Free Republic

Professor Ratzinger goes back to school. After Islam last year, Darwin topic this year Evolution will be the focus of the upcoming seminar between the pope and his former students in Castel Gandolfo. Meanwhile, Jesuit scholar Christian W. Troll has updated his analysis of progressive Muslim thinkers by Sandro Magister ROMA, August 2, 2006 – This year’s Ratzinger-Schülerkreis seminar will focus on "Schöpfung und Evolution", creation and evolution. The private meeting is set for Saturday, September 2, and Sunday, September 3, at the Pontifical Villa in the pope's summer residence of Castel Gandolfo (see photo). The Ratzinger-Schülerkreis, that is the...

Hawaiian soldier killed in Iraq had been considering religious life By Patrick Downes and Lehia Apana Catholic News Service HONOLULU (CNS) -- Family and friends said a U.S. soldier from Hawaii who was killed in Iraq on Christmas Eve felt honored to serve her country but that she also was contemplating a different kind of service -- religious life. Sister Susan John Kraus, a Daughter of St. Paul, said Sgt. Myla Maravillosa was thinking of joining her order. She said it was clear from her e-mails that Maravillosa "was growing in her spiritual life" and that "her relationship with the...

TOKYO (Reuters) - A middle-aged Tokyo man found to be living with 10 younger women said he attracted them by reciting an incantation that came to him in a dream. The 57-year-old man's unusual living arrangements came to light when another woman complained to police that he had threatened her after she refused to join his harem, Kyodo news agency said on Wednesday. "I had a dream that told me I would become attractive to women if I recited a particular incantation," it quoted the man as saying. A rapid series of weddings and divorces left the man with a...

Pius XII as a "Righteous Gentile" Scholar Ronald Rychlak Defends Wartime Pope JACKSON, Mississippi, JAN. 11, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Despite what some modern critics say, Pope Pius XII launched a multifaceted response to the Nazi campaign against the Jews. So says, Ronald Rychlak, an adviser to the Holy See's delegation to the United Nations, University of Mississippi law professor and author of "Righteous Gentiles: How Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church Saved Half a Million Jews from the Nazis" (HREF="http://www.spencepublishing.com/books/index.cfm?action=Product&ProductID=88">Spence). Rychlak shared with ZENIT some of the information he has amassed in defense of Pius XII and the Church, and...

Atheist Now Sues to Take Motto Off Money By DAVID KRAVETS, Associated Press Writer An atheist who has spent four years trying to ban the Pledge of Allegiance from being recited in public schools is now challenging the motto printed on U.S. currency because it refers to God. Michael Newdow seeks to remove "In God We Trust" from U.S. coins and dollar bills, claiming in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that the motto is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. Newdow, a Sacramento doctor and lawyer, used a similar argument when he challenged the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools because...

Pope blesses 'John Paul' TV movie Fri Nov 18, 2005 4:53 AM ET By Peter Kiefer ROME (Hollywood Reporter) - It was a meeting of Hollywood and the holy Thursday as the Vatican hosted the world premiere of the TV movie "Pope John Paul II" with Pope Benedict XVI in attendance. The cavernous Paul VI Hall was near capacity with about 6,000 on hand for the reduced version of the three-part series that will air December 4-6 on CBS. "I would like to extend my gratitude to the actors for honoring the memory of my illustrious and loved predecessor," the...

The Pink City Local tourism officials plan on turning Tel Aviv into the gay capital of the world; Israel Hotel Association official: Tel Aviv and gay people are a perfect fit Danny Sadeh Tel Aviv is known throughout the world as “The White City” due to the many Bauhaus-style structures that adorn its streets, but the city may soon be called “The Pink City,” as tourism industry heads are planning on transforming the city into the gay capital of the world, Israel’s leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. “Tel Aviv and gay people are a perfect fit,” an Israel Hotel Association...