Free Republic

Rodé: "Feminism" Drove Visitation Following up on his Tuesday clarification concerning the Apostolic Visitation of US womens' communities, the Vatican's Religious Czar amplified his thought-process on the evaluation yesterday in an interview with Vatican Radio. Shown above greeting sisters of a more traditional stripe on a March visit to an Italian seminary specializing in the "extraordinary form" of the Roman rite, Cardinal Franc Rodé's significant points were summarized by The Tablet's Rome correspondent, Robert Mickens, in a dispatch e.mailed around earlier today: The official that initiated the Vatican's investigation of women religious in the United States admitted this week...

Cardinal: Pumpkins, Not Crucifixes? Responds to European Court Decision on Schools VATICAN CITY, NOV. 5, 2009 (Zenit.org).- In European schools, crucifixes are prohibited but Halloween pumpkins are promoted, observed Benedict XVI's Secretary of State. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone stated this in response to the Tuesday decision of the European Court of Human Rights, which called for the removal of Christian symbols from public school classrooms. "This Europe of the third millennium only leaves us the pumpkins of the feasts repeatedly celebrated and takes away from us our most cherished symbols," said the cardinal in an article published in L'Osservatore Romano. He...

Inches short and a half too late would be the best way to sum up the Texans’ latest loss. Down by a touchdown and three tries from just outside the Cardinals' 1-yard line, the Texans were in what appeared to be a perfect situation to tie up the game and take their chances in overtime.

LOS ANGELES -- The game turned on the glove of the left fielder, and we're not talking about Manny Ramirez. St. Louis' Matt Holliday dropped James Loney's slicing line drive with two outs in the bottom of the ninth that would have ended the game. With the reprieve, Ronnie Belliard singled off Ryan Franklin to tie the score and pinch-hitter Mark Loretta singled home Casey Blake for a stunning 3-2 Dodgers win over the Cardinals in Game 2 of the NL Division Series. In the winning rally, Holliday's error was followed by a Blake walk, Belliard's RBI single, a passed...

Anybody watching the Colts vs. the Cardinals? Slow news night here. Old Colts fan here (from back in the Johnny Unitas days) Just watching if anyone else is - join in.

NEW YORK (AP)—Andy Pettitte and the New York Yankees wrapped up the AL East title and home-field advantage throughout the postseason with a neat bow, beating the Boston Red Sox 4-2 Sunday for their 100th win of the year. Hideki Matsui’s go-ahead single in the sixth inning energized the damp fans and put them on notice that a party was coming. The first real celebration at the new Yankee Stadium began with a most familiar scene—Mariano Rivera(notes) on the mound, closing out another clinching victory.

The most lasting image of Matt Holliday remains a winning experience, his face-plant slide scoring the deciding run in the Colorado Rockies' playoff win over the San Diego Padres to reach the 2007 postseason. The most recent image, developed in the 22 months since, is of a player constantly exposed to "learning experiences." Those experiences include the Rockies' hard fall after reaching the '07 World Series, his refusal to accept a four-year, $72 million extension and a curious subsequent trade to a small-market American League team that flipped him to St. Louis as part of the Oakland A's latest reinvention....

On Today's Show... July 15, 2009   This President Throws Like a Girl  (Rush 24/7 Members:  Listen) He may be an athletic supporter, but that pitch didn't make it over the plate. It just didn't. » Video:  Obama Pitches It » Video:  George W. Bush Throws a Strike Just After 9/11 » S&L: Fox Hides Fact Obama Throws Like Girl » Andy McCarthy:  Meet Me in St. Booie!   Obama called Comiskey Park "Cominsky Field." Must be 'cause he was raised by communists.   State-Run Media Reports Limbaugh Effect on Sonia Sotomayor Hearings   "If I were advising these Senators like the press...

Stan Musial, the greatest Cardinal of them all, met up with Albert Pujols, the greatest Cardinal of now and perhaps of a very long time, for an All-Star photo session one day recently. Between the photo clicks, the picture that emerged was one of two St. Louis baseball icons from different eras with an admiration for each other. They traded tips on hitting, joked about their salaries and golf games and showed appreciation for a baseball bat as only two sluggers of their stature could. Musial, who appeared in 24 All-Star Games and is expected to play a key role...

