Free Republic

Arthur Blessitt has walked across every nation, territory and island group on the planet — 38,102 miles, enough to hold the Guinness Book's world record. And he does hold it, although the record keeper doesn't really have a category for what Blessitt did. He walked all those miles between 1969 and 2009, with a heavy wooden cross resting on his shoulder. A small wheel attached to the bottom of the cross helped Blessitt roll it across seven continents, through Middle Eastern war zones, over Antarctic ice and through South American jungle. Of all the places Blessitt has been, the 68-year-old...

I served as Deacon at the solemn “Celebration of the Lords Passion”. This frail couple approached. The wife could barely walk without her husband’s loving firm support. As they drew closer, I could see that the husband’s face was filled with deep wrinkles, the kind of love lines etched in the face from suffering borne with grace. His head was covered with unkempt white hair and framed with a coarse white beard. His eyes were filled with pure love for his beloved wife whom he assisted so tenderly as she came forward to venerate the Holy Cross.Her eyes were distant...

THE decision to ban Christian symbols in the Royal North Shore Hospital chapel could incite rage against other faiths, some religious leaders fear. The removal of religious images was ordered when the hospital gave Muslims a prayer space inside the chapel. But last night Islamic leaders criticised the move and feared a backlash. Keysar Trad, from the Islamic Friendship Society, said Muslims would not be offended to use a multi-faith chapel and see images of the cross. From 1968 the chapel displayed a cross at the altar and a Bible was on-hand.

CRUCIFIXES, Bibles and all other Christian symbols have been banned from a hospital's chapel when it is not being used for a church service. The Mosman Daily has learnt that Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney has bes been ordered to remove Christian content by New South Wales bureaucrats to avoid offending Muslims, Hindus or other non-Christian believers who may want to pray in the chapel. Hospital staff say that while the chapel was built for Christians, they now want the chapel to be completely non-denominational. An inspection of the chapel last week by the Daily found no trace of...

22nd March 2009 Revelation: The stunning church light show which illuminates a hidden cross twice yearly [Pic in URL] It is an unforgettable moment - as the sun traverses the sky its light is suddenly focused into an intense beam which illuminates a hidden target. This is not a scene from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, however, but a stunning and stirring piece of visual trickery that predates the film by hundreds of years. Every Spring and Autumn equinox, the setting sun hits an ancient window at Holy Trinity church in Barsham, Suffolk, and illuminates a...

<p>A rabbi in Jerusalem has one request for Pope Benedict XVI when he visits the Western Wall in May: Leave the cross at home.</p> <p>Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, who will meet the pontiff when he visits the Holy Land on May 12, said that a cross is not proper when visiting the Jewish religious site, The Jerusalem Post reported.</p>

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va — The Secretary of the Navy presented the naval services highest award for valor to family members of two Marines for actions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Navy Crosses were posthumously awarded to Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter and Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale by Donald C. Winters at the National Museum of the Marine Corps on Friday. Both Marines were infantrymen assigned to the 2nd Marine Division. Haerter, served in 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment; and Yale, also an infantryman, was with the 2nd Bn., 8th Marines On April 22, 2008, Haerter, a 19-year-old,...

Some Boston College professors and students are raising a holy ruckus over the Catholic school’s return to its religious roots by hanging crucifixes in all its classrooms, calling the move “offensive” and a break from the Jesuit tradition of tolerance. “There is no choice if you don’t think it’s appropriate. You can’t turn it around,” said biology professor Dan Kirschner, faculty adviser for BC’s chapter of Hillel, a Jewish student group. “I think it is being insensitive to the people of other faith traditions here.” [Snip] In an interview with the college newspaper, The Observer, which broke the story,...

Vandal defaces crosses from university pro-life display Washington DC, Feb 8, 2009 / 03:39 am (CNA).- The College Democrats at George Washington University have expelled one of their members after the unidentified student stole and defaced a number of crosses used in a Young America’s Foundation (YAF) pro-life display.On the evening of Jan. 26 members of the College Republicans found the crosses scattered around the office they share with the College Democrats, the campus newspaper The Hatchet reports.One cross was pinned upside down on a bulletin board and draped with a condom. Another featured a depiction of Jesus on the...

