Free Republic

Have you ever wondered why Americans drink coffee and British tea? In 1773 the Boston Tea Party went down in history as a revolt against the unfair taxes, fines and fees of King George. Secret meetings were held throughout churches in the New World seeking the wisdom of God and discussing strategies to throw off the unrestrained thievery of liberty from Britain and its cronies. The colonist believed that something had to be done and there came a time when our Founding Fathers said enough. It is said that history often repeats itself. Are we getting close to that time...

ANSA) - Rome, July 2 - Defenders of wartime pope Pius XII have ''nice surprises'' in store, the keeper of the Vatican's secret archives said Thursday. The controversial pope, who has been criticised for not speaking out clearly against the Holocaust, ''even ran personal risks'' to save Jews, said Msgr Sergio Pagano, Prefect of the Secret Archives. ''When the archives can be published there'll be some nice surprises,'' he said. ''I can't tell you any more,'' Pagan said, fending off eager reporters during a press conference on Galileo.

Representatives of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and the Rabbinical Council of America met on June 25 with representatives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to discuss the recently released “Note on Ambiguities Contained in ‘Reflections on Covenant and Mission,’” which critiqued doctrinal deficiencies in a 2002 statement on Catholic-Jewish dialogue.

Geoff Farrow objects to the K of C's support for California's Proposition 8 and for Catholic Moral Teaching Folks, this according to CNA: Fresno, Calif., Jul 2, 2009 / 06:43 am (CNA).- Citing the organization’s support for traditional marriage, a suspended Catholic priest who has turned to homosexual activism has called for Catholic pastors to block Knights of Columbus groups from their parishes and to borrow against the order’s insurance policies to fund homosexual groups. He said he advocated such action in part because the fraternal charitable organization helped support California’s Proposition 8, which restored legal marriage’s definition to being...

OTTAWA, June 25, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Despite a June 22 press release stating that neither the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) nor Development and Peace (D&P) would be commenting on the results of a recent investigation of five of D&P's Mexican partners until the results were made public, the President of the CCCB, Archbishop James Weisgerber, has been making the rounds of the media in the last several days, giving numerous interviews on the topic.

A veiled Muslim schoolteacher was not permitted to accompany her students on the grounds of a British Catholic school after she refused to remove her veil at the school administration’s request. Kevin McMahon, principal of St. Mary’s College in Blackburn, explained that school policy forbids the wearing of the veil.

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots that marked the birth of the gay rights movement, President Barack Obama hosted an LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) Pride Month Reception at the White House and told his guests-- including Episcopal Church Bishop Eugene Robinson-- that “there are still fellow citizens, perhaps neighbors or even family members and loved ones, who still hold fast to worn arguments and old attitudes; who fail to see your families like their families; and who would deny you the rights that most Americans take for granted. And I know this is painful and I know...

LONDON, JUNE 26, 2009 (Zenit.org).- New gay rights legislation in Great Britain has forced one of the oldest adoption agencies in the nation to cease providing key services. The Catholic Children's Society of the Archdiocese of Westminster announced last week it will cease placing children with adoptive and foster parents due to the enactment of the Sexual Orientation Regulations -- part of the 2006 Equality Act -- that stipulates that same-sex couples should be given equal consideration as prospective parents. The agency, founded in 1859, said complying with the new regulations would go against Church teaching on marriage and the...

The upcoming social encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI "Caritas in veritate" - Charity in truth - will bear the date of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29, but will likely become public on July 6 or 7, the Italian daily Corriere della Sera said on Saturday. An article by Gian Guido Vecchi quotes what he claims are several original paragraphs of the Pope’s third encyclical. "Without truth, without trust and love for what is truthful, there is no conscience or social responsibility, and the social action falls under the control of private interests or logics of power,...

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. THE STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK AS A WHOLE. “BEHOLD MY SERVANT” (Isa. 42:1). Isa 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. . 1:1—8 THE FORERUNNER 1:9—11 THE BAPTISM: WITH WATER 1:12, 13. THE TEMPTATION: (WILDERNESS) 1:14—20 THE KINGDOM } PROCLAIMED 1:21—8:30. THE KING 8:31—10:52 THE KING } REJECTED 11:1—14:25 THE KINGDOM 14:26—42. THE AGONY: IN THE GARDEN 14:43—16:14. THE BAPTISM: OF SUFFERING (DEATH, BURIAL, AND RESURRECTION). 16:15—20. THE SUCCESSORS. (This Gospel outline wi8ll...

