Free Republic

PREMIER Kristina Keneally has lashed out at the head of her church in Australia, saying she was "saddened" by Cardinal George Pell for denouncing Catholic politicians who do not follow the church's teachings. In an exclusive interview, Ms Keneally said Cardinal Pell risked being "interpreted as condemnatory and threatening" by urging MPs to stick to their religious convictions when making policy decisions on contentious social issues such as same-sex marriage. Ms Keneally, a deeply committed Catholic with a Masters degree in religious studies, said: "I read those comments from the Archbishop and, if anything, they saddened me. "Almost every Catholic...

Award-winning Christian music artist Jennifer Knapp has returned from a seven-year hiatus with a bang. Aside from touring with provocative singer-songwriter Derek Webb and preparing for the release of a new album, Knapp is confirming what some had for years suspected – she’s gay. In interviews with The Advocate, Reuters, and Christianity Today – all published Tuesday – Knapp spoke openly about her sexuality while making it clear that she is not a pro-gay activist or even a self-described lesbian despite being in an eight-year relationship with a woman. “I'm just a normal human being who's dealing with normal everyday...

President Obama has named to his faith-based advisory council a self-professed Christian who holds that the New Testament's teaching that homosexual behavior is unnatural and wrong--which is found in St. Paul's letter to the Romans--“is not true." The appointee, Harry Knox, has also said that Obama's decision to invite the Rev. Rick Warren to say a prayer at the Inauguration "tainted" the ceremony and that Pope Benedict XVI is a "discredited leader." Harry Knox, a professed gay Christian who is director of the religion and faith program at the Human Rights Campaign, a homosexual rights group, was named to President...

Monday March 2, 2009 Cherie Blair Says Catholic Church Sexist, Credits Personal Success to Contraception By Hilary White and John JalsevacLONDON, March 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Church "marginalizes" women and keeps them "virtually invisible" in its public face, says Cherie Blair. Speaking on a BBC television program, the wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair said that "ambivalence" towards women is a "fundamental weakness" of Christianity and of Catholicism in particular. The controversial remarks were made during the final installment of a documentary, Christianity, that was aired on BBC's Channel 4 on Sunday night. During a section of...

AUSTRALIA'S most distinguished expatriate scientist, Lord May of Oxford, has launched an attack on the Catholic Church, blaming Vatican policy for the spread of AIDS in the Third World.Lord May said that the Vatican's opposition to the use of condoms was an example of "dogma" leading to the deliberate misrepresentation of facts, at great human cost.The Sydney-born scientist's words came in his final speech delivered as president of Britain's Royal Society, the world's oldest scientific organisation, past presidents of which include Isaac Newton and Joseph Banks.Speaking in London, Lord May described AIDS as a pandemic, with more than 40 million...

GENEVA PARK, ONT. -- Misbegotten U.S. foreign policy is pushing Islamic fundamentalists closer and closer to the use of weapons of mass destruction, warns British historian Karen Armstrong, one of the world's foremost authorities on religion.OBL and the boys would never hurt anyone if not for this war on terror, right Ms Armstrong?-SV "Now more and more small groups will have the capability of destruction that were formerly the prerogative of the nation-state," she said yesterday. How is it that fighting a war to stop the spread of these weapons is supposed to have caused them to get these weapons?-SV...

It has been recently claimed that America's denial of marriage rights to homosexuals is morally equivalent to and indistinguishable from America's previous denials of civil rights to blacks. It should come as no surprise that the homosexual lobby has launched a campaign to use black America for its pernicious purpose of promoting same-sex "marriage." Blacks have proven time and again to be a useful tool in promoting the sick desires of black leaders, the Democratic Party and the elite white feminist movement (yes, most feminists are upper-class angry white women) – why shouldn't radical homosexuals continue the trend? If we...

LONDON (Reuters) - Sexual antics of young British men and women on the Spanish holiday island of Ibiza could be endangering their health, doctors warned on Wednesday. Around half the 1,500 people who arrived on Ibiza without a regular sexual partner said when questioned in a poll that they had sex with at least one person during their stay. One in four young men and one in seven women had more than one sexual partner. Eleven percent of males and three percent of females said they had indulged in sex with six or more people during a typical 10-day stay...

<p>NASH COUNTY, N.C. -- The latest fight over the display of the Ten Commandments found its way into a Nash County murder trial.</p> <p>Jeremy Hayes said after three long years, he is relieved to see Andre Edwards, who is accused of killing Hayes' wife, Ginger Hayes, and leaving his then-11-month-old son for dead, going to trial. However, before Edwards walked into the courtroom, his attorneys fought to make changes to the courtroom walls.</p>

Stephanie Haaser, left, and her mother Mary Haaser, right, defend an unconventional high school protest which led to a suspension. ABCNEWS.com   Improper Protest? Same-Sex Smooch Gets High School Girls Suspended ABCNEWS.com C L A R K S V I L L E, Md., Nov. 14— Two high school girls were suspended for sharing a 12-second-long protest kiss, which they say was part of their English class assignment. Stephanie Haaser, a junior at River Hill High School, says she jumped on a table during lunch and yelled "end homophobia now" before engaging in the kiss with a female friend....

A primary difference between liberals and conservatives theologically is the way they interpret the Bible. Liberals read the Bible symbolically or allegorically, as a collection of interesting stories to take whatever meaning out of that pleases them. This allows them to reject various portions of the Bible they disagree with. Liberals label their interpretation as a “critical” approach, which essentially allows most of their theology to consist of finding ways to criticize the Bible, rather than actually trying to determine what it says. Theological conservatives believe the Bible is God’s inspired word to humanity, and therefore believe that the Bible...