Beautiful blue skies, not too hot, not too cold. The young Ospreys are all over the place, the older birds are paired off, the new guys are on their own. The cross is stainless steel, 208 feet tall. It is on the grounds of Mission Nombre De Dios, next to Hospital Creek. This is said the be the site of the first mass said in the New World. Makes no difference if you are Catholic or not, it is a beautiful place to visit, sit, and contemplate.

“Apparently to the College Democrats, making fun of Christianity, and specifically a memorial to aborted unborn children is humor. To me, it is flagrant, disrespectful and downright disgusting. The fact that these crosses remained displayed in the College Democrats’ office for over 24 hours just adds to the sheer lack of respect they have for Christians on campus.”- College Republican source, identity withheld for his protection pending investigationThis is a Pat Dollard.com exclusive.Back in October, The Washington Times reported on allegations of an ominous and potentially dangerous atmosphere of hostility and intolerance for campus Conservatives, free speech, and apparently now,...

No matter what the accusation, every man and woman in the United States has the right to due process and a fair trial. Rod Blagojevich included. Governor Blagojevich is fighting for his career and an indictment has yet to even be served. Support Blago and protest this unfair process! Be sure to visit http://supportblago.com/

Coronation Street bosses spark outrage after hiding cross for church wedding scene - to avoid offending non-Christians Coronation Street bosses covered up a cross during filming at a 14th century church - because they thought it may offend viewers. The Rev. James Milnes said the producers asked for it to be removed entirely, but then settled on hiding it behind candles and flowers. He described the request - made during the filming of Molly and Tyrone's wedding scenes - as a disgrace.

A large sculpture of Christ on the cross has been removed from outside a church in West Sussex after its vicar said it was "scaring young children".The Reverend Ewen Souter said the 10ft crucifix was "a horrifying depiction of pain and suffering" which was also "putting people off". The sculpture, located at the side of St John's Church in Broadbridge Heath, has now been given to Horsham Museum. It will be replaced with a new stainless steel cross. In a survey carried out by the church, every comment about the sculpture was negative. 'Sense of hope' Mr Souter said: "Children...

Vicar takes down crucifixion sculpture 'because it's a scary depiction of suffering' A vicar has removed a sculpture of the crucifixion from the front of his church because it was a 'horrifying depiction of pain and suffering' that was scaring off worshippers. Rev Ewen Souter said the traditional Christian symbol was frightening children and that it would be replaced with a modern, stainless steel cross. Some of the congregation have reacted angrily to the decision, saying it is another blow to Christian tradition. The sculpture of Jesus Christ being crucified has been removed from the front of St John's Church...

An ancient figure of Christ has been unearthed in a Lincolnshire field. The near-complete copper artefact dating from the 13th Century is the first of its kind to be found in the county. A metal detector enthusiast found the precious object at East Torrington, near Wragby. The figure would have been mounted on a processional cross used in church services between 1200 and 1300AD, according to Lincolnshire finds liaison officer Adam Daubney. "It would have been made in Limoges in France around the time of the Third Crusade," he said. "Similar crosses are well known in France and England but...

A prison’s new chapel will not contain a crucifix to avoid offending Muslim inmates, it emerged today. Bosses at HMP Lewes have been told the traditional Christian symbol, featuring Jesus nailed to a cross, must not be used in the Grade-II listed Victorian jail’s ‘multi-faith space’. The room - part of a £1million new block - has been split in two, with one half featuring heated foot baths so Muslim worshippers can wash their feet before prayer. But the other side, dedicated to Christian prayer, contains just a simple wooden cross and portable alter - both of which can be...

A British prison has decided not to include a crucifix in the décor of its new chapel for fear of offending Muslim inmates. The ‘multi-faith space’ at HMP Lewes is divided in two sections, according to the Daily Mail. One half-features heated footbaths for Muslim worshipers; the other side, dedicated to Christian prayer, features a removable altar and a plain wooden cross – also removable. Plans to include the traditional Christian crucifix were erased from the chapel’s blueprints on the advice of a Muslim imam, the Daily Mail reported.

The huge cross near Ponchatoula's downtown locomotive won't be covered with blazing white bulbs for this year's Christmas Lights Festival. Instead, a second bar has been added to display banners advertising citywide events.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2008 – As the Marines in 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 2nd Assault Amphibious Battalion advanced to secure the northern bridge in Nasiriyah, Iraq, on March 23, 2003, it seemed to then-Seaman Apprentice Luis Fonseca, a Navy hospital corpsman, that all hell had broken loose. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Luis Fonseca, a hospital corpsman, checks a piece of medical equipment in the course of his daily routine of caring for servicemembers. Fonseca earned a Navy Cross for bravery during the battle of Nasiriyah, Iraq, on March 23, 2003. He treated about a dozen Marines during a...