A panel of theological consultors agreed unanimously that the inexplicable healing of an American man who was "bent double" by a severe spinal disorder came as a result of praying to Newman for a miracle, according to sources. Their decision was the final hurdle before Pope Benedict XVI can declare him "Blessed". snip... A panel of medical experts had earlier concluded there was no scientific explanation for the healing.

Washington D.C., Mar 17, 2009 / 02:34 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Francis George has issued a video message asking Catholics to tell the Obama Administration to retain a conscience protection rule for pro-life health care workers. Its preservation is vital to keep the government from “moving our country from democracy to despotism,” he said. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation, implemented in the final months of the George W. Bush presidency, made explicit the existing legal protections for medical workers and institutions who object to cooperating in abortions. On Feb. 27, the White House’s Office of Management...

USCCB News Release 09-052 March 9, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Executive Order on Embryonic Stem Cells 'A Sad Victory of Politics over Science and Ethics,' Says Cardinal Rigali WASHINGTON—Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, today called President Obama's executive order on embryonic stem cell research "a sad victory of politics over science and ethics." Under the order, for the first time in U.S. history, federal tax dollars will be used to encourage researchers to destroy live human embryos for stem cell research. Cardinal Rigali also cited a January 16 letter in...

Tuesday March 10, 2009 Christians Falling under Global Campaign of "Bullying and Intimidation": Cardinal at Oxford Warns modern secularist liberalism now "has strong totalitarian tendencies" By Hilary WhiteOXFORD, March 10, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - There is a growing culture of suppression among secularist governments that is using the doctrine of "tolerance and diversity" to push Christians entirely out of public life, Australia's Cardinal Pell told an audience at Oxford University this weekend. The Australian cardinal said during an address at the university that human rights and anti-discrimination legislation is being used as a weapon against Christians and Christian opinion in...

http://www.zenit.org/article-25211?l=english ZE09022605 - 2009-02-26Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-25211?l=englishCardinal Sees Long Road Ahead With Greek Orthodox Unity-Council Leader Says Everything Can't be Resolved in 1 Day VATICAN CITY, FEB. 26, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The cardinal in charge of Vatican efforts to seek Christian unity expressed satisfaction at a meeting with a Greek Orthodox leader, even though he recognized that the path to full unity with that Church is still long. Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, expressed this to Vatican Radio after his visit this week to Ieronymos II, leader of the Greek Orthodox Church. The cardinal and archbishop...

Pope expresses his ‘great sadness’ at death of Vietnamese cardinal Cardinal Paul Joseph Pham Dinh Tung Vatican City, Feb 23, 2009 / 11:13 am (CNA).- The retired archbishop of Hanoi, Cardinal Paul Joseph Pham Dinh Tung, who endured years of house arrest under the Vietnamese Communist regime, passed away on Saturday at the age of 89.Cardinal Tung was born on June 15, 1919 in Bình-Hòa, Vietnam. At the age of 29 he was ordained to the priesthood and was made the Bishop of Bac Ninh on April 5, 1963. On March 23, 1994 he became the archbishop of Hanoi, a...

IN the hushed Apostolic Palace off St Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict XVI starts the day with a 7am mass in his private chapel, followed by a lone breakfast. No press summary is brought to him. He meets a few visitors in the morning and then, after a lunch served on gold-rimmed plates bearing his seal, retires to his study to write speeches and read theological works throughout the afternoon and evening.

Cardinal Bertone says 'God is source and guarantor of all rights' Madrid, Feb 7, 2009 / 12:04 am (CNA).- The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said this week, “When the Magisterium of the Church speaks about human rights she does not forget to base them on God, the source and guarantor of all rights, nor does she forget to root them in the natural law.” During a speech marking the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the offices of the Bishops’ Conference of Spain in Madrid, the cardinal recalled, “The source of rights is...

