Free Republic

US cardinal Roger Mahony, retired from church duties as part of a paedophilia scandal, cannot be banned from the conclave to elect a new pope, but could be advised to stay away, a fellow cardinal and canon law expert said in an interview on Tuesday. "The common practise is to use persuasion. There is no more that can be done. Cardinal Mahony has the right and duty to take part," Velasio De Paolis, one of the 117 cardinal electors due to participate, told La Repubblica daily. "This is a troubling situation but the rules must be followed," he said. "He...

MARIETTA, Ga. (CBS Atlanta) — Marietta Public Schools have added “panic buttons” to its schools in response to the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. WGCL-TV reports that these “panic buttons” will immediately place a call to 911 when pushed by school officials.

The Vatican has refused to comment on Italian press reports that an internal report on the “Vatileaks” scandal might have influenced the decision by Pope Benedict XVI to resign. The daily La Repubblica reported that in their report to the Pope, a commission of 3 cardinals investigating the leaked papal documents had found evidence of a homosexual network within the Vatican, and hinted at the possibility that some Vatican officials were subject to blackmail. “There will be no comment, denials or confirmation of what has been written in an Italian newspaper,” Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press...

ST. PETERSBURG — A man walking his dog was shot in the leg by a disgruntled motorist after the animal lurched into the road, forcing a pickup to stop. St. Petersburg police are searching for a man who shot Peter Harbachuk, 46, on Friday after his dog got off her leash. "Some dude hopped out and he pointed a gun toward my head," Harbachuk said. "I said, 'Hey, this doesn't have to go down like this.' " The man lowered the gun a bit, closed his eyes and squeezed the trigger, he said.

More than 200,000 religious Christians marched against gay rights in Puerto Rico on Monday in the largest such demonstration in the history of the US commonwealth. Gathering in front of San Juan’s Capitol building, hundreds of thousands of Christian Puerto Ricans stopped traffic while defending “traditional marriage” and protesting against the idea of granting gay couples legal rights. “Traffic was snarled for miles leading toward the San Juan islet as buses packed with marchers headed toward the north side of the Capitol,” described the Puerto Rican-based Caribbean Business. The mass demonstration, which took just three weeks to organize, drew in...

INDIANAPOLIS --— Baltimore Ravens six-time Pro Bowl center Matt Birk will announce his retirement from the NFL later this morning, according to a source with knowledge of his plans. Birk, 36, played in the NFL for 15 seasons and won a Super Bowl in his final season with a victory in Super Bowl XLVII over the San Francisco 49ers in New Orleans. Birk played well last season and could have continued to play, but the Harvard graduate, former Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year and married father of six opted to leave the game at this time.

Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court on Wednesday voted 5-4 to ban gay couples from adopting children, with judges claiming that a child’s dignity, stability and well-being can only be ensured if raised in a “traditional” family. The vote comes two days after 200,000 religious Christians held a rally against granting same-sex couples any sort of legal rights. As the largest anti-gay rally in the history of the US commonwealth, the gathering portrayed the immense opposition gay couples continue to face in Puerto Rico. Although some lawmakers support granting gay couples with certain legal rights, many public figures remain starkly opposed to...

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan says investigators are trying to determine if the injuries Bailey received in the fight caused his seizures. “Some of the doctors say he can hear us, so I talk to him,” said Joy Fecanin while in tears. “I say, 'I’m going to give you a big kiss.'” Fecanin’s 11-year-old grandson Bailey lies in a coma after suffering several seizures. As his family continues to hope for a recovery, they also want the school bullies accused of attacking Bailey brought to justice. Fecanin says Bailey was jumped by two classmates during recess at Darby Township...

LAS VEGAS -- A man killed in a shooting and fiery crash on the Las Vegas Strip early Thursday morning was a rapper who previously lived in Oakland, a family member said. Ken Cherry, 27, who rapped under the name Kenny Clutch, was shot by someone in a black Range Rover about 4:20 a.m. as he drove on Las Vegas Boulevard. After he was shot, Cherry rapidly accelerated his gray Maserati down Las Vegas Boulevard and through a red light before striking a cab at the intersection of Flamingo Road. The cab burst into flames, and the cabdriver and a...

