Free Republic

Vespers, April 15, 2019. Monday of Holy Week.

In recent months allegations and admissions of child abuse by priests have shaken the Roman Catholic Church to its core, as a continuous stream of cases has surfaced across Western Europe and beyond. The Vatican has defended itself by suggesting this is a problem that affects society as a whole, and that the Church has now taken steps to deal with it - an approach that has often provoked more anger and frustration among critics who believe it systematically covered up many cases. With allegations still surfacing, there is no conclusive account of the extent of Catholic abuse worldwide or...

MIT BRENNENDER SORGE ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS XI ON THE CHURCH AND THE GERMAN REICH TO THE VENERABLE BRETHREN THE ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS OF GERMANY AND OTHER ORDINARIES IN PEACE AND COMMUNION WITH THE APOSTOLIC SEE. Venerable Brethren, Greetings, and Apostolic Blessing. It is with deep anxiety and growing surprise that We have long been following the painful trials of the Church and the increasing vexations which afflict those who have remained loyal in heart and action in the midst of a people that once received from St. Boniface the bright message and the Gospel of Christ and God's Kingdom....

PORTLAND, OR, March 1, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - "It is categorically impossible for the same person to state that he or she believes simultaneously both what the Catholic Church teaches and that abortion is just a choice," says Bishop Robert Vasa in a column released today by the Catholic Sentinel, the diocesan newspaper of the Archdiocese of Portland and the Diocese of Baker. Although Vasa, the Bishop of Baker, did not mention her by name, he was referring in his column to Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi specifically, and to all politicians of a similar ilk in general. "Some...

Meet the liberated college woman. You may pity her. "Unprotected" is a hard slap at the sexual free-for-all that prevails on American campuses and throughout American life. The author, revealed since publication as Dr. Miriam Grossman, a psychiatrist at the student health service at UCLA, was hesitant to put her name on this book. The orthodoxy within the academic world is a strict one, and those who transgress often pay with their jobs. Let's hope for her sake, but particularly for her patients' well being, that she is not punished for her heterodox views. What does Dr. Grossman believe that...

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican (news - web sites) warned Catholic women on Friday to think hard before marrying a Muslim and urged Muslims to show more respect for human rights, gender equality and democracy. Calling women "the least protected member of the Muslim family," it spoke of the "bitter experience" western Catholics had with Muslim husbands, especially if they married outside the Islamic world and later moved to his country of origin. The comments in a document about migrants around the world were preceded by remarks about points of agreement between Christians and Muslims but they seemed likely...

Two families of the victims of the Columbine High School massacre have sued the school for declining to install their memorial to their children. The families, which were invited by the school to make a statement on ceramic tile, crafted such religious themes as crosses and biblical verses. But the Jefferson County School District objected, saying that this would violate separation of church and state. William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, remarked as follows: "Had the parents plopped some dung on their memorial tribute, school officials would have readily accepted it. That is because it is entirely legal to ...