Free Republic

After just two days and four secret ballots in the Sistine Chapel, the College of Cardinals elevated Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost to the See of Peter as Pope Leo XIV—an outcome that underscores the doctrinal rifts at the heart of Christendom and the enduring reasons for our divide. Although Catholics and Protestants often use similar words and phrases, the meanings they attach to those terms are profoundly different. Here are ten doctrinal fault lines that explain why true unity remains out of reach: while we can—and should—show mutual respect, we cannot pretend these convictions don’t exist. It’s the perfect moment...

Last fall, Egor Redin was in hiding at a Baptist church in Tajikistan, two thousand miles from home. The pastor advised him not to leave the building because the secret police might be watching. Redin had hoped to apply for asylum in Tajikistan but was warned not to. If Tajik authorities found out he was Baptist, he would likely be deported back to Russia, where he would face criminal prosecution for protesting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As a father of two little girls aged two and four who was also a pacifist (historically Russian Baptists have refused to serve in...

It is a dogma of the Catholic faith that the Blessed Virgin Mary was not only a virgin when she conceived and bore Jesus but that she remained a virgin ever after. Most Protestant Christians today deny this – but do they know that many of their early leaders believed it? Here are 5 examples of major Protestant leaders who rejected huge swaths of Catholic dogma, but – you may surprised to learn – defended the perpetual virginity of Mary: 1) Martin Luther is usually considered to be the person who sparked the Protestant Reformation. He rejected core Catholic dogmas...

And let it be remembered, it is the boast of Rome that she never changes. The principles of Gregory VII and Innocent III are still the principles of the Roman Catholic Church. And had she but the power, she would put them in practice with as much vigor now as in past centuries. Protestants little know what they are doing when they propose to accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation. While they are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is aiming to re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. Let the principle...

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is razing the in-house Pentagon think tank that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) accused last month of "egregious waste, fraud and abuse." Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement Thursday, "As part of the Department's ongoing commitment to strengthening our national defense, the Secretary of Defense has directed the disestablishment of the Office of Net Assessment (ONA) and the development of a plan to rebuild it in alignment with the Department's strategic priorities." "This decision ensures that our resources are focused on the most pressing national security challenges while maintaining accountability...

A 600-year-old church in southern Germany drew some 1,200 people to a Taylor Swift-themed worship service on Sunday, local media reported. Heidelberg’s famous Church of the Holy Spirit, originally Catholic and now Protestant, hosted a liturgical service bearing the title “Anti-Hero — Taylor Swift Church Service,” in an effort to attract younger people, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported. “The Church of the Holy Spirit has always been a place of encounter and exchange,” said Heidelberg Pastor Christof Ellsiepen. “That’s why a pop-music religious service fits so perfectly. With it, we are giving space to the questions and issues that occupy the...

After they beat Azat Azatyan so bad blood came out of his ears; after they sent electric shocks up his genitals; after they wacked him with pipes and truncheons, the Russians began to interrogate him about his faith. “When did you become a Baptist? When did you become an American spy?” Azat tried to explain that in Ukraine there was freedom of religion, you could just choose your faith. But his torturers saw the world the same way as their predecessors at the KGB did: an American church is just a front for the American state. Azat was dragged back...

What a golden age we live in, where even those who lay claim to the name of Christ, pretending to uphold the pillars of the Christian faith toss those very pillars aside like yesterday’s trash. Clearly, or queerly, I should say, the future of the world is, well, queer. A new poll by Ryan Burge, a social researcher and pastor at American Baptist has unmasked the illusion, revealing that only—brace yourself—a whopping 84% of professing Protestants identify as straight. Now, doesn’t that set the heavenly choirs singing? Clearly, the Bible must be a complex puzzle if so many are getting...

The artificial intelligence chatbot asked the believers in the fully packed St. Paul’s church in the Bavarian town of Fuerth to rise from the pews and praise the Lord. Hundreds of protestants gathered in Nuremberg, Germany to hear a sermon written by ChatGPT. Multiple avatars controlled by ChatGPT delivered the sermon on a huge screen above the altar. During the sermon, ChatGPT told the congregation not to fear death. The ChatGPT chatbot, personified by an avatar of a bearded Black man on a huge screen above the altar, then began preaching to the more than 300 people who had shown...

Pope to appoint women as lectors, catechists at Vatican for second timeThe event is possible due to Pope Francis' 2021 motu proprio, which has been described as ‘a tectonic shift both in theology and in praxis.’Pope Francis receives the cruets from two women during MassVATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis will confer the ministries of lector and catechist to women for the second time, in a Mass to be held at the Vatican this Sunday. In a press release sent out by the Dicastery for Evangelization, the Holy See Press Office announced that the conferral of the two ministries would...

