Free Republic

THE outpouring of grief following the death of Pope Francis was like a wall of noise, a practically uninterrupted blanket of praise, a seamless garment of tribute. Even his enemies fought to temper their public comments, undoubtedly conscious of the enduring Latin injunction de mortuis nil nisi bonum, that one must not speak ill of the dead. It was only in private conversations that one could truly gauge the true sentiments of rank-and-file Catholics. One devout woman, orthodox but very much in the mainstream of the Church, confided to me that when she heard of the death of Francis on...

CV NEWS FEED // Melinda French Gates said she experienced “almost a crisis of faith” before embracing a pro-contraception stance, citing a “very liberal” priest as a key influence in her decision to diverge from Catholic teaching. In an April 17 interview on The Jamie Kern Lima Show, the philanthropist and co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation described how her travels to underserved areas exposed her to families living without contraceptives, People reported. Gates recounted hearing from women who experienced pregnancies in rapid succession — some of which led to the loss of a child or even the...

Afton Brown had recently moved back to her hometown after living out of state for several months when she met a young man with whom she had an instant attraction. When Brown discovered she was pregnant after just a few months of dating, she was uncertain where to turn. Brown told Live Action News, “I talked to my boyfriend about it, but neither of us knew what to do or how to handle it. We were both in shock. I was just 23 years old at the time.” She turned to a family member who had been supportive of her...

When a crime is committed, it has to have a punishment; it has to be made right, but when someone's life is taken, how can justice restore what's been lost? Christians have long debated the issue of capital punishment, holding a wide range of views. Pastor Jack offers his perspective on what the Bible has to say about the death penalty, particularly in cases of murder. (35 minutes)

The experience of Catholicism today does not resemble the descriptions of previous generations. Catholics used to describe the faith as immutable. Some celebrated the comfort of changelessness, the sense that here was something truly eternal; haters lamented the blockheaded institutional obstinacy. Now the experience is transience, not intransigence. Half the parishes are gone, the greatest transience of all. The rest swing like pendula between liberal and conservative. The parish my mom attended had a pastor who liked all the liberal trappings: ad-lib consecration, applause during Mass, goofball sermons with lots of laughs, the usual. Then came a conservative pastor who...

[Catholic Caucus] ‘Transgender’ individuals to welcome Pope Francis’ coffin at burial siteAs announced by Vatican News, some self-described transgender individuals be included in a welcoming party for Pope Francis’ remains at the Basilica of St. Mary Major.Pope Francis meets with transgender activist group at weekly audienceA party of self-described transgender individuals will form part of a small group welcoming Pope Francis’ body to the Roman basilica where he will be buried on Saturday.As announced by Vatican News – the in-house news outlet for the Vatican – some gender-confused individuals will be included in a welcoming party for Pope Francis’ remains...

[Catholic Caucus] “Blessing Gives Strength to Love”: German Bishops’ Conference Releases Authorized Pastoral Guidelines on Imparting Blessings to Homosexual CouplesIt’s as if they were just waiting for the perfect moment—the moment when the last obstacle to their plan would be removed, and no one could stop them. The German original may be found here. -PAK“Blessing Gives Strength to Love”:Blessings for couples who love each otherHandout for pastorsResolution of the Whole Conference [of German Bishops], April 4, 2025 [released April 23]“The Church wishes to proclaim in word and deed the message of the God-given dignity of every person. This message guides...

Eternal and Just Lord, You raise up leaders in every age, and permit even flawed vessels to bear great weight. Receive the soul of Your servant, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who walked a path both revered and contested, and whose words shaped many, though not all in peace. In the quiet where truth stands uncloaked, may he now see clearly what once was dim. Where zeal was misplaced, may Your mercy abound. Where compassion blurred boundaries, may Your justice now restore what was unsettled. For those he shepherded, and those he unsettled— for every soul stirred by his charge— let Your...

The Christian crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo has staunchly defended its decision to host a fundraising campaign for the family of Karmelo Anthony, a 17-year-old Texas teenager charged with the murder of fellow student Austin Metcalf. The fundraiser, which has raised nearly $500,000, has sparked significant controversy, with critics arguing it violates the platform’s policies against campaigns that financially benefit individuals accused of violent crimes. Despite the backlash, GiveSendGo’s founders remain firm, emphasizing their commitment to due process and the presumption of innocence. On April 2, 2025, Karmelo Anthony, a senior at Frisco Centennial High School, allegedly stabbed 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, a...

LGBT group praises cardinal for inclusion in Holy Thursday liturgy: ‘Historic The new cardinal of Naples will wash the feet of a prominent LGBT activist during Maundy Thursday liturgy this year, in a move hailed as support for the LGBT lifestyle by activists.The new cardinal of Naples will wash the feet of a prominent LGBT activist during Maundy Thursday liturgy this year, in a move hailed as support for the LGBT lifestyle by activists.As highlighted by Messa in Latino, the newly minted cardinal of Naples, Cardinal Domenico Battaglia, will include a prominent LGBT activist in the Maundy Thursday Mandatum ceremony...

