Free Republic

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said on Thursday that the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran does not meet the Catholic Church’s criteria for a just war. “No, it does not seem to meet the conditions,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an academic conference at the Vatican Apostolic Library. When asked by EWTN News about the decision of the United States to attack Iran, Parolin referred to recent remarks by Cardinal Robert McElroy, archbishop of Washington, D.C. In an interview with his archdiocesan newspaper, The Catholic Standard, McElroy said the intervention in Iran failed to meet several...

In 2023, LA welcomed 3,462 catechumens and candidates — both children and adults who had never been baptized, plus those who had been baptized but had never completed the other sacraments — into the Church at Easter. Then in 2024, there were 3,596. In 2025, a significant bump of a combined 5,587 entered. For Easter 2026, the archdiocese expects an even more staggering increase: 8,598 catechumens and candidates. So what’s behind the surge in conversions? Some point to a reawakening born from the personal desolation experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic…Many find it to be a sign of spiritual hunger caused...

People are joining the Roman Catholic Church in surprising numbers. This Easter the Archdiocese of Detroit will receive 1,428 new Catholics into the church, its highest number in 21 years. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston will have its most in 15 years. In the Diocese of Des Moines, the count is jumping 51 percent from last year, from 265 people to 400. “The Times gathered data from two dozen dioceses, like Los Angeles and Phoenix, as well as Gallup, N.M., and Allentown, Pa… Each reported a significant jump. For Jesse Araujo, 19, in Pahrump, Nev., the biggest influence…was listening to Catholic...

[Catholic Caucus] Pro-LGBT Belgian bishop vows to ordain married men to priesthood, citing vocations crisisAntwerp’s Bishop Johan Bonny argued that existing exceptions allowing married priests to minister in the Catholic Church undermine Latin Rite discipline.A Belgian bishop has announced his plan to start ordaining married men to the priesthood by 2028.Bishop Johan Bonny of the Diocese of Antwerp, Belgium, published a pastoral letter on March 20 in which he outlined the practical implementation of the “Synod on Synodality” in his diocese.Addressing the issue of the low number of vocations, he said that “the question is no longer whether the Church...

Pope Leo XIV made a plea on March 18 for countries to offer their citizens universal healthcare, calling it a “moral imperative” that people have access to the health services they need. Previous popes have called for countries to offer universal healthcare, but calling an issue a “moral imperative” is an unusually strong term for a pope to use, indicating that something is required by Catholic teaching. “Universal health coverage is... a moral imperative for societies that wish to call themselves just,” the Pope said in a meeting with participants in a healthcare conference organised by the World Health Organization...

[Catholic Caucus] PHOTOS: Dutch Cardinal Eijk celebrates first public Traditional Latin MassCardinal Eijk’s Pontifical High Mass is particularly significant because the Latin Mass is rare in the Netherlands and it comes despite Vatican officials’ hostility to the traditional liturgy.6, 2026 - 5:24 pm EDTTue Mar 17, 2026 - 7:05 am EDT Listen to this article4 minOSS, Netherlands (LifeSiteNews) — Dutch Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk, the metropolitan archbishop of Utrecht, celebrated his first public Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) at the historic Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception on Sunday.The packed March 15 Laetare Sunday Mass, viewable at the link...

Ted Cruz endorses article accusing Traditional Catholics of being ‘parasites’Traditional Catholics are in the firing line in an article Ted Cruz described as 'the best and most comprehensive explanation of what we're fighting.'On Sunday, March 15, Senator Ted Cruz retweeted a long anti-Catholic X essay by the Republican Zionist account “Insurrection Barbie,” stating:READ every word of this.It’s the best & most comprehensive explanation of what we’re fighting.In the essay, which runs over 8,000 words, the author claimed that the Republican Party was being taken over by a small bloc of Catholics and undermining its support for “Christian Zionism.”A chief influence...

Catholic Caucus] German bishops slammed for naming priest involved in homosexual scandal to abuse victims boardThe German Bishops’ Conference is facing backlash for promoting heterodox Fr. Wolfgang Rothe, an LGBT activist linked to a major homosexual seminary scandal, with multiple bishops reportedly criticizing the appointment.The German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) has faced massive criticism for naming a heterodox priest, who has been accused of having a homosexual relationship with a seminarian, to its advisory board for sexual abuse victims.A recently published exposé by the German magazine Cicero revealed that Fr. Wolfgang Rothe’s appointment to the DBK’s advisory board for sexual abuse...

A California bishop who allegedly frequented Mexican brothels is facing more than a dozen felony charges stemming from allegations that he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from his church. Bishop Emanuel Shaleta of Saint Peter’s Chaldean in San Diego pleaded not guilty to eight counts of embezzlement, eight counts of money laundering and one count of aggravated white collar crime enhancement at a court hearing on Monday, according to KUSI. Shaleta was arrested at the San Diego International Airport while trying to leave the country on Thursday, March 5, the San Diego Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Fr. Ripperger: Abomination of desolation refers to Catholic Church becoming ‘compromised’The Book of Daniel refers to the abomination of desolation as tied up with the abolition of a public 'daily sacrifice.'Exorcist Father Ripperger shared in an explosive recent interview that Scripture’s reference to the “abomination of desolation” taking its place in “the temple” is “actually a reference to the Catholic Church being compromised.”Fr. Ripperger explained the reference in an interview with podcaster and former U.S. Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan while refuting Protestants who mistakenly believe that the Book of Daniel’s reference to the “temple” in which the abomination of desolation...

