Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis approves LGBT ‘pilgrimage’ for 2025 Jubilee: reportPope Francis has approved an LGBT-specific pilgrimage during the 2025 Jubilee year, an Italian Vaticanist reported, continuing his policy of openness to LGBT individuals. Giansoldati wrote that “a special moment of spirituality has been included in the official calendar of the Holy Year on Sept. 6, and the historic Baroque church of the Gesù has become the promoter of welcoming Lgbt+ pilgrims, their parents, workers and all those who gravitate to these rainbow associations.”The beautiful and famously lavishly decorated church of the Gesù is the mother church of the Jesuit...

Daily Readings from the USCCBAnd their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread word of him through all that land. Matthew 9:30–31Who is Jesus? This question is much more easily answered today than it was at the time Jesus walked the Earth. Today we are blessed with countless saints who have gone before us who have prayerfully and intelligently taught much about the person of Jesus. We know Him to be God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Savior of the World, the promised Messiah,...

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem (12/6/24)[Prayer]Names and Titles of God the Holy Spirit (Baptizer) Acts 19:1-719 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. 4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business; End to Sex Slavery; Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14) Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

6 December 2024 Friday of the 1st week of Advent Saint Nicholas Roman Catholic Church, in Saint Louis, MissouriReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: C(I).First readingIsaiah 29:17-24In a very short time, the deaf will hear and the eyes of the blind will seeThe Lord says this:In a short time, a very short time,shall not Lebanon become fertile landand fertile land turn into forest?The deaf, that day,will hear the words of a bookand, after shadow and darkness,the eyes of the blind will see.But the lowly will rejoice in the Lord even moreand the poorest exult in the Holy One of...

“[Christ] emptied Himself” (Philippians 2:7). Christ renounced His divine privileges. Although Christ never surrendered His deity, He did empty Himself in certain ways. One such way was to give up His heavenly glory. That’s why in John 17:5 Jesus prays, “Glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I ever had with Thee before the world was.” Christ gave up the glory of a face-to-face relationship with God for the muck of this earth. He gave up the adoring presence of angels for the spittle of men. Christ also emptied Himself of His independent authority. He completely...

Public schools are quickly becoming Satanic temples. Don’t believe me? Look at Edgewood Elementary in Marysville, Ohio, where they’ve rolled out the red carpet for The Satanic Temple’s new “Hellion Academy of Independent Learning.” An actual program named HAIL is now part of the school day, offering kids “off-campus” lessons from an organization that openly mocks Christianity while claiming to promote “compassion” and “empathy.” If this doesn’t raise alarm bells, you’re not paying attention. The fox isn’t just guarding the henhouse—it’s hosting workshops on critical thinking and empathy while sharpening its claws. Of course, they’ll tell you this isn’t about...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A youth pastor in West Virginia has been arrested on dozens of sex charges involving children in three counties, some involving relatives dating back more than three decades, state police said. John W. Radcliff II was arrested last week on 190 counts including sexual assault, sexual abuse and incest, state police said in a news release. His wife, Kathy Radcliff, is charged with knowing the alleged abuse occurred, the statement said. The alleged crimes occurred in Braxton, Lewis and Harrison counties. State police said the investigation “remains ongoing with more victims coming forward” and that additional...

Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church is an “inclusive and affirming congregation in the heart of the Annex” whose mission is to “celebrate God’s presence, seek justice and peace, and nurture the creative spirit.” The ‘church’ is led by Rev. Dr. Cheri DiNovo, who holds the ignoble distinction of having performed the first legalized same-sex marriage in Canada and, after becoming an MPP in 2006, passing the most LGBTQ bills in Canadian history. Earlier this month, Trinity brought in a “special speaker,” Jelena Vermilion, to preach during the Sunday morning Service. Who is Jelena? He’s a Canadian transsexual pornstar and sex-worker activist...

Caleb J. Lines, Senior Minister of University Christian Church, whose church is part of the United Church of Christ (UCC) denomination, might hate Jesus more than anyone we know. We could tell you that he’s pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ, and routinely insists that the bible should not be trusted, that it is not “God-breathed,” and that Jesus did not die for the sins of the world, but this recent Instagram post explains the level of reprobation we’re dealing with. Months after preaching a sermon where he claimed Jesus was xenophobic and misogynistic and needed to be corrected and called out by the...

