Free Republic

In an interview published July 15, Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, called the prospect of the appointment of women bishops in the Church of England an “enormous obstacle” to Christian unity. “All the Churches of the first millennium, Catholic, Eastern and Orthodox, state that only men can be ordained,” he said. “These Churches see the ordination of women as an illegitimate abandonment of authentic Tradition.” “It saddens us that on this point the Anglican Communion has left what we consider the essential Tradition of the Church since its beginning,” he continued. “But the...

WASHINGTON, July 1, 2010 – Unity of purpose in Afghanistan is essential to winning the counterinsurgency fight in the country, the new commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan said today. During a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen both called for increased cooperation. It was Petraeus’s first appearance since the Senate confirmed him for his new job yesterday. The general briefed the alliance’s North Atlantic Council and allied nations with troops on the ground in Afghanistan. During the meeting, Petraeus received three clear messages...

I had a feeling this vilification of the working class, tax paying citizens who make up the Tea Party Movement was coming right from the top and in a new book, Obama says as much. ABC’s Jack Tapper reported this, in his post “GOP Opposition to Stimulus Helped to Create the Tea-Baggers”: Three days after he decried the lack of civility in American politics, President Obama is quoted in a new book about his presidency referring to the Tea Party movement using a derogatory term with sexual connotations.

FIRE BY NIGHT "Reflections Upon Reflections" [of The Father's Heart] ...."You, in Your great compassion, did not forsake them in the wilderness; The pillar of cloud did not leave them by day, to guide them on their way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go".... Nehemiah 9:19 NASB APRIL 22ND IF WE ARE TRULY GOING TO BECOME THE "SPOTLESS AND UNBLEMISHED" BRIDE OF CHRISTTHEN WE MUST COME TO THAT PLACE OF "ABIDING" IN PERFECT OBEDIENCE [FAITH AND LOVE] JUST AS JESUS DID Words of prophecy: * Tell My...

Revelation 4:2-2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

My rabbi explained: One way to gain insight into what the mass of humanity believes and feels is to study its billboard and magazine advertising. Advertising themes which are recycled again and again are those themes which experience has proven successful, messages which strike responsive chords in the hearts of millions of people. And if we consider the tens of millions of dollars spent on advertising religion, one central theme stands out: "Turn to G-d—it will make you feel better." "The family that prays together, stays together"; "Something good is going to happen to you"; Catholic schools— schools with a...

Breaking news as the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church in America has formally requested to enter the Catholic Church. All 99 parishes and cathedrals! Here is the complete text: Orlando, FL – 1 pm EST – Bp. George Langberg Released by the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church in America, Traditional Anglican Communion 3 March 2010 We, the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church in America of the Traditional Anglican Communion have met in Orlando, Florida, together with our Primate and the Reverend Christopher Phillips of the “Anglican Use” Parish of Our Lady of the Atonement...

Francis Eugene George is not just a cardinal. He is also president of the United States conference of catholic bishops and sets the tone and direction for church policy and position in the country. His comments, therefore, on the positive attributes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), more commonly known as Mormons, seem surprising given the enormous theological and demographic differences between the two groups. Or do his words herald a spirit of co-operation among disparate religious movements in the fight against secularism?

Culture watchers dismissed the statement as the wistful longing of a faithful man. Yet John Paul, with his gift of seeing through the clutter of immediate events into the deeper and far-reaching ways of God, knew better. He believed that the fall of Communism would unleash a transformation that could only come from those who suffered. His words are proving true. The Orthodox Church in Russia, after 80 years of brutal persecution, is emerging not only as a religious force in Europe, but also as the new leader in worldwide Orthodox Christianity. More Christians have been killed for their faith...

....In a beautifully written, theologically astute, historically significant and warmly pastoral letter written to the faithful of the Traditional Anglican Communion, Archbishop John Hepworth invites them to enter into full communion by following the Apostolic Constitution and Norms offered by the Holy See. He concludes his letter with this stirring summons: “I believe with all my heart that this is a work of God and an act of great generosity by Pope Benedict. The Anglican tradition that we treasure will only survive, I believe, across the generations yet to come if it discovers the protection of apostolic authority. It is...

As I watched His Majesty, King Hussein Obama the First, deliver his State of the Union address, I got the feeling that instead of hearing a speech on the problems facing our great nation, I was witnessing a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown. My discomfort grew with each pathetic attempt of His Majesty to win back the favor of his assembled minions and the nation’s serfs with such bromides as: We must answer history’s call. We do not give up. I do not accept second place for the United States of America. Let’s try common sense. And...