Ten Catholic Colleges Support Internships with Advocates of Abortion, Gay Marriage A national Catholic higher education organization has identified 10 Catholic colleges and universities that are promoting student internships with organizations whose missions or activities are directly opposed to the moral teachings of the Catholic Church, including on fundamental issues such as abortion and marriage. “This discovery validates the concerns of so many thousands of faithful Catholic parents and students, that public scandals at Catholic colleges are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society. “Under what definition of ‘Catholic education’ do...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Eight religious statues at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Mandarin were damaged and some of them destroyed. One of the statues was a St. Patrick statue valued at $30,000. One of the other statues vandalized was a blessed mother. It was made of white Italian marble, worth more than $22,000. It is now missing a head as it was kicked off its pedestal. "It's a very strong disappointment, but we move on," said Father Dan Cody. Cody said the vandalism was discovered early Sunday morning right before Mass.

Brooklyn, N.Y. … June 14th was observed as Flag Day in America. In Poland, the date was remembered as the day in 1940 that Hitler and his Nazis opened the gate of Auschwitz to receive the first inmates – 728 Polish prisoners they transported from Tarnów, Poland. Rev. Janusz Lipski (far right) of St. Hedwig’s Church in Floral Park and Chaplain of the Long Island Chapter of the Polish American Congress joined three former Auschwitz prisoners to mark the infamous anniversary. Shown with him are (from left to right) Andrew Garczynski; Michael Preisler and Walter Kolodziejek who participated in a...

June 19, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – PBS recently conducted interviews with notorious late-term abortionists Leroy Carhart and Warren Hern, in which both men labeled the pro-life movement a “terrorist movement.” “This is domestic terrorism, this is a terrorist movement,” said Hern. “The anti-abortion people have no decency. They will stop at nothing,” Hern said. “They'll hurt people that you love in order to hurt you and they do not believe that other people have the right to be left alone.” He continued, saying that the pro-life message is “designed to kill.” “It’s part of the message that it’s ok to kill...

ROME, June 18, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – According to the editor-in-chief of the Vatican’s quasi-official newspaper, US President Barack Obama in his pre-presidential voting record may have “made decisions that certainly cannot be defined as pro-life,” but this does not make him “pro-abortion.” “He was, rather, pro-choice,” said L’Osservatore Romano’s Gian Maria Vian. Vian told the National Review Online (NRO), “We have noticed that his entire program prior to his election was more radical than it is revealing itself to be now that he is president. So this is what I meant when I said he didn’t sound like a pro-abortion...

The Catholic Children’s Society (Westminster), whose president is Archbishop Vincent Nichols, will no longer be involved with adoption placement because of legislation that forces adoption agencies to place children with homosexual couples. “The Trustees are convinced that what is best for children is that they be brought up by married couples,” according to a statement from the society. “This is shown by research but it is also consonant with the teaching of the Church. In the unanimous view of the Trustees it would be totally unacceptable for our Catholic agency to act in a way that is at odds with...

A pro-life outreach has started a new prayer campaign hoping for the conversion of pro-abortion Catholic politicians to the pro-life perspective. The web site and outreach OneNationUnderGod is starting the effort today, the feast day of St. Thomas More. Pope John Paul II proclaimed More the patron saint of statesmen and politicians, so June 22 appears to be an appropriate time for prayer for lawmakers who Catholic deviate from the Catholic Church's longstanding pro-life teachings. Lisa Correnti talked with LifeNews.com about the new effort. "In the 1995 encyclical Evangelium vitae, John Paul II reiterates what the Catholic Church has always...

Your acknowledgement of My perspective is your utmost for your highest for My will is your endeavor in and through all things , causing me to be your every breath and in this wisdom you shall not fail me and I shall lift your feet upon my wings that you shall not fall or stumble. So let your yes be Mine and your no be Absolute ! My provision is never in question for it is merely doubt that seemingly would cause to hold back what I have promised and finished on the cross so in this be encouraged you...

Doors are now open for those that will, Not just any door but the ones that fulfill, Every jot and tittle of my word, And fresh prophecies of things never before heard, The rebellious and proud though shall not see, Anything from this tapestry, But as Korah shall be swallowed up, For my wrath shall be their only cup, So tune your hearing upon my will and testimony, Allow all of your flesh to die and you to will see, The grandure of this tapestry, For in my glory you shall share, If in this manner you meet me there,...

