Free Republic

Pope Benedict XVI, a little while back, said that: "Today we see in a truly terrifying way that the greatest persecution of the church does not come from outside enemies but is born of sin within the church." (See here). This truth is often downplayed by some when it is not forgotten altogether. In this week's Catholic Free Press, Father Daniel J. Becker (who to his credit acknowledges that "each one of us is a sinner, with particular faults and bad habits which darken our souls"), writes in an article entitled "Shine the light on evil": "The truth of today's...

In an editorial entitled, "Stop the erosion of religious liberty," The Catholic Free Press, official newspaper of the Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts, laments that, "The Obama administration has embarked on a systematic effort to erode religious liberty to the point of non-existenceby attempting to restrict it solely to freedom of worship. Through administrative policies and mandates, religious liberty and freedom of conscience in the United States is under attack, as witnessed by the most recent 'accommodation.'..The Obama administration has been chipping away at the right of religious institutions to abide by their beliefs when those beliefs oppose the secularist agenda,...

He was under strict orders not to leave the house after school. But 11-year-old Jared Flanders neatly knotted his tie, climbed on his bike and went to pay his last respects to fallen Worcester firefighter Jon Davies at a funeral home down the street yesterday. Jared didn’t know the hero jake who died after rushing into a blazing triple-decker last week. Yet, the boy’s kind-hearted salute lifted the spirits of firefighters attending Davies’ wake.

Scott Brown drew thousands to Worcester Sunday for a rally in Mechanics Hall. A supporter captures some of the excitement on video. VIDEO Local news coverage video and Curt Schilling

MA-Sen: Out-of-Staters for Brown By David Weigel 1/18/10 9:51 AM BOSTON — A surprising discovery at yesterday’s “People’s Rally” in Worcester was just how many people had traveled into the state to assist, in whatever way, GOP Senate candidate Scott Brown’s campaign. Some of the loudest people at the rally outside the main event were visitors. Wayne Kilburn of South Windsor, Conn., walked up and down the street ringing a bell and shouting slogans like “Noooooo terrorists in Afghanistan!”And later I met Chris Wim from Lubbock, Texas, who said he’d come up because “these guys are firing the second shot...

Curt Shilling: "This feels to me like the clubhouse of the morning of game 7 of the ALCS"....1600 people at the event, with 1000 watching streaming video at another location, + "Several hundred" outside...(Video)

Thank you very much. What a privilege it is to share the stage with John Ratzenberger, Lenny Clarke, Doug Flutie, Curt Schilling, Fred Smerlas, Steve DeOssie, and many, many others - and my favorite singer, Ayla Brown. As you know, Curt Schilling made the news just a couple of days ago when my opponent didn’t recognize his name. Of all the many false accusations she’s made in this campaign, one of the strangest was to call Curt Schilling a Yankee fan. Let me properly identify the guy she’s been smearing on the radio: His name is Curt Schilling, formerly of...

Brown holds rally with Schilling, other stars (NECN: Alysha Palumbo, Worcester, Mass.) - State Sen. Scott Brown (R), a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts, campaigned in... The only video I've been able to find so far...Video at link.

An animated crowd of more than 3,000 supporters are rallying for GOP Senate hopeful Scott Brown in Worcester this afternoon, in a last-minute get-out-the vote push for the suddenly popular state senator. “This race is close, but it’s not over,” Brown said at a campaign stop earlier today. “Every vote will count in this election.” While President Obama stumps for Attorney General Martha Coakley in Boston, Brown is taking the stage at Mechanics Hall with Red Sox [team stats] ace pitcher Curt Schilling [stats], Boston College legend and NFL star Doug Flutie, “Cheers” star John Ratzenberger, as well as his...

