Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican’s Homosexual Network: Protected by the Secretariat of State“Twenty years of scandals, and the Vatican - to be more specific, the Vatican Secretariat of State - has learned nothing”, writes Phil Lawler on CatholicCulture.org (July 17).He comments on the case of Rev Carlo Capella. The priest was imprisoned in Vatican City for possessing and distributing child pornography, yet he has returned to work in the Holy See’s diplomatic service — first without an official title, and now with a formal senior designation.An official labelled the scandal as 'an act of mercy'.Lawler asks: “Mercy? Not mercy toward the teenagers...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Joseph Strickland: Statement on the Lavender Mafia and the St. Gallen MafiaThe Lavender Mafia undermined the Church’s credibility through sin and scandal. The St. Gallen group weakened her witness through strategic manipulation of leadership and teaching.Editor’s note: The following was originally published on Bishop Joseph Strickland’s Substack on July 14, 2025.(LifeSiteNews) — In a recent post, I spoke of what many refer to as the “Lavender Mafia.” This term is commonly used to describe a hidden network of clergy within the Church who engage in or protect homosexual activity, form alliances based on mutual secrecy, and often...

What Does Pope’s New Bishop Appointment Tell Us About Future of LGBTQ+ Ministry?Since the beginning of Pope Leo XIV’s papacy, very little has been known about the pope’s approach to LGBTQ+ issues. However, Leo’s latest episcopal appointment may provide insight into the pontiff’s leanings on LGBTQ+ pastoral care. The appointment of Fr. Thomas Hennen as Bishop of the Diocese of Baker, Oregon, is Leo’s first episcopal selection who has some sort of record on LGBTQ+ issues. Hennen, a priest of the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, is only 47, and will become the youngest bishop to lead a U.S. diocese.A Religion...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland: Follow-up to my statement on Bishop-elect HennenMany faithful Catholics have expressed concern over my recent comments regarding Pope Leo XIV’s appointment of Fr. Thomas Hennen as Bishop-elect of Baker. I write now not to backtrack, but to clarify and deepen what must be said – for the sake of the flock and for the integrity of the Church.A bishop is a shepherd, yes – but also a watchman. And if the watchman sounds the alarm only once the wolves are already among the sheep, many souls will be devoured. The shepherd’s call must go out when...

[Catholic Caucus] Storm in the Vatican. Is the Cipriani Case a Trap Against Opus Dei?The Cipriani Case is a troubling allegation of abuse of a minor by Juan Luis Cipriani when the latter was the spiritual director of the Seminary of Lima, Peru. Made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001, Cipriani and the Vatican now seem at odds, and here's the breakdown:Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, the emeritus archbishop of Lima (Peru) and a cardinal created by Pope John Paul II in 2001, is currently at the center of a very confusing storm. On January 25, 2025, the...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis all but confirms he chose not to expose Vatican ‘corruption’ and ‘wrongdoing’In his new memoir 'Hope,' Pope Francis reveals that Benedict XVI had presented him with documents 'relating to the most difficult and painful situations: cases of abuse, corruption, dark dealings, wrongdoings.' Yet he has not fought that corruption.(Catholic Culture) — This week, with the publication of his new book, Pope Francis has added one important link to the chain of evidence regarding the fight against Vatican corruption.In April 2012, Pope Benedict created a special commission of three senior cardinals (Herranz, Tomko, and DeGiorgi) to investigate...

[Catholic Caucus] He knew of sex abuse allegations on campus. Now he’s university president.SOUTH ORANGE, New Jersey — Monsignor Joseph Reilly started as a student at Seton Hall University 45 years ago and rose the ranks of the prestigious Catholic institution, becoming one of its most influential figures. Then he left his position in 2022, with little fanfare. Unknown to the public, Reilly had been implicated in the fallout of defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s sexual abuse scandal that rocked the church all the way up to the Vatican — called out in a secretive internal investigation that concluded Reilly knew...

Months after the United Methodist Church’s largest overseas jurisdiction voted to cut ties with the denomination over their support of same-sex marriage, resulting in a loss of over a million members in a single day, UMC leadership has revealed their plans to retaliate against them: cut off all funding and take their property. Earlier this year, The United Methodist Church in the Ivory Coast (EMUCI), which has been vocal about the denomination’s drift, held an extraordinary session on May 28th and pulled the trigger, casting their votes to disaffiliate “For reasons of conscience before God and His word, the supreme...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Viganò: Bergoglio owes his ‘election’ to McCarrickIn a new interview given to Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò asserts that Francis 'owes' his 2013 election to the once-influential but now-laicized ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.In a new interview given to journalist Franca Giansoldati of the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò claims that Francis “owes” his 2013 election to disgraced ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. In the interview, published by Il Messaggero on Wednesday morning, Viganò was asked, “You have accused Pope Francis of having ignored the rumors relating to the homosexuality and abuse of minors by...