First, the lie is spread around with a press release headline: Ohio Catholic Priest Comes OUT as a Drag Queen with a Billboard Dance Hit. Then it builds with more sensationalism in the press release itself: "In celebration of Gay Pride Month, Big Mama Capretta reveals the surprise truth about her identity. By day, Capretta is none other than Father Anthony, a proud practicing Catholic priest from Columbus, Ohio! Big Mama Capretta's new hit single 'Big Mama's House' is currently #25 on the U.S. Billboard Club Play dance chart." Next, the Advocate, an "award-winning LGBT news site", basically copies down...

Monsignor John Esseff is on a mission from God. He hopes to have the Sacred Heart of Jesus enthroned as King of the entire world, family by family, church by church, dioceses by dioceseÂ…country by country. Accompanied by other priests, he is now embarking on a tour to meet with cardinals worldwide to solicit their support to develop an official plan within the Catholic Church to enthrone Jesus as the King of our world and present this plan to the Pope. This may sound idealistic, but with so many friends in high places, my money is on Monsignor. Oh, and...

In the wake of the Notre Dame commencement scandal, Catholic college leaders representing some of the worst violators of the U.S. bishops’ 2004 ban on honoring public opponents of fundamental Catholic teachings are lobbying the bishops to withdraw their policy. Yesterday the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), which represents more than 200 Catholic institutions, released its summer 2009 newsletter, including a report on the ACCU’s board of directors meeting last week. The ACCU directors concluded “that it would be desirable for the [U.S. bishops] to withdraw” their 2004 policy, according to the newsletter. The policy in question is...

What is good if there is no God? Atheists want to know. I'm serious. They'll actually pay to find out, according to The Examiner. In a world without God, good, it would seem to me, could only mean what you or a finite group of people consider good for a certain amount of time. The definition would be perennially up for debate and revotes. But I'm pretty sure $1,000 would be pretty cool for anyone.The United Coalition of Reason is delighted to announce an essay contest as part of our upcoming Good Without God campaign tied not only to a...

Responding to concerns that psychologists might be required to counsel homosexual couples about strengthening their relationship, Catholic leaders in Nebraska are asking for conscience protections for psychologists who refuse to treat or refer clients because of religious or moral convictions. Speaking during a licensing rules hearing before the Board of Mental Health Practice, Nebraska Catholic Conference executive director Jim Cunningham proposed a “convictions of conscience” rule for psychologists. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that he warned that Catholic Charities in Omaha and Catholic Social Services in Lincoln might have to stop hiring licensed counselors and psychologists if they are not...

  Make no mistake: I do not merely hate computers. I loathe, fear, despise, curse, and have constant torture and dismemberment fantasies about them. I know there are others out there like me, an entire unorganized underground. I've talked to some of them, in conspiratorial whispers. We are not cyberterrorists -- viruses hurt us more than anyone else. But we need a support network. We need a manifesto.   This isn't it.   The university that employs me gave every one of its nearly 1,000 professors a free computer. Having had no luck with IBM PCs in the past, I...

The time is now to hear, The message from heaven is upon everyone. The message is LOVE.

Don't know how to post YouTube images. Here is the Link.

The principal of a private Catholic high school testified Monday that it is unreasonable to expect the school to teach Quebec's new ethics and religious culture program without allowing teachers to talk about how the content relates to their religious faith.

The state government of Connecticut might just be the epicenter of state sponsored anti-Catholicism in the country right now. The state is seeking to silence the Catholic Church. Again. Ever since the Church's stance supporting traditional marriage or at least for a conscience clause for religious organizations, many in state government have sought to punish the Church or at least silence it. If you'll recall a few months ago two Democrat state legislators proposed a bill targeting Catholic parishes by instituting elected boards to oversee parishes. This, of course, caused an outrage as the government had no right to intervene...

APOLOGY IN SAN DIEGO IS NOT ENOUGH Words Eye View June 7, 2009 Dr. Greg Dixon Has the Conventicle Returned – Part II Well, the “Prayer Police” in San Diego couldn’t take it, anymore than the “Black Boots” of the State of Missouri could. They were the ones who withdrew their Domestic Terrorism report, with an apology, when they received an avalanche of criticism, after calling the followers of Ron Paul, Bob Barr, Chuck Baldwin and their followers “extremists” to be feared as militia types, who might endanger law enforcement officers or worse, in a report revealed this past March....