On Christian Unity in 2009 "When He Wishes and When We Are Prepared, [God] Will Create Unity" VATICAN CITY, JAN. 20, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience in Paul VI Hall. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, We are in the middle of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, an ecumenical initiative, which has been in the making now for more than a century, and which every year attracts attention to a topic: that of the visible unity between Christians, which calls to consciences and stimulates to...

Brushing aside legitimate criticism, concerns, and harsh questioning of the Obama Administration in wake of the Christmas "dingaling" bomber (as talk radio host Michael Medved refers to Umar Farouk Abdulmullatab), President Obama concluded his weekly radio address (January 2, 2010) with the following call for national unity: But as we go forward, let us remember this-our adversaries are those who would attack our country, not our fellow Americans, not each other. Let's never forget what has always carried us through times of trial, including those attacks eight Septembers ago. [Did he just invoke 9/11 (not the first time, actually)? Something...

Denver, Colo., Dec 7, 2009 / 03:11 am (CNA).- In an exclusive interview with Catholic News Agency, Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput has explained his reasons for signing the Manhattan Declaration. He said the Declaration should “galvanize” Christians and others in defense of pro-life issues, the nature of marriage and religious freedom. “I was glad to be invited to sign the declaration, and glad to sign because I believe in its content,” Archbishop Chaput told CNA.  He described it as a “straightforward” statement defending the sanctity of life, religious liberty and the definition of marriage as a union of husband...

Bartholomew I / Pope Benedict Vatican City, Nov 30, 2009 / 09:55 pm (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI reached out to Bartholomew I and the Eastern Church Monday in his annual letter to the Patriarch celebrating the Feast of St. Andrew. The message encouraged continued ecumenical talks towards unification of the churches of the East and West and "openness to the Holy Spirit" to guide them in the process.   The letter was delivered to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Istanbul, Bartholomew I, by way of a Papal delegation led by the President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity Cardinal Walter...

www.catholicnewsagency.com Unprecedented coalition of religious leaders call Americans to stand for sanctity of life, marriage, and religious freedom Washington D.C., Nov 20, 2009 / 06:21 am (CNA).- An unprecedented coalition of prominent Christian clergy, ministry leaders, and scholars has crafted a 4,700-word declaration addressing the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty. The declaration issues “a clarion call” to Christians to adhere to their convictions and informs civil authorities that the signers will not “under any circumstance” abandon their Christian consciences. The statement,  called “the Manhattan Declaration,” has been signed by more than 125 Catholic, Evangelical Christian, and Orthodox...

More than 150 leaders across a spectrum of conservative Christianity on Friday released a 4,700-word document vowing civil disobedience if they are forced to take part in "anti-life acts" or bless gay marriages. Called the "Manhattan Declaration," the six-page, single-spaced document was drafted by Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson, an evangelical, and Princeton University professor Robert P. George, a Roman Catholic, and included a bevy of Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox bishops, archbishops and cardinals as signatories along with dozens of clergy and laity.

More than 150 leaders across a spectrum of conservative Christianity on Friday released a 4,700-word document vowing civil disobedience if they are forced to take part in "anti-life acts" or bless gay marriages. Called the "Manhattan Declaration," the six-page, single-spaced document was drafted by Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson, an evangelical, and Princeton University professor Robert P. George, a Roman Catholic, and included a bevy of Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox bishops, archbishops and cardinals as signatories along with dozens of clergy and laity. Archbishop of Washington Donald W. Wuerl is one of the signatories. "Throughout the centuries, Christianity has taught...

Citing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to civil disobedience, 145 evangelical, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian leaders have signed a declaration saying they will not cooperate with laws that they say could be used to compel their institutions to participate in abortions, or to bless or in any way recognize same-sex couples. “We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence,” it says. The manifesto, to be released on Friday at the National Press Club in Washington, is an...

“Given in Rome, at St. Peter’s, on November 4, 2009, the Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo.” These words appear just before the signature of Pope Benedict XVI on the historic Apostolic Constitution entitled Anglicanorum Coetibus. The name of the Apostolic Constitution, as with many magisterial documents, is taken from the first words of the Latin text. It means "Groups of Anglicans". The dates when magisterial documents of this kind of significance are dated - and then released - are significant. Nothing of this magnitude is ever done haphazardly by the Holy See. The dates of promulgation and release underscore the...