Free Republic

It is all too common to hear stories about fallen away Catholics, and how fewer are attending Mass and following their faith. Many blame theirs or others’ lukewarm faith or lack of catechesis on priests, their schools, bishops, Vatican II, popes, liturgical abuses, scandals, or any number of things. The problem of being lukewarm is mentioned in Revelation 3:16, where it states, rather indelicately but deliberately, “But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, not hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth.”We hear regular criticism that the Church is failing Catholics and thus the world,...

John Stuart Mill once famously called the British Tories "The Stupid Party." From time to time since then, the Tory's American cousin, the Republican Party, has also earned that moniker. Now may be one of those moments. If current polls and anecdotes are to be believed, there may be a million or two conservative Republicans who are planning to not vote this November. Of course, Mill also said that : "A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but also by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury."...

If your son hadn’t studied quite as hard as he should have for a history test, would you hope that he flunked badly in order to, “teach him a lesson?” If you goofed off at work a few times, do you think it would make sense for your employer to fire you and hire someone who spends all day sleeping in your place? If your favorite football team lost a few games to mediocre opponents during the season, would you root for them to lose the Super Bowl in hopes that they would be better the next year? The answer...