[Catholic Caucus] Viganò Told: “Keep Your Mouth Shut”By Silencing Viganò, Catholic Media Silence Abuse VictimsSome faithful Catholics are voicing disagreement with the Editor of Crisis Magazine, Eric Sammons, after he scolded Archbishop Viganò to “keep your mouth shut” following Viganò’s assertion that he has personal knowledge of reports that Pope Francis sexually abused seminarians.As a sex abuse victims’ advocate who is aware of the serious effects of clerical sexual predation that has led countless victims to have their psychosexual development damaged; become drug addicts and/or alcoholics; and even commit suicide, I disagree with critics of Viganò’s transparency about abuse reports...

[Catholic Caucus] Lawsuit Claims McCarrick Headed Abusive ‘Sex Ring,’ Names Alleged ‘Procurer’ A lawsuit filed Tuesday charges that former cardinal Theodore McCarrick sexually abused a boy and aided his abuse by several other priests, and claims that a principal at a Christian Brothers high school helped procure the victim for McCarrick and the other clergy abusers in the early 1980s. The plaintiff’s controversial lawyer, Jeff Anderson characterized McCarrick as leading a “sex ring.” He claimed papal power is to blame, including Pope Francis, and cites unproven claims by the controversial Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano about the Holy See’s response to...

New accusation surfaces against former U.S. prelate McCarrick Then-Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, arrives in procession for a Mass of thanksgiving for Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Nov. 22, 2010. A new lawsuit against McCarrick, who was laicized in 2019, accuses him of managing a sex ring among seminarians, altar boys and priests at a New Jersey beach house. (CNS/Paul Haring) Washington — A firm that has filed previous legal complaints against former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick and church entities added another complainant July 21 against the defrocked prelate,...

As New York City becomes the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, the city is going into lockdown. Frontline healthcare workers are preparing for shortages of beds and equipment, and the USNS Comfort, a massive hospital ship, has arrived to help deal with the influx of patients. Samaritan's Purse, a Christian humanitarian organization that, among other things, brings medical professionals and supplies to war zones and disaster hotspots around the world, has set up a 68-bed field hospital in Central Park with 60 to 70 medical staff to treat coronavirus patients. The arrival of Samaritan's Purse was...

Whether you like it or not, there’s plenty of evidence that the God of the Bible does not sanction same-sex relationships. You may not interpret the Good Book that way. Perhaps you’ve got reasonable theological reasons for it.

The Boy Scouts of America has drawn up a strategy for coping with a wave of sexual-abuse claims through a possible bankruptcy filing while protecting local scouting councils and the billions of dollars in assets they hold, according to people familiar with the matter.

Even though American culture warriors of the right are fighting what Tolkien called ‘the long defeat’, surrender in the Battle of Chick-fil-A was a monumental symbolic loss. That’s because the fast-food chain had become what psychology calls a ‘condensation symbol’: a phrase or entity that powerfully evokes a worldview, and usually calls forth strong emotions around it. Chick-fil-A sells fried chicken. When are chicken nuggets not mere morsels of battered and fried chicken? When LGBT activists transform them into sacraments of Bible-thumping wickedness, as they have done with enormous effectiveness since 2012. That was the year that Dan Cathy, CEO...

The president and CEO of Hallmark, Inc., announced on Sunday that the company will be reversing a controversial decision it made earlier this month to pull advertisements that featured a lesbian couple getting married and kissing. The executive, Mike Perry, said on Sunday that the team at the parent company behind The Hallmark Channel, Crown Media Family Networks, has “been agonizing over this decision as we’ve seen the hurt it has unintentionally caused.” “Said simply, they believe this was the wrong decision. Our mission is rooted in helping all people connect, celebrate traditions, and be inspired to capture meaningful moments...

November 29, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Chick-fil-A has betrayed its Christian customers, and emboldened the LGBT mob. If you’re still defending them, then please, read on. Chick-fil-A provoked the ire of the LGBT lobby in 2012 when its CEO Dan Cathy affirmed the Biblical view of marriage. But in the process they became a cultural icon for Christian conservatives, who flocked to the restaurant in droves. With their support, Chick-fil-A’s sales have more than doubled since 2012. But after seven years of attacks from the LGBT mob, Chick-fil-A announced Nov. 18 that it would cease funding its remaining grantees that oppose...

`Please go to @ChickfilA and give them a piece of your chicken-pluckin' mind. It's claimed their "followers" dropped by 10%, or 110,000 over the past 4 weeks. (I think in general, stats about Twitter followers are highly manipulable and highly suspect, but let's just go with that.) Anyhow, I have been sending them lots of messages about how bad they are for selling out to the bullies in the LGBT activist organizations. They are getting beat up by angryy conservative (ex)customers, especially for dropping Salvation Army, an act of foul treachery. As of now, I think their customer comment tweets...

In 2014, Chick-Fil-A decided to stop funding the Paul Anderson Youth Home because it was accused of being “anti-LGBT.” But it still had funding commitments with the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, both of which are also falsely accused of being “anti-LGBT” because they have biblical policies on marriage and sex outside of marriage. Now that the funding commitment has expired, Chick-Fil-A says it will no longer fund the Salvation Army and FCA, even though the Salvation Army fits within its giving priority of funding organizations that provide housing and food banks, and FCA provides education. Instead,...