Free Republic

Beware the Strangest Idol of All – A Reflection on How Even Works of Charity Cannot Eclipse Obedience to Christ By: Msgr. Charles PopeThere is a passage in the gospels that breaks conventions and cuts to the core of what has come to be called the “Social Gospel.”  Before looking at the passage we need to define “Social Gospel.” The phrase “Social Gospel” emerged in the Protestant denominations but has also come to be used in Catholic circles as well. The Social Gospel is an intellectual movement that was most prominent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The...

Gov. Chris Christie today defended his starring role in publicly funded tourism ads that Democrats say gives him an unfair advantage in the race for governor. “I’m happy and proud to have me and my family in those ads and I hope that what they do is they bring people to the Jersey Shore,” the Republican governor said at a campaign event where he got the endorsement of Burlington Mayor Jim Fazzone, a Democrat. “There’s nothing political about the ads.” The Star-Ledger was first to report that Christie, First Lady Mary Pat and their four children will appear in six...

Meanwhile, at Cornell . . . While Saint Xavier busies itself with damage control over a history professor who cannot distinguish between protest and pedagogy, Cornell University’s health service is debating the important question of whether to sell vibrators in its dispensary. “Many students,” a college newspaper reports, “feel it would be helpful for Gannett [health center] to have vibrators available because Cornell is located in Ithaca, not a major city.” Somjen Frazer, Cornell ’03, explained the problem: “At this point, you either go online or go downtown to the sort of scary and not very woman-affirming place sex-shop.” Paraphrasing...