[Catholic Caucus] DC bishop equates God with DEI in blasphemous comments at Black History Month MassWashington Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell blasphemously claimed “God is DEI” (diversity, equity, and inclusion) during a homily for the archdiocese’s annual Black History Month Mass at St. Joseph Church last weekend. During his homily for the February 21 Mass, Campbell reflected briefly about how the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) is sung shortly before the distribution of the Holy Eucharist and reflected on the word “Dei” (Meaning God), then falsely compared the term to DEI, saying “God is DEI,” per the Catholic Standard, the...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV Approves Beatification Process for Bishop who Allowed Indigenous Youths to Touch his Private PartsHis diary celebrates “blessed nudism,” recounts sleeping naked beside adolescents, and normalizes sexualized touching as “natural curiosity” — yet Leo still advances his cause.Venerable by decree, scandal by his own penOn 22 May 2025, Leo XIV authorized the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to promulgate a decree recognizing the “offering of life” of Alejandro Labaka Ugarte, Capuchin, Apostolic Vicar of Aguarico, killed in Ecuador in 1987. That authorization is exactly what moves a cause forward in the Church’s official machinery, placing the...

Church and government officials in Italy have launched an investigation into claims that the face of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was painted on an angel during the restoration of a fresco in Rome. Italy's culture ministry has sent officers to inspect the artwork in a chapel of the Basilica of St Lawrence in Lucina, while the Diocese of Rome expressed its "disappointment" and said it would determine who had been responsible. The artist, Bruno Valentinetti, said he had simply restored the fresco he painted in 2000 and denied modelling the angel after the prime minister. Meloni responded in a post...

Pope Leo doubles down on Vatican rejection of ‘Co-Redemptrix’At a time of apostasy, impurity, and confusion, the faithful do not need a diminished Mother.On Thursday morning, Pope Leo XIV publicly praised a Vatican document that has already sparked one of the most serious Marian controversies in decades.Addressing the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Pope commended the doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis, issued under the extremely controversial Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, infamous for his books on kissing and orgasms.Leo praised the Fernández document, saying it “encourages popular Marian devotion, deepening its biblical and theological foundations, and at the...

The approval of the synodal document, last October 25, by the synod of Italian bishops, which in fact clears the sin of sodomy, testifies even more that the apostasy prophesied in the third secret of Fatima is in action. «The apostasy within the Church is the most serious and shocking thing» that emerges from the 20th century Marioophany. «Cardinal Ciappi, who had read the Third Secret, specified that the Virgin had said that the apostasy would begin at the summit of the Church». Every Catholic today is called to bear witness to the Truth and to oppose this Masonic fringe...

Pope Leo XIV is expected to name Bishop Ronald Hicks of Joliet, Illinois, to succeed retiring 75 year old Timothy Cardinal Dolan as archbishop of New York, sources briefed on the transition say. About Bishop Hicks Pope Leo is from Illinois, and he has tapped a fellow Illinois native to lead the archdiocese of New York. Hicks, 58, and Pope Leo have much in common. They were both born and raised in suburban Chicago, with Hicks being born in Harvey and raised in South Holland. Both men also speak fluent Spanish after spending years ministering to the poor in South...

The Diabolical Insanity of the Vatican’s New Book About Methodist and Pseudo-Catholic DialogueThe Vatican recently published a short book about the progress of ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Methodists, "We Believe in One God". This recent work of diabolical disorientation ought to be a wake-up call for all serious Catholics to unambiguously denounce the false ecumenical movement that has thrived for sixty years.As reported by OSV News, the Vatican publishing house recently released a short book about the progress of ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Methodists, We Believe in One God: Sixty Years of Methodists and Catholics Walking Together:“Celebrating almost...

Meet the new pope, same as the old pope Is Pope Leo XIV just Francis 2.0?At the time of his election in May and in the months immediately following, this correspondent expressed a cautious optimism that Pope Leo XIV would reunite the Catholic Church after the catastrophic papacy (in the late Cardinal Pell’s words) of Francis. Papa Prevost was owed at least that much, since it is generally unwise to rush to a priori judgements; the man had to be given a chance to get his feet under the desk. Having had that chance, what has emerged from the Vatican...

[Catholic Caucus] Catholic parish refuses to take down anti-ICE Nativity scene despite bishop’s ordersFr. Stephen Josoma said he considers the Nativity display consistent with the U.S. bishops' 'Special Message' that criticized mass deportations.St. Susanna Catholic Church in Dedham, Massachusetts, has declined to take down a Nativity display suggesting that Jesus might have faced deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).Fr. Stephen Josoma, pastor of St. Susanna, told MassLive on Monday that he considers the Nativity display consistent with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) “Special Message” that criticized mass deportations.“We believe our position and practice to be faithful...

Bishops in Germany, Switzerland are supplanting Church teaching with secular ideals: priestIn Germany and in Zurich, the bishops have rendered the observance of the Sixth Commandment optional by exempting Church employees from living according to Catholic teaching.Pope Leo the Great impressively told the faithful of his time: “Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning.” The current canon law says the same thing in CIC, can. 209: “The Christian faithful, even in their own manner of acting, are always obliged to maintain communion with the...