NEW YORK -- Upon further review, Nielsen Media Research now says that the Arizona-Pittsburgh Super Bowl game was the most-watched in history. NFL.com Video The Steelers defeat the Cardinals 27-23 in one of the most memorable Super Bowls ever. Nielsen said 98.7 million people, on average, were watching Pittsburgh's exciting 27-23 victory Sunday night. That beats the 97.5 million who watched the 2008 game, which held the record for most popular Super Bowl. On Monday, Nielsen had reported that this year's game had 95.4 million viewers -- impressive, but not a record-setter. Nielsen explained the discrepancy of more than 3...

The Steelers-Cardinals matchup wasn't considered an ideal one for television, but its finish riveted an estimated audience of 95.4 million people, second only to last year's game as the most-watched Super Bowl. Viewership peaked in the fourth quarter, when Arizona took the lead on Larry Fitzgerald's 64-yard catch and sprint to the end zone only to have it snatched back when Santonio Holmes' end zone leap gave the Steelers the 27-23 win. More than 100 million Americans were watching between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. EST, according to Nielsen Media Research. The game was the third most-watched program in American...

(excerpted)... According to NFL VP of Officiating Mike Pereira, the replay official upstairs did see the play clearly. “We confirmed it was a fumble,” said Pereira. “The replay assistant in the replay booth saw it was clearly a fumble. The ball got knocked loose and was rolling in his hand before it started forward. He has to have total control.”

John Force enjoys and thrills fans at Super Bowl John Force signed for fans for more than three hours at the ESPN Consumer Village. Force also talked with a fan via cell phone. Force talks racing and football with Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell. Fourteen-time NHRA Funny Car world champion John Force never won a football game as a high school quarterback. But Saturday he was at the epicenter of the football universe. He did not disappoint the thousands of fans that were in Tampa to enjoy the Super Bowl XLIII festivities at the ESPN The Magazine NEXT Consumer Village....

Kurt Warner intrinsically understands that life is full of triumph and defeat and that you must find a way to navigate through both. It is a safe bet that no one picked the Arizona Cardinals to reach the Super Bowl during NFL pre-season last summer. If someone had picked the Cardinals to play in the big game it is very unlikely that someone would have counted on Kurt Warner being the starting quarterback. Yet this Sunday it will be the 37-year-old Warner who will attempt to lead the Cardinals to their first ever Super Bowl and first title for the...

SUPER BOWL XLIII LIVE THREAD PITTSBURGH STEELERS VS. ARIZONA CARDINALS 6:00PM ET - NBC

President Obama endorses the Black & Gold President Barack Obama just found the perfect way to win over the bitter gun clingers of Western Pennsylvania; endorsing the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Arizona Cardinals in this week’s upcoming Super Bowl game.

PHOENIX -- The mayor of Phoenix blew his nose into a Terrible Towel and then threw it to the ground at a send-off rally for the Cardinals in Phoenix on Monday. On Tuesday night, he apologized for his actions. Mayor Phil Gordon said, "At no time did anyone intend, in any way, to offend the Steelers organization and their many fans, supporters and traditions."

They are echoes now. They are as faint on the Chicago popscape as "Kelly for Mayor" posters, wrestling at the Marigold Gardens and "The National Barn Dance" on WLS-AM. But last Sunday, when Kurt Warner engineered the touchdown drive that pushed the Arizona Cardinals into a thoroughly improbable berth in Super Bowl XLIII, those echoes once again sounded 'round the pinnacle of the National Football League. That's because for 40 seasons, from 1920 to '59, in incarnations both hopeful and hopeless, the Cardinals represented the South Side of Chicago in the NFL.

NOTE: For those who don't get it, Jesus is not rooting for any particular team. When players say that they thank God or say they thank Jesus, they are thanking our Creator for giving them the strength to use the talent God gave them and to be the best they can be. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ GLENDALE, Ariz. -- That's not a mirage rising out of the desert, folks. It's the Arizona Cardinals soaring to their first Super Bowl. Yes, the Cardinals, founding members of the NFL, but historically among the most dysfunctional of franchises, finally have joined the big boys. Capitalizing on...

