Free Republic

Do Catholics Really Worship the Virgin Mary?Editor’s Note: It is my pleasure to reintroduce my great-grandfather Hugo Klapproth and his “new” book, Letters to a Protestant Friend (Available Here). Full disclosure: The book is new only to English-speaking readers living 130 years after it was published in the original German here in St. Paul, Minnesota. Apart from being a thoughtful historical sketch, this little book also makes a considerable contribution to Catholic apologetics. As a convert from Lutheranism and a professional newspaper editor, Hugo Klapproth’s apologetical arguments to his Lutheran friend are some of the most effective I have ever...

The famous Jewish actor and humorist Gad Elmaleh, beloved in France, announced his conversion to the Catholic faith, a process in which he says the Virgin Mary played a crucial role. Elmaleh, 51, was the partner of Charlotte Casiraghi, the daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco, with whom they have a son named Rafael. His conversion to Catholicism is depicted in his new film, “Reste un peu,” (“Stay a while”). The Jewish actor, who according to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo will take the name of Jean-Marie when he is baptized, has studied theology in Paris, and in 2019 he...

(Translation) [Dominican] President Luis Abinader asked the Virgin of Altagracia to keep protecting the Dominican people and "to God to bless us always". The leader pointed out that veneration of the Virgin, which began with a promise from lancers from El Seibo and Higüey to help them survive a battle where the Spaniards defeated the French in 1691, is the same Dominicans have today of the virgin who "will keep being our protector". "She is our mother and, as such, she intercedes with God to favor her children," President Abinader stressed. He said that "there is not a single corner...

Pro-abortion demonstrations over the past few months, and rising to a crescendo in the aftermath of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, have told the world, with unremitting vehemence, that women have a right to control their own body, a right to a safe abortion, and that the unborn is not yet human being. On the negative side, they have shown a hostility toward the Catholic Church and, in particular, to Mary, the Mother of God. The hostility toward the latter is well symbolized by the mantra, “keep your rosaries off our ovaries”. Pope St. John Paul II expressed the...

Channel Nine have apologised after a television news reporters was photographed at a protest against the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe vs Wade decision holding a sign mocking Christianity. Lana Murphy was covering the protest in Melbourne when she was pictured holding a sign that said: 'Mary (the virgin) should've had an abortion.' The poster was then uploaded to her personal Instagram account. The photo was widely shared on social media, with Catholic writer and Twitter user Joel Agius describing it as a 'disgusting message of Christian hate'. Following the backlash from religious groups and community members, the network issues a...

An elderly Catholic sculptor in Nagasaki, Japan, is all set to complete and install the world’s tallest wooden statue of the Virgin Mary after four decades of time, energy and money. Eiji Oyamatsu, 88, a Catholic from Fujisawa, Kanagawa prefecture, will unveil the 10-meter wooden statue of Mary with the child Jesus at the end of June, reported Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun. The statue pays tribute to thousands of Christian martyrs of Nagasaki in the 17th century. The single-handed effort by Oyamatsu encouraged a group of volunteers to form the Citizens’ Association for Minami-Shimabara World Heritage in 2018. The group...

New research shows that people with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor. Scientists have tracked down a genetic mutation which took place 6,000-10,000 years ago and is the cause of the eye color of all blue-eyed humans alive on the planet today "Originally, we all had brown eyes," said Professor Hans Eiberg from the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. "But a genetic mutation affecting the OCA2 gene in our chromosomes resulted in the creation of a "switch," which literally "turned off" the ability to produce brown eyes." The OCA2 gene codes for the so-called P protein, which is...

A Christmas REALITY - Mary Needed a Savior! Just a thought for this Christmas season. One of the greatest myths in all of Christendom is that Mary (Miriam) - the young Jewish girl of king David's line - who gave birth to the Savior of the world was sinless. I myself was taught this as a boy in the Catholic church and it wasn't till I was born again and started reading the Holy Scriptures for myself that I saw the true folly of such a myth. My dear friends, no greater lie could ever be told or fantasy ever...

Police said that the young, Forest Hills resident is the woman who was caught on camera smashing a pair of church statues to pieces in July.FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — A 23-year-old Forest Hills resident was hit with hate crime charges on Friday, after police identified her as the person who smashed a pair of church statues in July, according to the NYPD. Jacqueline Nikiena was arrested on Friday, Sept. 10 on charges of criminal mischief as a hate crime and aggravated harassment, police said. Her arrest comes nearly two months after she was caught on camera smashing a pair of...

