Free Republic

The Gospel of Work 5/5/2004 - 8:13 AM PST © Third Millennium, LLC By Deacon Keith A. Fournier Pope John Paul II recently addressed an assembly of the leaders of the “Catholic Action” movement in Italy on the “gospel of work”. He proclaimed a theme that is one of the many profound contributions of his extraordinary pontificate, the true meaning and redemptive value of all human work. In 1981 he authored an encyclical letter titled “On Human Work” that has received little emphasis. We live in an age that has lost its understanding of the Christian meaning of work,...

Doctors assisting Pope John Paul II in his final days never suspended medical treatment and the pontiff did not ask them to do so, his personal physician said. Pro-euthanasia activists in Italy have said the pope refused medical treatment such as artificial respiration and feeding because he wanted to be allowed to die. The Catholic Church forbids euthanasia, which has been at the centre of a heated debate in Italy in recent months. However, the church's Catechism says medical procedures that are "burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary or disproportionate to the expected outcome" can be discontinued with the permission of the patient...

World's Last Chance, a group that takes reading the Bible to all-new-extremes, claims to be "exposing one of the last unfulfilled prophecies of the Bible. Specifically, World's Last Chance believes that they have found clues within scripture that suggest Pope John Paul II is coming back ... and will be the next pope after Benedict XVI. That's right, as crazy it sounds, they believe that Pope John Paul II is going to magically appear here on earth and make our lives hell. With folks like this, it's no wonder that Christians get a bum rap. "How will the next pope...

Pope John Paul II made more than 100 clandestine trips to ski or hike in the Italian mountains and was rarely recognized by others on the slopes, his former secretary said. Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz described the secret outings in a book of memoirs, "A Life With Karol," which was being published in late January. An excerpt appeared Jan. 23 in the Rome newspaper Il Messaggero. The cardinal, who was Pope John Paul's personal secretary for 38 years, wrote that the pope, an avid skier and hiker in his youth, often felt pent up inside the Vatican. In the winter...

It was, as they say, a close-run thing. Within the brief space of 26 months, attempts on the lives of the three leaders who would see the curtain ring down on Soviet communism--Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II and Margaret Thatcher--failed. If any one of the killers had succeeded, history might have turned out very different. That's the thesis of John O'Sullivan's "The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister," and it's hard to dispute. The British-born Mr. O'Sullivan, currently editor-at-large of National Review and a senior fellow with the Hudson Institute, covered the Reagan presidency as a Washington journalist,...

TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER THE HON JOHN HOWARD MP ADDRESS TO THE QUADRANT MAGAZINE 50TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER, FOUR SEASONS HOTEL, SYDNEY Thank you very much Paddy McGuinness, Chief Justice, Justices, Your Eminence, Your Grace, my Parliamentary colleagues and ladies and gentlemen. I’m finally succumbing to Peter Garrett’s advice and its great to embrace an evening of culture and poetry and all of that after overdosing on my Philistine sporting pursuits over the weekend in almost the four corners of the Earth, from one side of the country to the other. But it really is an enormous pleasure for Janette...

In the past day or so an interesting confluence of events happened that occasionally occurs and makes one want to keep trying. First we honor the life of Oriana Fallaci, that famous and courageous Italian writer, who devoted most of her last years to warning Europeans against the threat to European culture and freedom from the Islamic invasion that is taking place there. Many of her pleas were directed at Pope John Paul II, who was so instrumental in bringing down the Soviet empire, but who gave few outward signs that Islamic fascism greatly concerned him. Oriana died today of...

by Mark P. Shea Bible Study and Truth Tracts Author Other Articles by Mark P. SheaContact this Author Teaching the Theology of the Body 5/10/2006 George Weigel, the biographer of Pope John Paul II, has remarked that one of the most exciting "ticking bombs" of Catholic thought (set to go off sometime in the 21st century) is John Paul's teaching on the Theology of the Body. In This Article...What Is the Theology of the Body?Teaching KidsTeaching Teens What Is the Theology of the Body? In a nutshell, John Paul draws on the most basic message of the entire Christian tradition —...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Under Pope John Paul II's 26-year papacy, the Catholic Church grew by 45 percent, struggled to replace priests and religious, and experienced a significant "graying" of its hierarchy, according to statistics released recently by the Vatican. In a sense, the statistics complete a by-the-numbers portrait of Pope John Paul's pontificate. They cover the period from 1978, the year of his election, through the end of 2004, three months before he died. The worldwide Catholic population increased by 342 million during that time, from 757 million to just under 1.1 billion. That sounds huge, but it was...