An animated crowd of more than 3,000 supporters are rallying for GOP Senate hopeful Scott Brown in Worcester this afternoon, in a last-minute get-out-the vote push for the suddenly popular state senator. “This race is close, but it’s not over,” Brown said at a campaign stop earlier today. “Every vote will count in this election.” While President Obama stumps for Attorney General Martha Coakley in Boston, Brown is taking the stage at Mechanics Hall with Red Sox [team stats] ace pitcher Curt Schilling [stats], Boston College legend and NFL star Doug Flutie, “Cheers” star John Ratzenberger, as well as his...

"It's an absolute mob scene. The police have closed off the streets. It's mind blowing. The hall is already full, and it holds 3,000 people. There may be another 1,000 people outside."

Phone call from the Scott Brown rally, outside Mechanics Hall: Up to 5,000 supporters of Scott Brown have gathered vociferously outside the hall, loud enough at times to drown out the phone conversation. Shouting slogans, they have blocked all four street lanes for about half a block around the rally point. Only a few at a time were allowed into the hall for about 15 minutes and they have just announced that the hall is filled to capacity as are two overflow areas, one of which is Lexington Hall in the Crown Plaza hotel. At least 2,000 people are still...

An animated crowd of more than 3,000 supporters are rallying for GOP Senate hopeful Scott Brown in Worcester this afternoon, in a last-minute get-out-the vote push for the suddenly popular state senator. “This race is close, but it’s not over,” Brown said at a campaign stop earlier today. “Every vote will count in this election.” While President Obama stumps for Attorney General Martha Coakley in Boston, Brown is taking the stage at Mechanics Hall with Red Sox [team stats] ace pitcher Curt Schilling [stats], Boston College legend and NFL star Doug Flutie, “Cheers” star John Ratzenberger, as well as his...

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Looks like Obama and pals are reading the tea leaves and are now predicting a Coakley loss: [VIDEO AT SITE] And while Coakley and Obama were holding a rally in a 3/4 filled hall: [VIDEO AT SITE] The Brown rally was overfilling: And from The Corner: Friend in Worcester reports: "Crowd just started spontaneously singing God bless America and then exploded, the whole hall. Now they're chanting 'We want Scott.'" Friend who is in Worcester e-mails: "People are lined up down the sidewalk. Folks are driving around honking horns. It is like the Red Sox won again. Just totally joyful."...

Bear with me I'm a Free Republic Virgin for initiating a post. There is a rally at 321 Main St, Worcester tomorrow. Doors open at 3:00 There are a lot of non-moonbats in Massachusetts, I'm one of them!! Lorie

WORCESTER, Mass.- A Worcester, Mass., man said he will not appeal the city's order to tear down the $12,000 four-story tree house he built on his property . Michael Chapman, 48 -- who built the tree house over the course of three months from more than a ton of pressure-treated lumber, 1,000 feet of rope, about 500 lag screws and 48 feet of rebar -- said the city ordered him to remove the tree house by Nov. 2 and he intends to abide by the order, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday. Officials from Worcester's Department of Inspectional Services said they...

The baby taken from the womb of a Worcester murder victim last weekend has been found alive, and a female suspect in the case taken into custody, authorities said tonight. Police said they found the suspect in New Hampshire, and are evaluating the baby. No further details were available.

A noted Bay State doctor who has written several of papers on sexually transmitted diseases was arrested allegedly trying to pick up a hooker in Worcester during a weekend sex sting and reportedly said he was just doing research. Dr. Peter Rice, 65, said he is through talking about his arrest and referred all questions to his lawyer. "I'm not going to be answering any questions about this," he told the Herald last night. Rice, who is Yale-educated, specializes in infectious diseases and immunology, according to his biography on the UMass Web site. He told the Worcester Telegram and Gazette...

Plans for an embryonic stem-cell bank at the University of Massachusetts Medical School for researchers around the globe took a major step forward last week when the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center authorized more than $8 million for the bank and an associated registry. It is a significant step in Central Massachusetts’ evolution as a major center of biotechnology and biomedical research. Interim chancellor Michael F. Collins said the bank should be operating within eight to 12 months, the registry even sooner than that. That is in keeping with the fast pace at which Gov. Deval L. Patrick’s life sciences and...