A Catholic pro-life group says it has found more proof showing that the Caritas Christi health care system will cover abortions under a new state health plan. Massachusetts state officials awarded a bid which has Caritas Christi Health Care joining with Centene Corporation. The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts tells LifeNews.com today that the approved plan, Celticare Health Plan of Massachusetts, now says on its web site that all three of its Commonwealth Care health plans will include abortion coverage. That means the network of six Catholic hospitals affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston under Caritas Christi will be promoting...

Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand. "When he shall be judged, let him be condemned" (Psalm 109:6,7) In 1986, when I first published "Hidden Prophecies in the Psalms," I was astonished to learn that certain psalms seemed to stand out as clear prophecies of Israel’s return to the land of their forefathers in the last days. For example, Psalms 39-45 offer an incredible view of the Holocaust during World War II; and Psalm 48 introduces the birth of the state of Israel.

Conservatives Who May Forfeit the Protecting Hand of God We have an ever-increasing crowd of leaders who are spoken of as “conservative” who will not defend the historic, traditional mores of the American nation. With them, “conservatism” is either: 1. An unbridled thirst for wealth expansion, open markets—principled or not principled on how their trading partners might use the wealth that it also affords them; some of them being in reality enemies of our free way of life—free trade on libertarian grounds that does not take into account that business people abroad do not have the same definitions of honesty...

TAKE UP YOUR SWORD AND FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT Dr. Paul L. Williams SUNDAY MEDITATION: “For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear,...

Individuals wearing rainbow-colored sashes at the Cathedral of St. Paul on Pentecost Sunday May 31 will not be allowed to receive Communion, according to a statement released by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Statement from the archdiocese The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has released the following statement. The archdiocese has received word that a group dissenting from the church’s teaching on sexuality will be wearing signs of protest (rainbow sashes) at the Cathedral of St. Paul on Pentecost Sunday during the noon Mass. Those wearing such sashes will not be allowed to receive Holy Communion, since...

A San Diego pastor and his wife have been told they cannot have a Bible study in their home. The couple says they were interrogated by a San Diego County official, then threatened with ever increasing fines if they refuse to stop the Bible study. (See news article here) http://www.10news.com/news/19562217/detail.html According to the couple's attorney, they were questioned about the Bible study. "'Do you have a regular meeting in your home?" The pastor's wife replied, "Yes." "Do you say 'amen'?" the official asked. "Yes," she replied. "Do you pray?" Again she said, "Yes." "Do you say 'praise the Lord'?" Another...

I write in reference to the three viewpoints expressed in the Daily Pilot column regarding the visit of President Barack Obama to the University of Notre Dame [“In Theory: Fightin’ Obama’s grad speech,” May 8]. The diverse positions expressed in the Daily Pilot by local Jewish, Protestant and Catholic religious leaders regarding the visit of Obama to the University of Notre Dame as a speaker and honoree reveal the complexity of this question and the legitimacy of varied viewpoints. This variance is found not only between diverse faith communities but also within the community of Roman Catholics. As a Catholic...

Fortitude: - backbone, refers to the strength of character and resoluteness that permits one to face opposition unflinchingly. Go Bibi! During events celebrating the liberation and re-unification of Israel's Capital city of Jerusalem, Prime Minister Netanyahu let the world know-- "Jerusalem will never be divided again."---- yahu, to his credit, has firmly rejected a notion put forward reportedly by Obama, that "UN flags" be flown at the Western Wall. Not long after, the clueless dhimmi French regurgitated this: "The declaration which the Israeli PM issued yesterday derives from prejudice regarding the final status agreement," -Foreign Ministry spokesman Frederic Desagneaux. "In...

Via Gateway Pundit, a stemwinder from last night’s Factor that’s most remarkable for her assumption that it was a viable Catholic institution until this past weekend. William McGurn begs to differ: We’ve been here before. In his response to an inquiry from this reporter, Dennis Brown, the university’s spokesman, wisely ignored a question asking whether “ambiguity” would be the word to describe a similar decision in 1984 to give Mario Cuomo, then governor of New York, the Notre Dame platform he so famously used to advance his personally-opposed-but argument. Or the decision a few years later to bestow its highest...

My Day at Notre Dame Fr. Frank Pavone National Director, Priests for Life Listen to the audio of this column Fr. Frank's columns are podcast.  Click here for more information.See pictures of this event There was an eerie stillness and silence across the Notre Dame campus as my colleagues, a few of the seniors and I walked across the campus very early on the morning of Commencement Day. It was the calm before the storm of what we knew was an historic day. I started with a national Foxnews interview along with Fr. Richard McBrien. We were asked our views...

