Free Republic

(Akin)Here are nine things to know and share about the Pope's new intentions video. 1. When you get down to it, the Pope merely asked for dialogue with other faiths; nothing new. 2. Certainly today, with so much sectarian violence, that has to be a good thing. 3. The imagery is not part of the Pope's intentions, so nobody should be excited about it. 4. For all we know, the Pope read a script that was spliced in post-production into a series of images he knew nothing about. 5. Nothing in the video is contrary to the New Evangelization, which...

8 things you need to know about Easter Sunday by Jimmy AkinThe great day is finally here: Easter, the most important day of the Christian calendar. More important even than Christmas.What happened on this day?Was Jesus’ resurrection a real, historical event?How does the Church celebrate this day?Is Easter a pagan holiday?Here are 8 things you need to know. 1. What happened on Easter? Among other things: The women went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body.They saw angels, who told them he wasn’t there.They went to tell the apostles, who initially didn’t believe them.Peter and the beloved disciple rushed to...

In the Gospels, the most famous miracle associated with Jesus—other than the Resurrection—is the Feeding of the Five Thousand. It’s recorded in all four Gospels.But Matthew and Mark record an additional, similar miracle, known as the Feeding of the Four Thousand. The numbers connected with this miracle are a little different (four thousand people are fed, they use seven loaves and “a few small fish,” and they pick up seven baskets of leftovers), but it’s the same basic type of miracle.That may be why Luke and John chose not to record it: Given the space limitations on ancient books,...

In my previous post, I noted how Jimmy Akin believes that "quite a number" of those Americans who are, "committing abortion and contraception...sleeping together outside of marriage, using porn, and doing a host of other things that can endanger their souls," will not end up in hell. He writes, "It can be tempting to conclude that most Catholics in America today are going to go to hell. Is the situation that bleak?...Although Catholics sometimes say things like “contraception is a mortal sin” or “sleeping together outside of marriage is a mortal sin,” this is a form of shorthand. For a...

Father Joseph Pelletier, A.A., was a native of Winchendon, Massachusetts. And he served the Church at a time when most priests were still reminding the souls entrusted to their care about the reality of hell and that mortal sins, unrepented of, render a soul incapable of eternal life. Back then, most Catholics knew and accepted God's Holy Word: "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the...