Free Republic

Prominent Catholics call on Congress to investigate Catholic Relief Services The Lepanto Institute has launched a White House petition requesting a congressional investigation of CRS for violation of the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits foreign aid from funding organizations which advocate for abortion. The Lepanto Institute has launched a White House petition requesting a congressional investigation of CRS for violation of the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits foreign aid from funding organizations which advocate for abortion. WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – Well known Catholic politicians, academicians, media personalities, and activists are asking Congress to investigate Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for violation...

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Now more than ever, the Catholic Church has begun to address how to minister to members of the LGBT community, especially when it comes to spiritual guidance. Following in Pope Francis’ footsteps, an Italian archbishop invited Catholics to look at gays and lesbians “as God looks at them.” “When communities will truly begin to look at people as God looks at them, then homosexual people — and everybody else — will begin to feel, naturally, a part of the ecclesial community,” said Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, the archbishop of the northern Italian town of Bologna, in...

[Barf Alert] Catholic diocese family ministries’ director: We must refer to trans students using preferred pronoun Diocese of Hamilton’s Director of Family Ministries suggests acquiescing to transgender students’ requests. May 29, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – In the latest installment of a WHY@Breakfast series, Teresa Hartnett, director of Family Ministries for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, spoke on the subject of “Gender, Sexuality, and the Catholic Church.” Like many events during this pandemic, the presentation had to move online, with participants tuning in at 9:30 a.m. EDT on May 23.  For the bulk of the presentation, Hartnett provided a fairly standard overview...

[Catholic Caucus] German bishop quits synodal forum endorsing 'polyvalent sexuality' An auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Cologne has announced he is no longer participating in the “Synodal Forum” on sexuality that is part of the “Synodal Path” underway in Germany.Bishop Dominikus Schwaderlapp told the newspaper Die Tagespost on May 28 that the forum was trying to cast into doubt fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church on sexual morality by referring to sexuality as “polyvalent.”The forum’s final working paper was operating on the assumption that the teachings of the Church on sexual morality required “further development,” the bishop said, adding...

Campus evangelist Keith Darrell explores the dilemmas surrounding submission to authorities, and what scriptural principles can be applied during this pandemic.

Most leaders in Judaeo-Christian faiths believe scripture teaches that all human lives are valuable and deserving of protection. But there are some who stray from the teaching and promote abortion. A group of New York state clergy members recently advocated for abortion at the state capital, Christian News Network reports. Together, abortion activists who identify as Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopalian, Baptist, Unitarian and Jewish urged New York state lawmakers to support abortion and Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion chain in the United States, according to the report. “As pastors, we believe in New Yorkers’ ability to get the health care...

[Catholic Caucus] [Barf Alert] Austrian bishops commission book calling same-sex relationships ‘image of God’s goodness’  A new book commissioned by the bishops demands that Church teaching on homosexuality be overturned LINZ, Austria, May 26, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – A new book commissioned by the Austrian bishops argues that homosexual relationships come from God, revealing God’s “goodness and humanity.” The book calls upon the Church to change her teaching against homosexuality and to bless homosexual relationships.  According to liturgical scholar Fr. Ewald Vollger OT, who contributed to the book, changing Church teaching on homosexuality “can be not only discussed, but also demanded.”...

Can a man who experiences same-sex attraction be ordained as a pastor in the gospel ministry? Many believe that homosexuality is such a heinous sin that it permanently disqualifies a man from any eligibility for ordained ministry. Others believe that he rightly may be ordained, and some conjecture that his homosexual struggles may actually make him more effective as a minister in a culture awash with complex gender issues. But what does the Bible say about this issue? That is the perspective we all need.What Does Scripture Teach? Romans 1:18–32 indeed affirms that homosexuality and lesbianism are unnatural acts of...

The pontificate of Pope Francis – why should we expect a divine intervention today? LifeSite’s John-Henry Weston yesterday delivered the following talk at the Roman  Life Forum — In these times of Coronavirus it has become for me clear that we are living in the end times, at least as that pertains to the chastisement predicted by Our Lady of Fatima in 1917. Today the greatest deprivation of all time has taken place. For the first time in history the greater part of Catholic humanity has been deprived of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.We will never be able to...

The Synod of the German Church Under the Analyst's Lens. A Revolution That Self-destructs There’s been a stir over the anthology published on Settimo Cielo of the working documents of the “synodal way” unfolding in the German Church, on the three central issues of powers in the Church, women's roles, and sexual morality.The first of the three documents represents a genuine revolution, a “democratization” of the Church with elective access to the leading roles and with the subseqent duty of the elected to respond not only to other “democratically chosen bodies” but also to “an independent jurisdiction.”But isn't this a...