Prepare for Gay Marriage I hate writing about this subject, but with both French and British parliaments passing gay marriage laws in the past week, weÂ’re reaching a no-turning-back point in our world. God is sovereign and specializes in last minute rescues, but barring a Mordecai-type intervention we might as well face up to the reality that gay marriage is coming down the pike at an unstoppable speed, and itÂ’s going to impact many Christians in damaging and even destructive ways. While continuing to pray, preach, and campaign against this (read these nine words again), we must also ask how...

Hey, remember when President Obama crusaded against Medicare fraud and vowed to crack down aggressively on scammers who've bilked the program out of an estimated $90 billion? Like Archie and Edith Bunker used to sing: Those were the daaaays. While Democrats pretend to protect the elderly and disabled, leaders of the People's Party have pocketed gobs of campaign contributions from fat-cat donors tied to massive Medicare rip-off schemes. We now know that the jet-setting Florida eye doctor who flew beleaguered Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., to several alleged sex romps in the Dominican Republic also overbilled the government by $8.9 million...

Maryland --(Ammoland.com)- 2 More Gun Bill Days are Scheduled – 51 Bills to be Heard Briefly stated, here is the situation: A total of 51 bills will be heard over 2 days in 3 Committees. Each day we will have bills being heard in 2 different Committees at the same time. This tactic is intended to dilute our numbers, which is why a strong “boots on the ground” turnout is so important. This is especially true on March 5th because the hearings will be in different buildings. Friday, March 1st @ 1:00 PM: 4 bills in the House Health &...

Key senators are exploring an immigration bill that would force every U.S. worker—citizen or not—to carry a high-tech identity card that could use fingerprints or other personal markers to prove a person's legal eligibility to work. snip But at least five of the eight senators writing the bill have backed biometric ID cards in the past. At least three of them—Sens. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), John McCain (R., Ariz.) and Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.)—have said they support requiring the cards under the new law but are open to other options, aides say. snip Mr. Graham, in an interview, said that...

Male student fights to wear dress to prom

Biden goes Rambo. In an online interview with a magazine reporter, day before yesterday, the vice president of the United States told us how to defend our homes. He is a significant federal officer -- first in succession to the presidency -- and was one of the longest-serving senators in modern history. And he has given us instructions. The vice president said he told his wife, "If there’s ever a problem here, just walk out on the balcony, here, walk out, put that double-barrel shotgun and just fire two blasts outside the house." He then went on to say that...

<p>In another sign that Sanford police are ratcheting up their campaign against street violence, the department on Friday announced a gun buyback next week.</p> <p>The agency will buy any gun – no questions asked – and give the person turning it in a $50 Target gift card.</p>

The simple story — cops yawn when burly white vigilante stalks and kills unarmed African-American child for the "crime" of walking while black — shocked the conscience of much of the nation a year ago and touched off an explosion of indignant demagoguery. Trayvon Martin, 17, was walking through a Sanford, Fla., subdivision early on the evening of Feb. 26, 2012, headed from a convenience store to the home where he was staying with his father. Off-duty neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, 28, was driving to the grocery store when he saw Martin and called police to report that an...

King Juan Carlos's daughter likely to be formally named as a suspect in multimillion-euro scandal ahead of possible indictment As a financial scandal engulfs the royal family and politicians begin to call for his abdication, Spain's King Juan Carlos faces one of the worst weeks in his 37-year reign, with prosecutors set to ask a judge to formally name his daughter Princess Cristina as a suspect in a multimillion-euro fraud and money-laundering case. The request, which would be a preliminary step to a possible indictment, is poised to be made next week and will be based on the testimony of...

The people have spoken, the ... conservatives? The original, less-family-friendly quotation came from California Democrat Dick Tuck after he lost a U.S. Senate primary in 1966. This particular sentiment reflects the divide between the ever-more-left-leaning Democratic Party and the average person — even here in Massachusetts. Wednesday night the Westford Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to withdraw an article from the Town Meeting warrant calling for the town to ban the possession of virtually all modern firearms. An overflow crowd of more than 400 people showed up to let liberal Selectman Robert Jefferies know that he doesn’t speak for them....

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem A New Journey…The Names of God in The Scriptures YHVH Gibbor Milchamah - The LORD Mighty In Battle (Psalms 24:8) Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.