Free Republic

The Secret Suicides of Oregon Health & SpiritualityApril 2nd, 2012 Michael Cook Oregon’s public health division has released statistics on deaths under its physician-assisted suicide (PAS) legislation. It shows a steady increase in the number of lethal prescriptions and in the number of deaths. In 1998, the first year after PAS was legalised, there were 24 prescriptions and 16 deaths. In 2011, there were 114 prescriptions and 71 deaths. A total of 935 people have had lethal prescriptions and 596 have died.The Physicians for Compassionate Care Education Foundation, a staunch foe of the legislation, analysed the 2011 figures. Here are some of its...

 Contraceptionby Sebastian R. FamaDiscussions on subjects such as the Trinity or the Eucharist can usually be kept on the intellectual level. But when it comes to a subject like contraception a person’s position may be influenced by forces beyond mere intellect. That’s because what people believe on this issue can have a profound impact on their lives. Consequently, people aren’t always willing to consider the arguments against contraception.Up until 1930, all Christian bodies taught that contraception was illicit. At that time the Anglican Church decided that it was permissible for "grave reasons in a marriage." It wasn’t long before "grave...

NOTRE DAME, Indiana, March 30, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The University of Notre Dame has stood by its decision to publish a list of “internship opportunities” on its website that includes pro-abortion and leftist organizations, while one professor at the school has lashed out at members of the conservative group petitioning against the listing, calling them “monsters.” TFP Student Action, the conservative watchdog group that is leading a 10,000-strong petition against the school’s inclusion of pro-abortion groups on an internship web page, reported Friday that not only had Notre Dame kept the listings, but that the school was found to have...

Featured Term (selected at random):AUTHORITY The right of a society to direct and compel the members to co-operate toward the attainment of the end of that society. Ultimately all authority in a society comes from God but in different ways, depending on the kind of society. In a conventional society, founded by the free agreement of men and women who set its purpose and choose its means, God is the final source of authority, but indirectly, in the sense that he is the source of everything. He created the persons who form the society and gave them the faculties by...

April 2, 2012   Monday of Holy Week   Reading 1 Is 42:1-7 Here is my servant whom I uphold,my chosen one with whom I am pleased,Upon whom I have put my Spirit;he shall bring forth justice to the nations,Not crying out, not shouting,not making his voice heard in the street.A bruised reed he shall not break,and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,Until he establishes justice on the earth;the coastlands will wait for his teaching. Thus says God, the LORD,who created the heavens and stretched them out,who spreads out the earth with its crops,Who gives breath to its...

 Abstinenceby Sebastian R. FamaThe concept of sexual abstinence is not as popular as it once was. Tragically, even some Church goers have little or no regard for it. They choose to follow the lead of pop culture rather than the teachings of their faith. Even so, most men and women, at least subconsciously, believe that fornication (sex outside of marriage) is wrong.The standard defense for condoning fornication is usually a variation of the following: "There’s nothing wrong with sleeping with someone you really love. " Curiously, the same men who say this to their girlfriends say the opposite to their...

If the Health Care Mandate is Unconstitutional, Then What? PoliticsMarch 30th, 2012 David J. Porter Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Neither Porter nor his firm are involved in the ACA litigation. This summer, the Supreme Court will decide whether Congress violated the Constitution when it enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which contains an “individual mandate” requiring virtually every American to purchase health insurance. Based on the Constitution’s text and structure, and judicial interpretations of the relevant provisions, the mandate should be struck down. Pennsylvania is one of 26 states to have...

Whoever Exalts Himself Will Be Humbled… Mar 6th, 2012by Gary Zimak.  …but whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:12)Whether it involves our practice of attending daily Mass, praying the rosary or performing charitable acts, the Lord’s words are clear. Being Catholic involves A LOT more than just thoughts and words. While all of these spiritual practices are essential parts of our faith, we have to remember that we’re also called to LOVE and SERVE one another. Jesus gave us the supreme example of what it means to serve. One of the best ways to serve is to SHARE what...

A PRIEST has denied knowing how gay porn images appeared on a screen during a presentation he was giving to parents of children preparing for First Communion. Fr Martin McVeigh was setting up the PowerPoint display when the explicit sex scenes flashed up on the screen. He was about to give a talk to the parents of First Communicants but abandoned the presentation after the pornographic images appeared. One of those present said the pictures appeared on the screen after the priest put a USB memory stick into the computer at St Mary's School in Pomeroy, Co Tyrone. "There were...