@ 3:00PM ET - FOX @ 6:30PM ET - CBS

Portuguese cardinal warns against marrying Muslims Lisbon, Jan 16, 2009 / 01:31 pm (CNA).- The Patriarch of Lisbon, Cardinal Jose Policarpo, warned the women of Portugal this Wednesday of the problems that can arise from marriage with Portuguese men of the Muslim faith.During an interview with Portuguese Radio and Television, Cardinal Policarpo addressed the thorny issue of growing Muslim immigration on the Iberian peninsula and the resulting increase in mixed marriages.“I suggest caution with love. Think twice before marrying a Muslim, think about it seriously,” he said, adding such unions invite a host of problems that “not even Allah knows...

This coming Sunday, Gov. Edward G. Rendell will be all out for both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers in their NFL conference championship games. But if both teams happen to win, well, then it is all Eagles. Rendell told the New York Times that he has to be loyal. “If it costs me some political points, that’s life.” Rendell is a rabid Eagles fan, and is pretty sure that rabid Steelers fans would understand his Eagle loyalty. “The casual fans might be upset, but I don’t care,” he said. During World War II, the Steelers and the Eagles...

2008 NFL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF WEEKEND LIVE THREAD January 10th - 4:30PM ET @ January 10th - 8:15PM ET @ January 11th - 1:00PM ET @ January 11th - 4:45PM ET @

Prague - Twenty years following the fall of communism the Czech Republic is at EU's helm. But so far the EU member states have failed to agree on the form of the EU constitution. Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, the head of the Czech Roman Catholic Church, is adamant that behind the failure to adopt the euro-treaty is the absence of what Europe feels natural about - Christian values. "When the Irish said No to the Lisbon Treaty, they said it because the European Union and Lisbon Treaty have dropped the Christian roots," said Cardinal Vlk in an interview for Aktuálně.cz. Cardinal...

The Cardinal asks the Bishops to follow the example of Saint Stephen the first Martyr and not compromise with the Regime. Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - The bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, has asked all of the (official) bishops of China to be courageous, and not slip into compromises with the regime. In an article in the January 4 edition of the diocesan weekly Gong Jiaobao, he urges Chinese bishops and priests to have the virtues of Saint Stephen, the first martyr, and not to submit constantly to directions of the state that are contrary to the faith: "to...

Atlanta at Arizona (pk) Saturday January 3rd, 2009 NBC 4:30pm EST Indianapolis at San Diego (+1) Saturday January 3rd, 2009 NBC 8:00pm EST Baltimore at Miami (+3) Sunday January 4th, 2009 CBS, 1pm EST Philadelphia at Minnesota (+3) Sunday January 4th, 2009 FOX, 4pm EST

Cardinal Denounces “Homosexual Ideology” Written by Luiz Sergio Solimeo    Thursday, December 18 2008 In a book recently published in Italy, Sheep and Shepherds, the archbishop emeritus of Bologna, Giacomo Cardinal Biffi, denounces the “homosexual ideology.�[1] In a scholarly but clear and accessible chapter on chastity, the Cardinal points out that, while keeping the respect due to persons, one must have a “necessary repudiation of any exalted ideology of homosexuality.�[2] Basing himself primarily on the writings of Saint Paul, the Cardinal deals with homosexuality from the broader standpoint of a Christian vision of human sexuality and the need for...

O felix culpa. It was a happy mistake that led to my meeting Father Avery Dulles. I had written a book review for the National Catholic Register in the fall of 1999 and had incorrectly identified some misbehaving priest as a Jesuit. Father Dulles, always alert to unjustified attacks upon the Society of Jesus...

On Sept. 11, 2001, Cardinal Dulles was scheduled for the daily Mass at the chapel of Fordham University in the Bronx. Only hours after the terror attacks a few miles south in Manhattan, he was reluctant to preach that day, thinking that someone else might better address the enormous congregation of students expected....