According to Spanish press reports, nine of 14 stations of the Cross were destroyed in Northern Spain along the traditional path of the Way of the Cross between the cities of Sangüesa and Javier. The destruction of the Crosses is one more episode in the growing series of blasphemies and sacrileges in Spain against the Catholic Faith. Please offer prayers and sacrifices in reparation for these blasphemous attacks on the Way of the Cross. PrayerO Sorrowful Mother, in these times wherein the immense majority of men flee from the sacrifice inherent to the perfect fulfillment of all the commandments and...

Gays Stomping the Cross

Can you imagine what would happen if a gang of angry male Christian activists started shouting down and shoving around some nice old lesbian during a religious rally right after ripping her rainbow pride flag from her hands and waffle stomping it? How much television coverage do you think that spat of stupidity would spawn? What kind of outrage do you think the gays would gin up over such an inexcusable and pathetic act? I’ll tell you what would happen: We would see an irate Elton John hold a special Candle in the Wind concert on the old lesbian’s behalf,...

Watch the entire video through to the end. This happened yesterday (Tuesday) and other than on YouTube, I saw no coverage locally. The elderly woman was being interviewed while holding her cross when the homosexual mob turned on her. The news camera continued rolling despite what looks like the news cameraman being shoved; homosexuals' "No on 8" signs being thrust at the elderly woman's head and at the news camera lens; someone turned off the news camera's lights but they came on again; and in the final seconds of the news video the mob attacks. It's disgusting, hideous and...

A lady has a cross torn from her hands and destroyed counter-protesting a band of angry Palm Springs tolerance-mongers.

Springfield, MO (LifeNews.com) -- Student vandals at Missouri State University wrecked a pro-life cross memorial on the school’s Blair-Shannon Lawn on Wednesday, October 1. Some students cheered from a nearby sidewalk as others deliberately stepped on the crosses and one student rode his bike through the display.Bears for Life (BFL), a student group that received assistance from the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia, hosted the Graveyard of Innocents, a memorial of nearly 4,000 popsicle-stick crosses to represent the number of unborn babies killed by abortion each day.One BFL volunteer who witnessed the incident captured some of the vandalism on video....

A silver cross regarded as one of the most important early Christian artifacts found in Britain is a modern fake, scientists confirmed Thursday. The Chi-Rho Amulet, which bears an early Christian symbol incorporating the first two letters of Christ's name in Greek, was found in a 4th-century Roman grave near the Somerset town of Shepton Mallet in 1990.

An Italian museum has defied Pope Benedict by refusing to remove a statue of a crucified green frog clutching a beer mug and an egg. The Vatican had condemned the modern art sculpture as blasphemous. The board of the Museion museum in the northern city of Bolzano voted it was a work of art, however. The board decreed it would stay in place for the remainder of an exhibition. The wooden sculpture by the late German artist Martin Kippenberger depicts a frog about 1 metre 30 cm (4 feet) high nailed to brown cross and holding a beer mug in...

A METAL detector enthusiast unearthed a 15th century silver cross depicting the figure of Christ while working in a field he had searched many times before. Retired postal worker Philip Fletcher, 53, discovered the small cross in the Ackworth area of Pontefract in February last year. He said yesterday: "I had an inkling it might be a significant find as I had found things on this land in the past which indicated a past medieval presence." The value of the find – which, once sold, will be divided between Mr Fletcher and the landowner, a farmer – has yet to...

Yea, dogs are round about me; a company of evildoers encircle me; they have pierced my hands and feet--I can count all my bones. (Ps 22:16-17) "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. " (Isaiah 53:5) Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them.  The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, "Peace be with you."  Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here,...

There's been a ton of buzz on the web for the last day or so -- beginning with this Daily Kos diary -- suggesting that John McCain patterned his story about a Vietamese captor drawing a cross in the dirt before him on a similar episode from Russian novelist Alexander Solzhenitsyn's time in the Soviet gulags. But it turns out that this episode probably never happened to Solzhenitsyn at all, and according to a Solzhenitsyn biographer it appears nowhere in his published writing. Columbia University professor Michael Scammell, the author of Solzhenitsyn: A Biography, says the episode "never happened," and...

