiFranco, 54, of Mount Airy, had participated in a July 31 ceremony that organizers say made her among the first...

President George W. Bush has placed democratization at the center of his Middle East policy. At his inauguration he declared, "Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know: America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country." Bush is sincere, confronting not only adversaries like Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but also pro-American dictators like Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.Bush can claim success: 2005 is the year of the election. Iraqis defied predictions to cast their ballots. Palestinians also embraced the vote, electing Mahmoud Abbas to replace the late Yasser Arafat.Elections alone do not make democracy,...