Free Republic

Concerns that Pope Francis could cause a schism in the Church have been percolating in Catholic circles for some time now: US Catholic, Crux, Inside the Vatican, The Spectator. More recently, though, a narrower and more technical question has begun to surface, namely, whether a pope himself could be in schism. Following are some initial thoughts on that question.Canon 751 of the 1983 Code defines schism as “the refusal [detractatio] of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him.” The first thing to notice here is that schism is defined as...

A grand jury in Tennessee has exonerated Pastor Andrew Hamblin, the star of the National Geographic reality show "Snake Salvation," but wildlife officials say that doesn't mean he will get back the 53 snakes they seized from his church last November.

Folks, EWTN has made available on-line a very interesting series originally published in L'Osservatore Romano, entitled, Sects and Satanic Cults. It consists of six articles dealing with various aspects (phenomenological, anthropological, psychological, legal, doctrinal and pastoral) of the growing and disturbing phenomenon of practices connected with the cult of satanic sects. The essays have been prepared in collaboration with the Bologna-based Organization for Research and Information on Sects, while adoctrinal reflection has been written by Bishop Angelo Scola through the good offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. What follows is EWTN's summary of each article. I...

The U.S. Supreme Court has accepted an appeal from a religion that you probably never heard of until it hit the news yesterday. Summum is rooted in gnostic Christianity (or, at least modern understandings of gnosticism) and ancient Egyptian religion (or, at least contemporary understandings of ancient Egyptian religion). It was founded in 1975 and has its headquarters in (of all places) Utah. You can get more information at the official Summum web site. The case before the Supreme Court is based on the fact that the small town in Utah has a large, stone monument in the city park...

I hope I'm posting this in the right place, as I am relatively new to Free Republic. That said, I was wondering if anyone could give me a book recommendation? I've been looking for a good doctrinal/historical comparison of the different Christian denominations and sects. Anyone?

(German) Reformed Church in the United States (Original) Church of God Advent Christian Church African Methodist Episcopal Church African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church Alaska Moravian Church Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference) Alliance of Baptists in the USA Amana Church Society American Association of Lutheran Churches American Baptist Association American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. American Baptist Convention American Baptist Mississippi Convention American Ethical Union American Evangelical Christian Churches American Evangelical Lutheran Church American Lutheran Conference American Rescue Workers American Unitarian Association Anglican Orthodox Church of North America Apostolic Christian Church (Nazarene)...

IMAGINE the reaction if Western agents slaughtered a hundred Sunni pilgrims on their way to Mecca. The outrage would spark incendiary rhetoric, riots and revenge killings from Peshawar to Paris. But when Sunni suicide bombers murdered 118 Shia pilgrims (and wounded almost 200 more) on Tuesday, Sunnis around the globe looked away: Shias only count as Muslims when America can be blamed for their suffering. Many of those Shia victims of religious totalitarianism were traveling on foot to Karbala to honor Mohammed's grandson Hussein - who was butchered by the founders of Sunni Islam, to whom power was worth more...

Ah, yeah. Folks, this morning on NBC's The Today Show, we were regaled with the story that Our Lord Jesus is on Earth, reincarnated in the person of Dr. José Luis de Jesús Miranda. Well, not exactly "reincarnated" but the product of a "fusion" between Our Lord and himself. In his sect there's no sin, no need for prayers, no devil calling him a "Hollywood character" and attacks all other religions--of course--calling them all "liars" and making the point that all the lies "began in Rome." Accordingly, his followes have started protest campaigns against other religions, but particularly against us....

Muhammad Al-Sheikh put things in proper perspective when he wrote a column in the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah entitled ‘Thank you America’ in which he reminded the Saudis of a history with the United States that spans six decades. It was the late King Abdul Aziz (founder of modern Saudi Arabia) who chose to allow Americans to come to the Saudi Kingdom in search of oil. Aziz was also responsible for choosing capitalism over communism after WWII, allowing a country with nothing to grow enormously wealthy and powerful. Muhammad Al-Sheikh writes, “We must admit that our relations with America were the...

One thing I've been thinking about is where the blame lies for the current state of factionalism in Christianity. As a parent, I don’t tolerate my children blaming someone else for their own unloving actions. “He started it,” I hear. When I follow up on the story, I usually find out a little more than I wanted to know about the ability of children to think like lawyers, and present the facts as skillfully as any defense attorney. But my children also know the response they will get from me. I always point back to their God-given responsibility for their...

A recent criminal case in Virginia threw some light on a worrisome aspect of Muslim life in America. Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, a U.S. citizen, was charged with working with al-Qaeda in an attempt to assassinate President Bush. Abu Ali’s family and friends have protested that the accused is a model young man and valedictorian of his high-school class. But it turns out that Abu Ali’s high-school career at a private Islamic school might not be the wisest thing for his family to mention. According to the Associated Press, “The private school’s teachings have come under scrutiny since the September...

JERUSALEM-- A violent brawl broke out Monday afternoon at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher between Catholics over religious rights at the church, police said. Police forces were called in to separate Franciscans and Greek Orthodox priests after they got into a fight over who would open the door of the church. Several people were lightly wounded by blows, and several suspects were detained for assault. After police intervened, the religious ceremony continued and calm was restored. The church is the scene of periodic brawls between various Christian sects who share control over the church, as to who will take...

I'd like to know how many of us, here, know about the differences of Islamic branches like Shiites, Sunni and Wahhabis.Any one knows?

It may have been deToqueville who said something like, “The greatest danger facing this new American form of government will be when the people discover they can vote themselves money.” I do not recall where I read that, but it struck a chord. The difference between Caesar and a democracy is that Caesar is a government made of one tyrant and a democracy is a government made of a crowd of tyrants. Not that anybody educated in a American public school in recent decades knows it, but the founding fathers gave us a republic, not a democracy. That came back...