John McCain’s campaign blasted critics who questioned the senator’s account of an incident during his time as a prisoner of war Monday, citing an account from his former fellow POW Orson Swindle and blaming the controversy on “the pro-Obama Dungeons & Dragons crowd.” During a presidential forum at Pastor Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church on Saturday, McCain told a story of a guard who wordlessly drew a cross in the dirt one Christmas, describing it as a moment that gave him strength. Critics said that McCain, who was released in 1973, had not mentioned the incident until shortly before his 2000...

I called Orson Swindle, a fellow POW who is campaigning for McCain, to ask him about it. “I recall John telling that story when we first got together in 1971, when were talking about every conceivable thing that had ever happened to us when we were in prison” Swindle told me a few minutes ago. “Most of us had been kept apart or in small groups. Then, in 1970, they moved us into the big cell. And when we all got to see each other and talk to each other directly, instead of tapping through walls, we had 24 hours...

The McCain campaign isn't taking Andrea Mitchell's cheating claim [0] made on Sunday's "Meet the Press" lying down. Politico reported [1] moments ago that campaign manager Rick Davis has sent a strongly-worded letter to Steve Capus, president of NBC News, sharply criticizing Mitchell's suggestion that the Arizona senator had somehow cheated at Saturday's Saddleback Civil Forum.In it, Davis expressed concern that: "the level of objectivity at NBC News has fallen so low that reporters are now giving voice to unsubstantiated, partisan claims in order to undercut John McCain;" "Mitchell did what has become a pattern for her of simply repeating...

This appears to be a large topic of discussion over at Democratic Underground and Daily Kos. The diary at Daily Kos has over 800 posts, and three diaries have been spawned from it. They are discussing the Daily Kos diary at Democratic Underground as well. If you check out the link, you can read the diary with Solzhenitsyn's story. The stories are similar, but they aren't identical. The liberals are speculating that McCain either knowingly stole the story, or he is in the early stages of dementia and mistook Solzhenitsyn's experience as his own. I give McCain the benefit of...

The giant cross atop Mount Soledad can stay, a federal judge ruled yesterday. The La Jolla landmark has been the subject of nearly 20 years of litigation, public votes and legislative maneuvers as critics complain it's unconstitutional to have a religious symbol on public land. But yesterday, U.S. District Judge Larry Burns said the cross – visible for miles – has become a memorial to veterans, and its secular message outweighs any religious meaning. “The Court finds the memorial at Mt. Soledad, including its Latin cross, communicates the primarily non-religious messages of military service, death, and sacrifice,” Burns wrote. As...

Chaplet of the Most Precious Blood Seven "effusions of the Blood of Christ", implicitly or explicitly mentioned in the Gospels, are recalled in a series of biblical meditations and devotional prayers: the Blood of the Circumcision, the Blood of the Garden of Gethsemane, the Blood of the Flagellation, the Blood of the Crowning of Thorns, the Blood of the Ascent to Calvary, the Blood flowing from Christ's side pierced by the lance. Directory on Popular Piety and the LiturgyThis Chaplet is divided into seven groups, containing thirty-three "Our Fathers" in honor of the thirty-three years during which the Precious Blood...

A Mount Vernon teacher undermined science instruction in the public school district by discrediting evolution in his classroom and focusing on creationism and intelligent design, an investigation has found. Eighth-graders who were taught by John Freshwater frequently had to be re-taught in high school what they were supposed to have learned in Freshwater's class, according to outside investigators hired by the district. For 11 years, other teachers in the school district and people in the community complained about Freshwater preaching his Christian beliefs in class and slamming scientific theories, a school administrator told investigators. "There is a significant amount of...

A major New York art school is displaying sexually explicit paintings that depict a crucifix in a man's rectum and rosaries with male sex organs, among other offensive imagery, according to the Catholic League. The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City is hosting the art show, which began May 27 and runs through June 10. In the show is a series of paintings by Felipe Baeza. One painting shows a man with his pants pulled down and a crucifix extending from his rectum. Under the painting it says, "el dia que me converti...