STATEMENTS BY ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT  PDF Version (click here to download)May 18, 2009Archbishop Chaput on Notre Dame and the issues that remain  "I have found that even among those who did not go to Notre Dame, even among those who do not share the Catholic faith, there is a special expectation, a special hope, for what Notre Dame can accomplish in the world."~ Reverend John Jenkins, C.S.C., May 17, 2009 Most graduation speeches are a mix of piety and optimism designed to ease students smoothly into real life.  The best have humor.  Some genuinely inspire.  But only a rare few manage to be...

PRESIDENT Barack Obama yesterday tackled America's fiery abortion debate head-on, appealing for considered, open-minded debate.Amid angry protests in which 40 people were arrested, the president made his most extensive public comments yet on the sensitive question of whether abortion should be permitted by law. "At some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable," Mr Obama said. "Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction, but surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature." He was speaking at the University of Notre Dame commencement ceremony, during which...

Notre DameÂ’s Kabuki Dance with Obama and the Culture of Death: The Keynesian Kenyan from Kansas Meets the Kantians Notre DameÂ’s Kabuki dance with Obama and the culture of death moves into full swing this weekend. Everyone should watch the steps of this tango very carefully as the Keynesian Kenyan from Kansas boogies down with the Kantians for some Transcendental Twister on the South Bend campus. Although some students and professors will boycott the commencement lovefest and attend a prayer vigil at the Lourdes Grotto on campus instead, the damage to Notre Dame will still be done and observers of...

In a speech to a convention in Washington, DC, the US Vice President Joe Biden said Israel must stop building in Judea and Samaria and in fact should dismantle existing outposts in the West Bank allowing for freedom of movement for the Palestinian people. These remarks from Vice President Biden drew a response from a member of the Israeli Knesset, Ketzaleh Katz, that the vice president should be a bit more careful when giving instructions to a sovereign democratic state and should have more respect for the Bible, the people of the Bible and the land of the Bible.

Starting on the National Day of Prayer, May 7, 2009, Rev. John Corapi, S.O.L.T. and The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) are leading a national prayer campaign for Catholic higher education and an end to the scandal caused by the University of Notre Dame’s decision to honor pro-abortion President Barack Obama at commencement on May 17, 2009. “The Cardinal Newman Society’s work to renew Catholic higher education has been ongoing for 16 years,” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of CNS. “We encourage prayers from Catholics across the nation that the energy of protest will be directed to the larger task of...

A Catholic state legislator in Texas has introduced shocking new legislation that would effectively reduce infanticide to a fineable offense for the first 12 months of a baby's life. The bill states that if a mother kills her own child within the child's first 12 months of life due to past partum depression, the murder would be downgraded and punishable by relatively short jail stay and/or a fine. The bill, according to the House Committee Report, would amend the Penal Code relating to the punishment stage of a trial in which a defendant is guilty of causing the death of...

The 6th Annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast will take place on May 8, 2009: 6th Annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast Mass Thursday, May 7, 6:30 pm The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle 1725 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W. ---- National Catholic Prayer Breakfast Friday, May 8 - 7:45 am Hilton Washington 1919 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. (Doors open at 6:45 am - Rosary at 7:15 am) Among those who already believe this event to be just some "right-wing" Catholic gathering organized by "stalwart Republican operatives" to "advance the divisive partisanship of the right and seek to hijack Catholic teaching for the...

Taliban Islamic radicals have attacked a community of Christians, executing two of them following a rally that protested Muslim graffiti in their neighborhood that ordered them to accept Islam or die, according to an international Christian organization. The attack in Pakistan follows only by days an expansion of the territory occupied by the Islamic Taliban members. The report from International Christian Concern said it happened in Taseer Town in Karachi. The organization, which reaches out to persecuted Christians around the world, said it was told by Asif Stephen, a Christian politician, that the Christians protesting the Islamic slogans say:...

In a ruling that is sure to cause more headaches than the left realizes, a British judge has ruled in favor of a man who was fired on grounds that he was unfairly dismissed due to religious views. Judge David Sneath ruled that an executive fired from a property company can claim he was unfairly dismissed because of his "philosophical belief in climate change". The judge ruled that Global Warming was the man's religion and thus his right to religious expression was violated when they fired him.

Take a moment to look at this video, it will alarm you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU I can't verify the stats given, but have no reason to doubt them.