Amazing life ... thank God for John Paul II. Santo Subito!

His final illness and passing, one year ago today, shook the world. Hundreds of thousands people were compelled to go to Rome to pray for him .. to be near him .. as his illness finally extinguished the flame of his human body. He was so loving, so humble and so beloved, and is still sorely missed today. And, yet we know how blessed we were that he walked this earth in our time. His viewing and funeral were epic events. So many from all walks of life were touched by his life and grieved his passing, and were drawn...

EVER since Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish gunman, shot the late Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981 in St Peter’s Square in Rome, investigators have tried to solve one of the 20th century’s greatest mysteries: did Agca act alone or was he obeying communist orders? This week an Italian parliamentary commission will officially conclude that Agca was part of a huge conspiracy masterminded by the GRU, the Soviet military secret service, on the orders of the politburo and Leonid Brezhnev, general secretary of the Communist party. The findings are already being considered by a Rome prosecutor who may...

by Leon J. Suprenant, Jr Other Articles by Leon J. Suprenant, Jr Christmas Presence, Lenten Gifts 02/25/06 Nine months after his election, Pope Benedict XVI issued his much-anticipated first encyclical letter, entitled "Deus Caritas Est" (“God Is Love”). No doubt it will provide Christ-centered wisdom and encouragement to a world that increasingly looks for true love “in all the wrong places.” In This Article...Papal TransitionThe Church Is Alive!Vatican II Today Papal Transition As we drink in "Deus Caritas Est" and the many other blessings that God desires to give us this year, I'd like to focus our attention on the first...

Poland University Bans “I didn’t cry when the Pope died” T-Shirts By Terry Vanderheyden LUBLIN, Poland, February 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A university in south-eastern Poland has banned a controversial “T-shirt for freedom” campaign expected to occur simultaneously with a campus human rights film festival. The t-shirts, which were to be worn through campus during the campaign by celebrities, boasted such things as “I had an abortion,” “I didn’t cry when the Pope died,” “I have AIDS,” “I don’t go to church,” “I masturbate,” or “I am gay,” according to a Radio Polonia report. The predominantly Catholic student population found...

"JUST" WARS & DOUBLE-TONGUED DEMOCRATS On May 2, 2003 Pope Benedict XVI, as Cardinal Ratzinger, (Head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) stated: “He (John Paul II) did not impose this position ('Iraq War not necessary') as doctrine of the Church but as the appeal of a conscience enlightened by faith” (Zenit News Agency). Unlike many U.S. Democrats, Pope John Paul's thoughts on the Iraq War were not voiced in an arrogant, judgmental manner. He loved America, and praised President George W. Bush's moral leadership (Zenit News - June 4, 2004). Pope John Paul II never praised...

Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who shot and seriously wounded Pope John Paul II in 1981, was released from a Turkish prison on Thursday.Here are some key facts about the 48-year-old Turkish would-be assassin: * Agca shot and nearly killed Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981 in Rome's St. Peter's Square. He was arrested on the spot and a court gave him a life sentence. * Agca was pardoned at the Pope's request in 2000 after 19 years in an Italian jail. He was then extradited to Turkey to serve a separate sentence for robbery and murder. *...

THE Vatican said today it accepted the decision by a Turkish court to release Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who attempted to kill the late pope John Paul II in 1981. "With legal issues, the Holy See leaves it up to the courts with competence in these areas," Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said. He said the Vatican had only learned of the court's decision from press agencies and had not been given prior notice. Agca, 48, is expected to be released between Tuesday and Sunday, Turkish officials told the Anatolia news agency. He was a 23-year-old far-right militant on the...

ROME, December 23, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI, in his first Christmas address as Pope, has led the Cardinals of the Curia, the Vatican’s version of a cabinet, in a meditation on the events of the past year for the Church and the world. Starting with a reminiscence of his friend, mentor and predecessor, Pope John Paul II, Benedict asked the rhetorical questions that summarize the thoughts of many in the troubled world. John Paul, the Pope said, asked in his last book if evil were the last word. “Is evil perhaps invincible? Is it really the ultimate power...

You know you're a leftist, if you were more saddened by the death of "Tookie" Williams than by the death of Pope John Paul II.

The inexplicable healing of a French nun could be the miracle that paves the way for beatification of Pope John Paul II. The Roman news agency I Media has learned that a French nun who was dying of cancer experienced a sudden and complete cure in October, after the members of her community prayed for the intercession of the late Pope John Paul. In accordance with Vatican rules, the identity of the nun is not being revealed, as doctors conduct a thorough study of her case. If a miracle is confirmed, it would speed the cause for the Polish Pontiff's...