Free Republic

Pope Francis claimed Our Lady ‘unites’ Christians and Muslims. Here’s why that’s wrongPope Francis paid a visit to detainees at Verona’s Montorio Prison and stated to applause that 'the figure of Mary is a figure common to both Christianity and Islam. She is a common figure; she unites us all.'Catholics may be surprised to learn that the Vatican is exaggerating the similarities between the Blessed Virgin Mary and the figure of Mary, Mother of Jesus, as she appears in the Koran and Muslim hadiths (traditions about Muhammad, the founder of Islam).On May 18 this year, Pope Francis paid a visit...

[Catholic Caucus] Male drag ‘artist’ dances for kids at Vatican’s World Children’s DaySalerno native Carmine De Rosa performed as one of the official artists for the inaugural World Children’s Day. In his capacity as a quick-change artist or a living cartoon, De Rosa appeared as a woman, wearing multiple outfits in drag.Carmine De Rosa at the Olympic Stadium, May 25, 2024.TikTokCatholics have expressed horror after a male performance artist danced in drag for young children during Pope Francis’ first World Children’s Day this weekend.On May 25, Salerno native Carmine De Rosa performed as one of the official artists for the...

If you have followed my writing and speaking over the decades, you will know that Catholicism has not been a focus of my ministry, either praising it or criticizing it. At the same time, I recognize the important role of the Catholic Church in standing for the sanctity of life and the meaning of marriage. That’s what makes the recent pronouncement of Pope Francis, allowing priests to “bless” same-sex couples, especially distressing. What act of apostasy will be next?My Catholic colleague John Zmirak wrote on Tuesday, “Today I got one of those emails nobody wants to receive. You know, the...

[Catholic Caucus] German church plans formal ‘ceremonies’ for blessing same-sex couplesGerman bishops will continue to work on a handout for 'blessing ceremonies' to give to priests while the vice president of the Central Committee of German Catholics expresses hope that a change in church doctrine on sexual morality follows.BERLIN (LifeSiteNews) — Birgit Mock, the vice president of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZDK), announced that in light of Rome’s permission to grant blessings to “couples” in irregular unions and same-sex “couples” the German bishops will continue as planned to work on a handout for “blessing ceremonies” to give to...

Open Letter to Francis: Why Are You Destroying the Religion of the Saints? Dear Francis,We write to you as fellow sinners, in great need of God’s mercy. In various ways — especially through your Synod on Synodality and persistent opposition to proselytism — you have asked Catholics to have respect for all baptized Christians and their particular religious beliefs. This openness to the religious beliefs of others encourages us to explain our religion to you.We are Catholics who believe the same truths, and retain the same religious devotions, that all Catholics enjoyed prior to Vatican II. We often call ourselves...

[Catholic Caucus] New Response in the Same-Sex Blessing ControversyBack on September 30th, a few days before the new Dubia were released, Cardinal Tucho Fernández gave an interview to LifeSite News about Same-sex blessings which has now been published. But before we get to that, I want to go back to the 2021 document approved by the Holy Father which was meant to put to rest this dubium with the following clarity:TO THE QUESTION PROPOSED:Does the Church have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex?RESPONSE:Negative.The explanation goes into the fact that “Blessings belong to...

Whoopi Goldberg meets with Pope Francis, champions his acceptance of homosexualityWhile the perennial teachings of the Catholic Church on human sexuality remain both unchanged and unchangeable, Francis has indeed undermined or obfuscated these truths through what many see as ambiguous or outright heretical statements.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pro-abortion American actress and activist Whoopi Goldberg met with Pope Francis Thursday, the former taking the time to thank the latter for his “message” surrounding so-called climate change, and his stance on homosexual acts and Communion for the divorced and “remarried.”In an interview published Thursday by Vatican News, Goldberg talked about her meeting...

When I was growing up and attending Catholic schools, I was taught that the pope is infallible. But then I read Pope Francis’ updated encyclical letter last week, and now I can only conclude that at least this pope is fallible. In fact, the declaration is so filled with anti-Christian fallacies that one has to wonder whether we have a pope that is actually Catholic. Pope Francis was full of doom and gloom as he warned that the Earth is “collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point” because of climate change. He takes a metaphorical ruler and whacks the...

Sacred Scripture Alone Disproves the Bible Alone theory!Scripture Alone Disproves "Scripture Alone" From Genesis to the book of the Apocalypse, Scripture never says that Scripture is the sole infallible authority for God's Word. Scripture also mandates the use of tradition. This fact alone disproves sola Scriptura. Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15 - those that preached the Gospel to all creation but did not write the Gospel were not less obedient to Jesus, or their teachings less important. Matt. 28:20 - "observe ALL I have commanded," but, as we see in John 20:30; 21:25, not ALL Jesus taught is in Scripture. So...