April 1, 2012   Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord   At the Procession with Palms - Gospel Mk 11:1-10 When Jesus and his disciples drew near to Jerusalem,to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives,he sent two of his disciples and said to them,"Go into the village opposite you,and immediately on entering it,you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat.Untie it and bring it here.If anyone should say to you,'Why are you doing this?' reply,'The Master has need of itand will send it back here at once.'"So they went offand...

U.S. Bishops, Other Denominations File Amicus Curiae Brief In Supreme Court Case Of Arizona Vs. United States. WASHINGTON—The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and several other Christian denominations filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Arizona vs. United States, supporting the principle that the federal government controls the enactment and implementation of the nation’s immigration laws. The March 26 brief argued that the federal government is in the best position to protect the well-established goals of family unity and human dignity in the nation’s immigration system. The brief also made the case...

 The Raptureby Sebastian R. Fama"The Rapture" is a term that is used by Bible Christians to describe the belief that at some point in time Jesus will come, and all true believers will literally rise up and meet Him in the air and be whisked away to heaven. All non-believers will remain on the earth to be dealt with later. The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus will come and judge the living and the dead. The righteous will be saved and the unrighteous will suffer eternal damnation. No one will be left on the earth. Belief in such a rapture...

Part Two: Happiness: The first three Beatitudes PETER KREEFTChrist proposes a vision of happiness which is the exact opposite of what everyone in the post-Christian West assumes to be the sources of the greatest happiness in life. Blessed are the Poor in Spirit We say how blessed we are as individuals or as a nation when we have wealth. He says no, you are blessed when you are poor. Poor not only in your bank account, but even more than that, not less, poor down to the depths of your heart, poor in spirit, detached from riches, whether you are physically...

The Apostles and the Priesthood ~ Part 4   “Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent Him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation. Since ‘without faith it is impossible to please [God]’ (Heb 11:16)” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 161). We receive our faith from the teaching of the Apostles, which has been handed down to us through Scripture and sacred Tradition. Embracing the faith implies the dedication of our whole lives to the object of our faith, the Blessed Trinity. For “faith is a personal adherence of the whole man to God...

March 31, 2012   Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent   Reading 1 Ez 37:21-28 Thus says the Lord GOD:I will take the children of Israel from among the nationsto which they have come,and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land.I will make them one nation upon the land,in the mountains of Israel,and there shall be one prince for them all. Never again shall they be two nations,and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms. No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols,their abominations, and all their transgressions. I will deliver...

 Call No Man Fatherby Sebastian R. Fama"Call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:9-12). This passage is often quoted in opposition to the practice of calling priests father. However, Jesus is dealing with a much different issue. He is pointing out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. In verses 6 and 7...

Happiness: Ancient and Modern Concepts of Happiness PETER KREEFTMy topic today is Jesus' concept of happiness. And we must begin with the dullest and most necessary preliminary: defining our term. Ancient and Modern Concepts of HappinessMy topic today is Jesus' concept of happiness. And we must begin with the dullest and most necessary preliminary: defining our term. Nearly everyone, from Aristotle to Freud, agrees that we all seek happiness, and that we seek it as an end, not as a means. No one seeks happiness for any other reason. We argue about other things, but not about happiness. We may say,...

BOSTON (Reuters) - A small Massachusetts Roman Catholic college rescinded its invitation to Vicki Kennedy to speak at its graduation ceremony this spring, saying the local bishop objected to honoring the widow of the liberal lion Senator Edward M. Kennedy. A spokesman for Worcester Bishop Robert McManus declined to say why exactly he objected to the choice of Kennedy, a member of the most prominent U.S. Catholic family in politics. "Bishop McManus is acting, he feels, consistently with what all of the U.S. bishops asked colleges or higher institutions to do going back to 2004, that they not honor ......

Featured Term (selected at random):SEVEN DOLORS The seven sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are traditionally identified with the sorrows that Mary experienced in her association with Christ: the prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:34-35), the flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-21), the three-day separation from Jesus in Jerusalem (Luke 2:41-50). and the four incidents related to Christ's Passion, as described or implied by the Evangelists; namely, Mary's meeting Jesus on the way to Calvary, the Crucifixion, the removal of Christ's body from the Cross, and the burial in the tomb. There were two feasts in honor of the seven sorrows:...

March 30, 2012   Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent   Reading 1 Jer 20:10-13 I hear the whisperings of many:"Terror on every side!Denounce! let us denounce him!"All those who were my friendsare on the watch for any misstep of mine."Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,and take our vengeance on him."But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.In their failure they will be put to utter shame,to lasting, unforgettable confusion.O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,who probe mind and heart,Let me witness the vengeance you...