The same folks to bring you “Abrahamism”—the idea that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are intricately connected—have narrowed their sights on promoting Mary, the mother of Christ, as “a Jewish, Christian and Muslim woman,” in the words of Catholic priest Fr. Gian Matteo of the Pontifical International Marian Academy. In a ten-week webinar series titled “Mary, a model for faith and life for Christianity and Islam,” the academy will seek to present Mary as a bridge between the two religions. This may be easier said than done — at least for those still interested in facts. For starters, the claim that...

We Protestants certainly have a problem when it comes to Mary–so allergic are we to any sign of Marian devotion that we flip out and run the other way at any sign of it, including thoroughly orthodox phrases like “Mother of God” and “Hail Mary, full of grace.” The first phrase is of course part of the touchstone of orthodoxy the Definition of Chalcedon, and is the proper translation of Theotokos–the preferred Protestant version (for those who even bother to recite it) is “God-bearer,” ... To call Mary the “Mother of God” was a truth that many Christians actually gave...

A Virgin Mary statue outside a Dorchester church was desecrated on the same night another one was burned about a mile away, according to the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts’ spokesman, who said churches are being “deliberately targeted.” A statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was set ablaze outside St. Peter’s Parish overnight July 11. Police responded to the scene and are investigating, officials confirmed at the time.

Boston Police are investigating whether the burning of a Virgin Mary statue outside a Dorchester church was a hate crime, a department spokesman confirmed on Tuesday. A statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was set ablaze outside St. Peter’s Parish Saturday night. The Boston Police joint investigation includes the civil rights violations unit, the arson unit and district detectives, BPD spokesman Sgt. Detective John Boyle said on Tuesday.

The outrage over statues and the 'white' depictions of Christ is meant to detract us from the real endgame: the 'canceling of Christianity itself. Towards the end of his reign, Tuthmosis III of Egypt ordered the destruction of all the public monuments to his aunt, Hatshepsut, the former leader of Egypt. It wasn’t the first instance of iconoclasm that the world had seen, but it has become one of the most memorable.Iconoclasm — the deliberate destruction of images — has existed almost as long as man has walked the earth. When it took place, there were usually deep and profound...

The Son of Man who suffered and died for the sins of all mankind is not at all constrained by our petty differences and fights over skin tone. The iconoclasts of 2020 are wasting their time toppling Thomas Jefferson and defacing George Washington when they could be shattering the stained glass windows of churches and disfiguring sculptures of Jesus Christ — the true root of America’s rot, according to Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King. “Yes, I think the statues of the white European they claim is Jesus should also come down. They are a form of white supremacy. Always...

I'm tired of people applying 21st Century standards to Jesus birth place Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem. Luke 2:7 "While they were there, the time came for her Child to be born. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." A manger in a stable might not be a good place to have a baby today, but 2,000 years ago a stable was probably the best place for a visitor to Bethlehem to have her first...

Kanye West has seemingly found a new passion, and it’s creating Biblical operas. Fresh off the heels of the release of his first opera release, Nebuchadnezzar, Yeezy announced that he is ready to release a second aptly titled Mary. Although major details are scarce at the moment, what is known is that Kanye will be utilizing the talent of his Sunday Service choir and direction by the rapper’s creative partner Vanessa Beecroft. Kanye announced the new project via Twitter, giving fans a glimpse of the artwork while including the bible verse that inspired the performance piece. Scheduled to take place...

And Hannah prayed and said: My heart rejoices in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation. No one is holy like the Lord, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the Lord is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, And those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves...

In my childhood, it was not unusual to hear someone ask, “Who are your people?” It was a semi-polite, Southernism designed to elicit essential information about a person’s social background. The assumption was that you, at best, could only be an example of your “people.” It ignored the common individualism of the wider culture, preferring the more family or clan-centered existence of an older time. It was possible to be “good people” who had fallen on hard times, just as it was possible to be “bad people” who were flourishing. Good people were always to be preferred. I am aware...

Catholic League President Bill Donohue said Wednesday that a photographic exhibit featuring porn stars such as Stormy Daniels posing as the Virgin Mary constitutes “the latest artistic assault on Christianity.”