Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] What would St. Alphonsus say about Pope Francis’ criticisms of ‘rigid’ seminarians?Ultimately, Pope Francis wants priests who are overly emotional social workers that will affirm laity in their sins. This stands in marked contrast to the wisdom of St. Alphonsus Liguori on priestly formation.Pope Francis made headlines last week when he complained about priests not receiving a “humanistic formation.” “We need normal seminarians, with their problems, who play soccer, and who don’t go to the neighborhoods to dogmatize,” he told staffers for the Spain-based Catholic newspaper Nueva Vida.“I don’t like rigidity because it is a bad symptom of...

Memorial of Saint Clare, Virgin Matthew 16:24–28 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Even a cursory reading of the Gospels reveals that Jesus’ death is the center and goal of the narrative, that which animates and gives verve to the story.How can we make sense of this stubborn cruciformity of Christianity? We can do so only if we remember that God is love. In our pride, our rebellion, our cruelty, and above all our fear, we human beings had changed ourselves into a dysfunctional...

"And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's." "Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. "For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him." Luke, Chapter 20 1 And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief...

People who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, SD, steered clear of the Budweiser tent because of Bud Light’s partnership with American transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. “I got to tell you right now though, not looking good,” said TikTok user Cycledrag in a video. “As you can tell, Budweiser’s spent an awful lot of money.” A few staff members were spotted hanging behind a Budweiser booth, with one of them flashing the peace sign. These staff members said people can get a Sturgis glass at the tent. Cycledrag moved over and shows a few people standing under the umbrella...

Missouri police are on the hunt for two teenage girls after one of them was caught on camera brutally assaulting a Walgreens employee who had tried to stop them from shoplifting. The horrific incident happened on August 2 in the city of Independence, about 10 miles east of Kansas City. 'An employee of the business was assaulted when they attempted to intervene in a shoplift,' the Independence Police Department said in a statement. The footage, captured by a witness inside a car, shows a girl wearing a white shirt and red purse throwing the employee to the ground outside the...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Burke: ‘Populist rhetoric’ associated with Pope Francis undermines Catholic doctrineCardinal Burke criticized ideological ‘rhetoric’ that is becoming commonly used in the Catholic Church, warning that it seeks to replace the Church's ‘irreplaceable’ teaching.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Raymond Burke has issued a detailed critique of “populist rhetoric” often “attached to language used by Pope Francis,” which he said are “slogans of an ideology replacing what is irreplaceable for us: the constant doctrine and discipline of the Church.”The former prefect of the Apostolic Signature delivered his analysis of the relation between canon law and current verbal arguments via...

Joe Scarborough has accused Trump of being responsible for the death of a 75-year-old man in Utah whom the FBI shot to death after he had made explicit assassination threats and reportedly pointed a gun at agents. Self-styled simple country lawyer Scarborough broke out the "but for" rule: that but for Trump's allegations of a deep state, stolen elections, etc., that man wouldn't be dead. Concluded Scarborough: "This man paid for it with his life! He bought into the lies. He bought into the conspiracy theory. And now, because of Donald Trump, you know, you could make the argument, he's...