A federal judge ruled this week that the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may not force Catholic employers to accommodate abortion and IVF or to abide by Biden-era LGBT “anti-discrimination” rules. The Diocese of Bismarck, North Dakota, and the Catholic Benefits Association (CBA) had sued over the regulations last year, arguing their enforcement under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act violated the religious freedom rights of Catholic groups.“The US District Court for the District of North Dakota entered judgment Wednesday,” according to Bloomberg Law, “a day after Judge Daniel M. Traynor ruled that EEOC’s regulations under the Pregnant Workers Fairness...

Ten years after the ISIS genocide that devastated northern Iraq, the Christian communities of the Nineveh Plains find themselves facing a new and insidious threat. While the world commemorates the atrocities that peaked in 2014, when ISIS militants swept through Mosul and the surrounding region killing, enslaving, and displacing tens of thousands of Christians and Yazidis, the security and future of these ancient minorities remain far from assured. Nadine Maenza, a leading advocate for religious freedom and a global fellow at the Wilson Center, has authored an analysis raising alarm about the current situation in the Nineveh Plains. In her...

It’s high time for Protestant denominations to take a firm and authoritative stance on reproductive technology. Since the birth of “Baby M” by in vitro fertilization (IVF) in 1978, reproductive technologies have outpaced public understanding, policy development, and theological reflection...By 2030, it is likely that they will be well on their way to developing artificial wombs for conception through birth. American Evangelicals haven’t kept up. Indeed, most Protestant denominations in our country still lack a biblically informed stance on childbearing, infertility, and the most basic reproductive technology, such as IVF, surrogacy, and stem cell research. Even fewer have a coherent...

[Catholic Caucus] Questions Linger on Cardinal Fernandez’s ‘Sex Change’ RemarksThe prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has not addressed concerns that his recent remarks may contradict the Church’s moral teaching on bodily integrity.The prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, who recently appeared to some observers to support “sex change” surgery in especially difficult cases, has not responded to questions aimed at clarifying his comments. ... Some observers took his comments to be a contradiction of the DDF’s 2024 declaration Dignitas Infinita (Infinite Dignity). That document, which underlined the inherent and inalienable dignity...

[Catholic Caucus] Pro-LGBT Nun to Lead Holy Week Address in SpainAngel Javier Pérez Pueyo, Bishop of Barbastro, Spain, has announced that Sister María Luisa Berzosa González, a homosexual activist, will deliver the Pregón de la Semana Santa of Barbastro during Holy Week 2025.The Pregón de la Semana Santa is a public speech in many Spanish-speaking regions that officially opens the Holy Week celebrations.Angel Javier Pérez Pueyo became famous for starting a pointless fight over the Opus Dei sanctuary of Torreciudad, located in his diocese.Berzosa González is a nun from the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus, who hides in lay...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinals tout book on vocations and sexual orientation; Pope Francis writes prefacePope Francis has written the preface to Vocazioni felici: Integrare orientamento sessuale, affetti e relazioni [Happy Vocations: Integrating Sexual Orientation, Affections and Relationships], a new book by Chiara D’Urbano, a psychologist and consultor to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Clergy.Cardinal Baldassare Reina, Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, and Bishop Michele Di Tolve spoke at the April 9 presentation of the book, according to a statement from the Dicastery for the Clergy. Cardinal Reina is vicar general of His Holiness for Rome and archpriest of the Lateran Basilica; Cardinal...

You might not have read the Book of Maccabees. (Catholics and Orthodox regard it as canonical while Protestants and Jews mostly consider it simply an inspiring, accurate history of God’s people enduring corruption and persecution.) But the Lutheran George Frederick Handel thought the story important enough to compose a beautiful oratorio retelling it, Judas Maccabeus. The Jewish holiday of Channukah has its origins in the events recounted in Maccabees — commemorating the rededication of the Temple after pagans had profaned it.Maccabees is certainly worth a read for Christians today trying to navigate a path between an overbearing, increasingly intolerant secular...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland: Courage as a bishop ‘is a requirement’Bp. Strickland renewed his criticism of trends within the Catholic Church, especially the Synod on Synodality, warning that 'many souls are being led astray.’Bishop Joseph Strickland has warned of a “deliberate effort to undermine the unchanging truths of the Catholic faith from within the Church herself.”“The silence of the shepherds in the face of injustice and the erosion of truth is serious,” said Strickland in a new interview published by Spanish outlet InfoVaticana.Since being removed by the Pope as bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, in November 2023, Strickland...

A Christian nurse has been suspended from her role in Britain’s National Health Service after she spoke out about allegedly being disciplined for refusing to refer to a biologically male convicted paedophile patient as a woman. Jennifer Melle has been suspended by the St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, London over allegedly breaching patient confidentiality after she spoke out about being previously disciplined by the NHS Trust for refusing to use female pronouns when referring to a male convicted child sex abuser while under her care. Despite Melle claiming that the patient had racially abused her and physically threatened her, the...

[Catholic Caucus] Priest to join teachers in opposing motion to ban ‘pride’ flags in Ontario Catholic school districtFather Toby Collins, a Kitchener priest known for suppressing the Latin Mass, will be delegating to keep 'pride' flags in Catholic classrooms at an upcoming Waterloo Catholic District School Board meeting.Kitchner area priest Father Toby Collins is scheduled to delegate to the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) in an attempt to stop a ban on “pride” flags.According to information shared with LifeSiteNews, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) recruited Father Collins, the pastor at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Kitchener, to...