Bible Only is dumb ANSWERS TO 25 QUESTIONS ON THEHISTORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENTWHICH COMPLETELY REFUTE THE "BIBLE ONLY" THEORYONEDid Our Lord write any part of the New Testament or command His Apostles to do so? Our Lord Himself never wrote a line, nor is there any record that He ordered his Apostles to write; He did command them to teach and to preach. Also He to Whom all power was given in Heaven and on earth (Matt. 28-18) promised to give them the Holy Spirit (John 14-26) and to be with them Himself till the end of the world...

Pope Francis urges Buddhists, Muslims, and Shamans to promote their religions during event in MongoliaSpeaking to Buddhist, Shinto, Shaman, Jewish, Muslim, and assorted Christian religious leaders, Pope Francis praised the assembled religions for being the continuation of 'ancient schools of wisdom.'Speaking as part of an ecumenical gathering during his trip to Mongolia, Pope Francis quoted from Buddhist texts while arguing that “every religious institution” has “the right to freely express what it is and what it believes.”He urged gathered non-Catholic religious leaders to promote their own religions, saying, “May it be so for us, as committed followers of our respective...

"We Don't Want to Convert Young People to Christ or the Catholic Church": Francis's New Cardinal Denies The Great Commission"Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Known as "the Great Commission," spreading the Gospel and making converts is a basic duty of all Christians, as set forth by Our Lord in sacred scripture. At the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis reiterated this call in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium.But the results of the Church's evangelization efforts during Francis's pontificate have been disappointing,...

ROME — Pope Francis stunned the faithful this weekend when he welcomed some 200 avant-garde artists in the Sistine Chapel, including photographer Andres Serrano, creator of the controversial “Piss Christ” work showing a crucifix submerged in a glass of urine. The pontiff received the artists to mark the 50th anniversary of the Vatican’s collection of contemporary art, telling them that like the biblical prophets, “you confront things that at times are uncomfortable; you criticize today’s false myths and new idols, its empty talk, the ploys of consumerism, the schemes of power.” “You can see things both in depth and from...

Week for Life: Break between Catholics and Protestants? With the annual "Week for Life" campaign, the two major churches have been advocating for the protection of life since 1994. The Catholic Bishops' Conference has now confirmed that the Protestant Church has withdrawn from the project. But the Protestant Church is keeping a low profile.

A Texas bishop with a history of conservative activism and criticism of Pope Francis received a Vatican-ordered “visitation” that ended on June 23, but the reasons behind the investigation remain uncertain. An apostolic visitation is a rare procedure that can be invoked by the Vatican to review a diocese’s leadership and can lead to disciplinary action, according to the Catholic News Agency. A spokesperson for the Tyler Diocese confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that the meeting with Bishop Joseph Strickland had taken place but declined to comment on whether Strickland’s public comments on social issues and the Pope...

Absolute Obedience and Relative ObedienceIn a recently article published in The American Conservative, Rod Dreher quoted a daring tweet signed by Michael Brendan Dougherty:“…if the Roman Church’s position on the papacy really is that the Pope exclusively defines Tradition, such that he could legitimately abrogate all previous Roman Missals in favor of singing John Lennon’s Imagine— then Catholicism is ridiculous.”Certainly, it would be ridiculous and completely wrong to consider that the Pope “exclusively defines Tradition”– implying that the Pope himself is the source of Tradition. But Rod Dreher, with his remarkable capacity for going straight to the heart of the...

[Catholic Caucus] Priest throws Host down on the floor rather than give Communion on the tongueDid a priest from the Diocese of Tarbes drop a consecrated host on Sunday?Our readers report a serious incident during Communion this Sunday morning in Bazet - where the Mass of Bordères-sur-l'Echez, of the diocese of Tarbes-Lourdes, has been transferred since the closure of this church to the public for damages last March. The celebrant, Father Dorothée, is said to have deliberately dropped the consecrated Host in front of a member of the faithful at the end of communion. This did not fail to shock...

DeSantis is right about the death penalty – in some cases it can be morally justifiedCatholic organisations have called a new Florida law that ends the unanimous jury requirement in death penalty sentencing “stunning” and a “thinly veiled attack on human life”, while the state’s Catholic governor and potential 2024 presidential contender Ron DeSantis argues the law allows proper justice to be served.Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that allows capital punishment with a jury recommendation of at least 8-4 in favour of the death sentence, replacing the state’s previous unanimous requirement of 12-0 for such cases.In response, Krisanne...