[Catholic Caucus] French Bishops’ Paper: The Vatican Considering forbidding Traditional Masses inside Cathedrals for the 2025 Chartres PilgrimageThe semi-official daily newspaper of the French bishops, La Croix, had news on this startling development yesterday: the greatest Traditional pilgrimage in the world (and largest Catholic pilgrimage in France) under threat.From our friends at French blog Le Salon Beige:The Vatican may ban the celebration of the traditional Mass at the Chartres pilgrimage. According to information gathered by La Croix:“…the dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments considers that this annual gathering raises questions of conformity with the rules in...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21It’s frightening to think of those of whom Jesus is speaking. Imagine arriving before the throne of God upon your passing from this earthly life and you cry out to Him, “Lord, Lord!” And you expect Him to smile and welcome you, but instead you come face-to-face with the reality of your ongoing and obstinate disobedience to the will of God throughout your life. You suddenly realize that...

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem (12/5/24)[Prayer]Names and Titles of God the Holy Spirit (Direction) Acts 16:1-916 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: 2 Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek....

“Although He existed in the form of God, [Christ] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself” (Philippians 2:6-7). Christ emptied Himself without ever surrendering His deity. Note the contrast in Philippians 2 between verses 6 and 7: Christ didn’t think equality something to be grasped but instead emptied Himself. Paul used the contrasting connective “but” to show that being equal with God didn’t lead Christ to fill Himself up but instead to empty Himself. The Greek verb translated “emptied” (kenoo) is where we get the theological term kenosis—the doctrine of Christ’s self-emptying as...

5 December 2024Thursday of the 1st week of Advent Relics of Saint Sabbas, Mar Saba Monastery, the Holy Land Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: C(I).First readingIsaiah 26:1-6Open the gates; let the upright nation come inThat day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah:We have a strong city;to guard us he has setwall and rampart about us.Open the gates! Let the upright nation come in,she, the faithful onewhose mind is steadfast, who keeps the peace,because she trusts in you.Trust in the Lord for ever,for the Lord is the everlasting Rock;he has brought low those who lived high...

“[Christ] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped” (Philippians 2:6). Christ is equal with God but willingly yielded His divine privileges for our sake. At the time Christ lived, even His worst enemies, the apostate religious leaders, knew what Jesus claimed about Himself. John 5:18 says, “The Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but was also calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” In Philippians 2:6 Paul affirms Christ’s claim of equality with God. The Greek word translated “equality” (isos) describes things...

‘A general misconception about dialogue’ - How an imam got talking with Pope FrancisThe Ahmadiyya Muslims are a community of around 12 to 15 million Muslim believers, who — because they believe in a Muslim messiah named Mirza Ghulam Ahmad — are considered heretical by mainstream Islam, and severely persecuted in many Muslim-majority countries.Ahmadiyya Imam Marwan Gill is leader of the Ahmadiyya movement in Argentina. Since becoming involved in interreligious dialogue, Gill has met Pope Francis twice, and is set to visit the Holy Father a third time this week, to present the pope his recent book about interreligious dialogue.Gill...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business; End to Sex Slavery; Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14)Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

[Catholic Caucus] Grandmothers protest closure of parish's LGBTQ+ ministry in Milwaukee ArchdioceseAfter Jean's oldest grandchild turned 17, she learned from her daughter during a family gathering at their lake house that he had planned to come out as transgender, but was struggling with how to tell his family. Taking a moment to speak with him privately, she let him know she understood, and he finally shared his truth: He was a boy and had always felt that way.When she asked if he was sure it wasn't a phase, he responded, "No, Grandma, I would not choose to be this way."...

[Catholic Caucus] The “Suicide of Altering the Faith” Took Place Before We Heard of FrancisThe Church had already reached the point of crisis before Jorge Bergoglio was even ordained to the priesthood (on December 13, 1969).Most of us understand that the Catholic Church is currently undergoing a profound crisis and that Francis seems to be doing everything in his power to make it worse. While Catholics justifiably consider how to best counteract the frequent outrages from Rome, it is worth considering the broader context of the crisis. To that end, the following milestones paint a picture that we may sometimes...