The Sharp Decline in Biden’s Support Among Black Protestants It is another reason for Democrats to panic.In Virginia’s gubernatorial race last year, the Democrats campaigned heavily in black churches. Despite their obvious secularism, the Democrats deployed a self-described “souls to the polls” strategy, urging black churchgoers to vote after Sunday services. Kamala Harris, who normally insists on the separation of church and state, even cut a campaign ad for gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe that was shown in 300 black churches across Virginia.But this gimmicky and hypocritical effort failed. Religious blacks did not carry McAuliffe to victory. Now we may know...

AMISH IN SARASOTA, FLORIDA As with elsewhere in Florida, snowbirds are a regular sight here. But intermixed with the more stereotypical visitors to Sarasota, a city and county on the Gulf of Mexico coast in southwest Florida, is a large community of Amish. Like other snowbirds, the Amish come from locales with cold winters. Think central Ohio, northern Indiana and, of course, the unofficial Amish capital of Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. At the height of the season, about 5,000 winter-weary Amish and Mennonites call Pinecraft, an enclave about 20 minutes from the popular St. Armand’s Circle, home. In the summer,...

The Christian cold war will mean an increase in church splits, takeovers, and other power struggles as people choose sides on existential questions, including theology.Along with the rest of the country, American Christianity is in the middle of a cold war. As this war heats up, it will mean church splits, takeovers, fights over denominational resources, and other power struggles as the Donald Trump era has increasingly brought clarity and pushed people to choose sides on existential questions.The Southern Baptist Convention, the United States’ largest Protestant denomination, is one key example of this dynamic affecting American Christianity as a whole....

Secret Commission: Is Francis Preparing His Next Attack On the Church?Francis wants to „study“ Communion for Protestants, MarcoTossatti.com (August 4) writes.However, Protestants don’t fulfil the two prerequisits for receiving Communion, i.e. going to confession and believing in transsubstantiation.Rumours say that Francis instructed the Secretary of the Liturgy Congregation, Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola, a former lecturer at the anti-Catholic Liturgical Institute of Sant'Anselmo, Rome, to organise a „confidential commission“ in September, and to report directly within only two months to Francis.In defiance of all pretended 'synodality', this method which Francis likes is bypassing the Cardinals, bishops, and all bodies in charge...

This year, the nation’s largest Protestant body focused on three interrelated issues: the aftermath of Russell Moore’s resignation, the denomination’s presidency, and critical race theory.The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and other outlets published major articles previewing the 2021 annual Southern Baptist Convention. Now that the convention is over, here’s a more detailed overview of what happened from an insider’s perspective. As a lifelong Southern Baptist, a graduate of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and an observer of Baptist politics over the last decade, I offer the following thoughts.The 2021 SBC was essentially a family squabble worked out...

BONN, Germany (CNS) — The German Catholic bishops’ conference and the council of the Evangelical Church in Germany plan to continue their discussions about shared Communion, reported the German Catholic news agency, KNA. German Catholic and Protestant theologians and bishops had published an appraisal of the topic in May, and it was scheduled to be discussed at the German bishops’ fall plenary assembly in Fulda at the end of September. However, on Sept. 18, the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith voiced strong objections to the appraisal, saying that differences between Catholics and Protestants in the understanding of...

In a first since the Reformation era, Protestants are set to receive communion during a Catholic mass at a historic Cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland, John Calvin's adopted home. The historic Swiss church, Saint-Pierre Reformed Protestant church, will hold a Catholic mass on Feb. 29, leap day, and Protestants have been invited to attend and take part, including in receiving communion. Although open communion is forbidden by Catholic doctrine, the practice is reportedly common in Geneva, according to Protest Info, a Swiss Protestant news outlet. The church became the home of French Protestant Reformer John Calvin, whose famous triangular chair continues...

German cardinal: Some synodal path proposals are ‘incompatible’ with Catholic faith February 3, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki has lamented that all his worries about the synodal path in Germany have come true, warning that he believes “many arguments put forward at the first synodal assembly are incompatible with the faith and teaching of the universal Church.” He also pointed out, “My great concern that, due to the way this event was conceived and constituted, a Protestant church parliament is being implemented here, so to speak, has proved to be justified.” The first assembly of the synodal...

Confronting the German Bishops of Suspicion—And the New Protestant Reformation Confronting the Pope of Suspicion warned that theology was being replaced by social science. Today is the official launch of the much publicized German national synod, an event which was announced last December in a shocking press release from the German bishops’ conference. The purpose of the two-year synodal process is to reevaluate Church teaching on sexual morality, and already they have agreed on changes to teachings on divorce and homosexuality. Regarding the latter, CNA reported the following: Following consultations in Berlin last week, the chairman of the Marriage and...

Archbishop of Canterbury Hosts Muslim Gabfest as Peers Push Abortion on Northern Ireland Truant archbishop marks World Emoji Day as babies are slaughtered LONDON (ChurchMilitant.com) - The archbishop of Canterbury and his fellow bishops in the Church of England are being slammed for skipping the critical House of Lords vote that resulted in the imposition of abortion on Northern Ireland. None of the 26 bishops who serve as voting members of Parliament were present or voted during the debate on July 17 and 18