[Barf Alert] Most Holy Redeemer hosts LGBT stations of the cross Stop at Harvey Milk home "We salute... gender-queer people who are devalued by both Church and society.” (Photo from Most Holy Redeemer Instagram) During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lock-down, which caused the nationwide closing of churches and the cancellation of the Holy Mass, two separate Roman Catholic parishes, on different sides of the country, offered “queer” Stations of the Cross via social media. Most Holy Redeemer (MHR), located in the Castro District of San Francisco, and St. Paul the Apostle in New York City, both posted videos to...

[Catholic Caucus] Episcopal Abuse of Power Bishop sidelines, then goes after Fr. White Now that the statute of limitations on sex abuse cases has been extended in many states, more victims of clerical sex abuse are coming forward, which has forced over 20 dioceses and religious orders to file for bankruptcy protection. Richmond bishop Barry Knestout boasted at a regional gathering of priests that by settling out of court and getting victims to accept monetary settlements on the condition they give up the right to sue, he will "save the diocese millions of dollars." Bishops fear sex abuse trials for their...

Famous Catholic Convert reveals his take on Pope Francis Steve Ray converted to Catholicism in his late 30s. He believes there are elements in the Catholic Church trying to change the deposit of faith. Today I had the chance to speak with well-known Catholic apologist, author, and veteran tour guide of the Holy Land Steve Ray about a wide variety of topics, including his thoughts on Pope Francis. A former Baptist, Steve shared with me what it was like converting to Catholicism and what his views are on the coronavirus and the crisis in the church. “I was born and...

May 12, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – The Trump administration may exclude the abortion industry from federal family planning funds, thanks to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision not to review an earlier decision in the case siding with the White House. The Protect Life Rule requires “clear financial and physical separation between Title X-funded projects and programs or facilities where abortion is a method of family planning” and bans “referral for abortion as a method of family planning.” The abortion lobby has responded with multiple lawsuits, and Planned Parenthood chose to withdraw from Title X rather than comply with what...

The Revelation details how the world in the end times will be deceived by BIG PHARMA and vaccines. What is happening worldwide with COVID-19 is no accident. Evil men with a globalist totalitarian agenda have done this. One of them is probably the antichrist, or the antichrist is just about to appear on the scene. It seems so easy to figure out, now that a little more of the enemy's hand has been revealed. All one needs to do is follow the headlines and do a word study of the original Greek in passages of the Revelation that mention sorcery,...

This Poisonous Pope Spreads only Desolation Pope Francis. Head of the Catholic Church. I honour the authority he wields. Or, at least, claims to yield. Should I see him, one of the first things I’d do is attempt to kiss the Ring of the Fisherman. This man’s hands are blessed, and he has the power to consecrate bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. He has the power to bless people and to drive out demons. His is the Vicar’s Seat, which is at the head of all priestly men, and his position is that of...

Catholic bishop suspends priest and issues trespass order over blog about clergy sex abuse A months-long standoff between a Catholic bishop in Virginia and a priest who blogs frequent, strident criticism of the church’s handling of clergy sexual abuse has boiled over, with the diocese suspending the priest from ministry and changing parish and residence locks where he was assigned, the priest said Saturday. The Rev. Mark White, who has been assigned to two southwest Virginia parishes, had refused to leave the church properties despite a trespass order, saying Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout is the one violating canon law by...

[Catholic Caucus] The Two Popes Problem Liberals would like Benedict XVI to shut up. When Pope Francis grants an interview, he makes news by subverting Church teaching. When Pope Benedict XVI gives one, he makes news by upholding it. Therein lies the two popes problem about which the media can’t keep complaining. This last week it ran stories pitting the two against each other after a new book about Pope Benedict XVI appeared in which the pope emeritus defends the Church’s moral teachings and reviews the crisis in the West.The supposed conflict, though, is mythical, as Pope Benedict XVI is...

SAO PAULO (CNS) — The Brazilian bishops’ conference praised a Supreme Court ruling that women infected with the Zika virus could not have an abortion. “It is not for any public authority to selectively recognize the right to life, assuring it to some and denying it to others,” the bishops said. “This discrimination is inequitable and exclusive; it is horrifying just to think that there are children who will never be able to see the light, victims of abortion. They are immoral laws that impose on health professionals the obligation to act against their conscience, cooperating, directly or indirectly, in...

Is the Virus a Chastisement From God? “La Civiltà Cattolica” Says No ”Prophets of doom.” This is how “La Civiltà Cattolica” - the magazine of the Rome Jesuits that goes to press after having been seen and approved by the pope - defines and dismisses those among the Catholics who are claiming that the coronavirus pandemic is “a punishment from God, enraged against a sinful world.”It has done so in its latest issue, under the byline of a  Jesuit of the first rank, David M. Neuhaus, professor at the Pontifical Biblical Institute of Jerusalem, born Jewish, a citizen of Israel...