Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Florida AG, Catholic conference spar over vaccine exemptions The Catholic conference says the state cannot require it to offer religious exemptions to vaccines.The state of Florida and the bishops of Florida are embroiled in a heated debate over vaccine policies in the state’s Catholic schools.The state government is expanding religious exemptions to required childhood vaccines, and the attorney general has demanded that Florida’s Catholic schools comply in order to maintain eligibility for state scholarships and vouchers.But the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops says the state is violating its freedom of religion by attempting to dictate its application of...

[Catholic Caucus] Spain awakens for Ceuta and not a single bishop in the squares One thousand squares filled at the same time, a forest of Spanish flags from Cibeles to the Pilar, and a single cry from north to south: “Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta defends itself.” Nothing like it had been seen since the autumn of 2017, when the separatist challenge brought a seemingly dormant nation into the streets. The Spanish people are slow to react. But when they are put in check, they react. Yesterday they did so again — alone, without their shepherds.There are images a...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV Appoints Archbishop Who Offered to Pachamama Today, Leo XIV appointed Auxiliary Bishop Lizardo Estrada Herrera O.S.A., 52, of Cuzco, Peru, as the Coadjutor Archbishop of the same Archdiocese. He will thus be the successor to Archbishop Richard Daniel Alarcón Urrutia, 74.Just two weeks ago, the new Archbishop offered to the idol Pachamama.Leo XIV Personally Formed EstradaBorn in Cotabambas in 1973, Monsignor Estrada joined the Augustinians and was ordained a priest in 2005. Pope Francis appointed Estrada auxiliary bishop of Cuzco in January 2021.In May 2025, Bishop Estrada told VaticanNews.va, that Leo XIV was already his professor,...

Gay media celebrates Pope Leo XIV’s 4 pro-LGBT bishop appointments'Letters from Leo' hailed Pope Leo’s recent LGBT-friendly appointments, which include a bishop who had a drag queen speak at Mass. A gay news site published an article praising Pope Leo XIV for having “made room for progressive LGBTQ+ voices.” Headlined Pope Leo’s Recent LGBTQ-Friendly Appointments Include Bishop Who Had Drag Queen Speak at Mass, the article draws heavily from a liberal Catholic Substack, Letters from Leo, authored by former Obama staffer Christopher Hale.The article focuses on the installation of four reportedly pro-homosexual and pro-transgender bishops: James Checchio, appointed by Leo...

[Catholic Caucus] German Bishop: Laypeople Preach in My Diocese — and I Won’t Sanction Them The Vatican's reasoning for the ban on lay preaching is "not entirely consistent," Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz told Katholisch.de on August 11."The letter from the Prefect for Liturgy states that only the priest celebrating Mass may preach. But taken to its logical conclusion, that would mean a concelebrating priest or an assisting deacon shouldn't be allowed to preach either."Lay Preaching Is No ProblemIn the Diocese of Mainz, occasional lay preaching has become an established practice and Bishop Kohlgraf has no intention of changing that.In...

[Catholic Caucus] Why does God allow error and confusion among the bishops?It's not so that good Catholics go to hell, but so that they have a higher place in heaven.Many Catholics think that “Catholic” means “universal,” and they are correct, but they make the mistake of thinking this is universal not through history but just today in this current Church crisis. We look to the great saint and Doctor of the Church of the 5th century, St. Vincent of Lerins, for how to navigate a Church crisis when many bishops believe and teach different things. St. Vincent of Lerins was...

Leo XIV's New Archbishop in Addis Ababa: Synodality, Islam Dialogue, Universal FraternityOn June 12, Leo XIV has appointed Monsignor Abune Tesfaye as the Archbishop of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.His precedessor, Cardinal Souraphiel, has led the Archeparchy of Addis Ababa since 1999.Entire Formation about Islam-DialogueMonsignor Tesfaye is a member of the Comboni Missionaries. He was born in 1969 in Harar, one of Ethiopia's historic centers of Islam.Virtually his entire formation points in the direction of Islam-dialogue.He was sent after ordination to study Arabic in Cairo, served as a missionary in Sudan, and later earned a licentiate from the Pontifical Institute for Arabic...