What does it mean to kneel before the Most Holy Sacrament? What does it mean to kneel during the consecration at Mass? It means adoration, it means recognizing the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist; it means respect and an attitude of faith of a man who prostrates before God because he knows that everything comes from Him, and we feel speechless, dumbfounded, before the wondrousness, his goodness, and his mercy.

Cardinal Canizares: ‘It is my duty in charity to communicate the Church’s teachings’ Cardinal Antonio Canizares Madrid, Dec 16, 2008 / 02:31 pm (CNA).- In an interview with the Spanish daily La Razon, the new prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, Cardinal Antonio Canizares, said, “It is my duty in charity as a service to mankind and to society to communicate the Church’s teachings” in response to laws that are contrary to man and the Christian faith. Cardinal Canizares, who will continue to serve for a brief period as Archbishop of Toledo also stated, “I am not speaking out...

Christmas is about Christ, not gifts, cardinal reminds Catholics Guatemala City, Dec 12, 2008 / 08:00 pm (CNA).-  The Archbishop of Guatemala, Cardinal Rodolfo Quezada Toruno, called on the faithful in that country not to reduce Christmas to the mere “exchanging of gifts” and to keep in mind that “Christ must be the irreplaceable and only focus of our Christmas celebrations.” In his pastoral exhortation for Advent and Christmas, the archbishop stated, “It is not possible to reduce it to an occasion for extraordinary purchases, to the exchanging of gifts, to a children’s festivity or a simple excuse for profane...

Bioethics Document Released Here’s what Cardinal Francis George of Chicago said about Dignitas Personae, the new Vatican instruction on bioethics released today: “We welcome the Instruction as theologians, medical personnel, researchers and married couples consider new scientific and medical procedures that have profound ethical implications bearing upon the procreation of children and the integrity of marriage,” said Cardinal George in a Dec. 12 statement issued in his capacity as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Added Cardinal George, “We applaud developments which advance medical progress with respect for the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception....

The cardinal made his comments during an interview on the issue of new mosques and Islamic cultural centers being built in areas and cities that for centuries have been traditionally Christian.

Good news from Rome today, courtesy of Fr Z. The Pope has appointed Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera - known as "Little Ratzinger" - as the new Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship.

Granting that secularism has led to some increased acceptance of Catholics, he criticized the new intolerance directed against those who maintain pro-life and pro-family views.

Following the implementation of a U.K. law requiring adoption agencies to serve homosexual couples, Cardinal Keith O’Brien has resigned as head of the St. Andrew’s Children’s Society.

In a statement the bishops condemned “this action against life and freedom,” and recalled that “terrorism is a radical No to the law of God and to the most basic aspect of the dignity of the human person.”

Cardinal Martini’s book gives scandal to the faithful, archbishop says Archbishop Hector Aguer of the La Plata La Plata, Dec 2, 2008 / 11:39 pm (CNA).- Archbishop Hector Aguer of the La Plata in Argentina said on Monday that the new book by Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, “Nocturnal Conversations in Jerusalem,” “casts doubt on truths and practices” continuously taught by the Church.During his program “Keys to a Better World,” the archbishop said that in his book, Cardinal Martini casts doubt on “truths and practices permanently upheld by the Church, such as the celibacy of priests, priestly ordination reserved to men...

"..the U.N., which was founded in 1948 and proclaimed a solemn, first right: life. Sixty years later a woman has the right to kill her child. What have we come to? That was either a trick or this is just a comedy,.."

Cardinal Francis Arinze, who heads the Vatican office for sacraments, says the pope may move the placement of the sign of peace, where congregation members shake hands or hug.

- The Tower Newspaper - http://www.cuatower.com - Cardinal Stafford Stands by Criticism of Obama Posted By Ryan J. Reilly On November 21, 2008 @ 10:40 am In News, Web Extra | 5 Comments Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See, is standing by controversial comments he made about President-elect Barack Obama during an on-campus lecture last Thursday. In an address hosted by the John Paul II Institute on Marriage and Family, Stafford called President-elect Barack Obama’s policies “aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic,” said that his election was “a cultural earthquake” and that Obama campaigned...