U.S. soldiers stationed at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo may be stunned to find three wooden crosses stripped from the exterior grounds of their chapel in coming weeks – and many never saw it coming. Several high-ranking officers have met behind closed doors to discuss plans for the crosses. They have decided to remove, and perhaps destroy, the Christian symbols located outside Peacekeeper's Chapel in the name of free exercise of religion. Lt. Col. William Jenkins, 35th Infantry Division's Kosovo Force 9 command chaplain, told WND, "The removal of the crosses … is bringing the chapel into line with long-standing regulations...

I saw this video at church tonight. Funny. Inspirational.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama turned up the heat on his faith outreach in Kentucky, which holds its primary on Tuesday, by distributing fliers of him speaking in front of a big illuminated cross. Enlarge this Image The Obama campaign distributed fliers of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama speaking from a pulpit with a big illuminated cross behind him in Kentucky ahead of the state's primary on Tuesday, May 20, 2008. The flier is the latest push by the likely Democratic presidential nominee to court religious voters. The faith flier coupled with TV and radio ads that began running in...

Obama and his Kentucky cross TRIBUNE-REVIEW By Salena Zito Chris Brody, the senior national correspondent for Christian Broadcast Network (CBN), is reporting Sen. Barack Obama has a flier for next week’s primary contest in Kentucky that shows Obama standing with a substantial-sized cross to his left. Brody writes that Obama “is making a direct appeal to evangelicals with fliers that mention his conversion experience and they highlight a big old cross. Remember (Gov.) Mike Huckabee’s supposed subliminal cross in his Christmas campaign ad? Well, Obama campaign ditches

Remember when Mike Huckabee offered an innocuous and pleasant Christmas ad, only to be accused of Christianism for supposedly having a floating cross in the background — which turned out to be a bookshelf? Well, apparently the cross has suddenly become cool for politicians. Barack Obama has made it the centerpiece of his appeal in Kentucky with literature that shows a golden cross beaming down as he speaks. Note the sublety of the message in this image, with light bulbs blazing light while Obama addresses the congregation from the pulpit. Also note how “Faith” has suddenly appeared ahead of “hope”...

ROME, MAY 13, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.Q: I noticed that the Holy Father is carrying a new processional cross. Can you tell us about that new cross and perhaps why the Holy Father made the decision to carry this new cross rather than the one that he has carried for the past several years -- the same one that Pope John Paul II carried? Are there norms and guidelines for what type of shepherd's staff the Holy Father can carry? -- B.D., Columbia City, IndianaA: I...

The founders of Columbia were convinced that religion, like everything else in the planned community envisioned as a suburban utopia, should be harmonious and inclusive. So instead of a welter of churches all vying for space within the model township, the founders opted for interfaith centers. Now, one congregation's plan to place a 16-foot cross on a new building at the town's oldest interfaith center in Wilde Lake Village has stirred an anxious response. Some guardians of local tradition see the cross as a challenge to the core values of Columbia.

I was thinking about getting a tattoo of a Byzantine style 3 bar Cross on my upper right arm. I am wondering if that would be considered wrong or somehow sacreligious. Please let me know your opinion because I cannot find any conclusive answer.

I was watching the local Fox news affiliate tonight and noticed that when they were showing video of the Pope visiting the synagogue in New York City, that they pixelated the crucifix that he wears. Did anyone else see this? Does Fox have a policy of blurring out religious symbols?

Lawmaker wants 'I believe' license platesPosted on Fri, Apr. 11, 2008 BY GARY FINEOUT gfineout@MiamiHerald.com The new "I Believe" Florida license plate. TALLAHASSEE -- Honk if you love Jesus. It might become more than just a bumper sticker in Florida. The Florida Legislature may create a new license plate that features the words ''I Believe'' and the image of a cross in front of a church stained glass window. The measure is moving in both the House and Senate. Rep. Ed Bullard, a Miami Democrat and a sponsor of the license plate, conceded that ''some people'' may find something wrong...

4/10/2008 - WESTHAMPTON BEACH, N.Y. (AFPN) -- A retired chief master sergeant was awarded the Air Force Cross 40 years after the mission which earned him the Air Force's second-highest honor April 5 here. Nearly 300 members of Chief Master Sgt. Dennis Richardson's former unit attended the ceremony for the flight engineer with the 106th Rescue Wing for 30 years as he was recognized for his actions during a rescue mission in Vietnam March 14, 1968. Twenty-one enlisted Airmen have been awarded the Air Force Cross since its inception. Since the end of the Vietnam War, only three Air Force...