Free Republic

At nearly 100 years old, famed evangelist Billy Graham has a difficult time hearing, seeing, and moving around — yet his mind is still clear as ever, his daughter Anne Graham Lotz has revealed.The 69-year-old Lotz, the founder of AnGeL Ministries, gave an update on the health of her legendary father during a devotional delivered at Founder's Week, a week-long Bible conference on Moody Bible Institute's Chicago campus."I'd be remiss if I didn't bring you greetings from my father," she said. "I'm not sure he knows that I'm here. He doesn't track like he used to, but his mind is still clear.""He...

But fellow German prelate confirms Marx not misquotedMUNICH (ChurchMilitant.com) - Cardinal Reinhard Marx, head of the German Bishops' Conference, is claiming he was misquoted when it was claimed he confirmed an interviewer's question asking if a blessing rite for same-sex couples was possible in the Catholic Church. Marx, the archbishop of Munich and Freising and a close advisor to Pope Francis, told Catholic News Agency on Wednesday their translation of a February 2 interview with Bavarian Radio was incorrect when he was asked, "So, you really can imagine that there might be a way to bless homosexual couples in the...

The Church of England is facing as many as 3,300 potential sex abuse cases in the form of concerns and allegations, as revealed by the Church's lead bishop on safeguarding issues. The Times reported on Thursday that Peter Hancock, bishop of Bath and Wells, shared the latest figures, which concern sex abuse against children and vulnerable adults reaching up to 2016, during a three-day meeting of the General Synod in London. Hancock did not make it clear whether all the complaints are new or a combination with longstanding ones, but even if a fraction of them are upheld, the CofE...

A 2015 Pew survey reported that the total number of Catholics in the United States dropped by 3 million since 2007, now comprising about 20 percent - or one-fifth - of the total population. Catholicism is losing more members than it gains at a higher rate than any other denomination – a recent development which the radical progressives at Salon celebrate. Why is this an issue that should worry Americans and the Western world at large? One key reason is that the fastest-growing religion in the country and around the world is Islam – something Salon radicals also no...

A group of mostly Hong Kong-based academics, lawyers and human rights activists has warned that regularizing seven illicitly ordained bishops in mainland China would cause Catholics in the country to “be plunged into confusion and pain, and schism would be created in the Church in China.”The open letter was addressed to the bishops’ conferences of the world, and said the signatories were “shocked and disappointed” about unconfirmed news reports claiming the Vatican and China are on the brink of an agreement on appointing bishops in the country.The proposed agreement would allow the communist regime to nominate bishops, subject to a...

Proverb 12 (NKJV) The House of the Righteous Shall Stand 01 Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, 00 But he who hates correction is stupid. 02 A good man obtains favor from the LORD, 00 But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn. 03 A man is not established by wickedness, 00 But the root of the righteous cannot be moved. 04 An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, 00 But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones. 05 The thoughts of the righteous are right, 00 But the counsels of the wicked are...

The “Donald Trump/Mike Pence Prayer Vigil” and “Pray for our American Heroes" Prayer Thread have Combined to Form the AMERICA PRAYER VIGIL Prayer Thread! Join with Fellow FREEPERS to Pray for our PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP/VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE and AMERICA: Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, and the Media. 'And this is the Confidence that we have in Him, that, if we Ask Anything According to His Will, He Heareth us.' 1 John 5:14 Religion Forum Threads Labeled [Prayer] are Closed to Debate of Any Kind. Psalm 89:20-24 I have Found David My Servant; with Mine Holy Oil have I...

"In their eyes I’m not the right kind of Catholic for my choice in partner," Jocelyn Morffi wroteA first-grade teacher at a Catholic school in Miami says she was fired for being gay, and now a group of upset parents say they may pull their children from the school. Days after marrying the love of her life, Jocelyn Morffi, a teacher at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School, wrote in an Instagram post that she was fired for being gay. "In their eyes I’m not the right kind of Catholic for my choice in partner," she wrote, along with the...

Proverb 11 (NKJV) The Folly of Wickedness01 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, 00 But a just weight is His delight. 02 When pride comes, then comes shame; 00 But with the humble is wisdom. 03 The integrity of the upright will guide them, 00 But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. 04 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, 00 But righteousness delivers from death. 05 The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way aright, 00 But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness. 06 The righteousness of the upright...

Chinese officials have said churches will not be allowed to function unless they post the signsSince China’s new regulations for religious affairs took effect on February 1, minors have been banned from entering places of worship in several regions. A priest in Hebei province who asked to remain anonymous told ucanews.com that authorities had asked clergymen in some parts of the province to post signs prohibiting minors from entering religious venues, prayer houses and other church premises. “They also threaten churches that they cannot be used if they refuse to post the signs,” he said. A blogger wrote that “religious...

February 7, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) — San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy said recently that there is “repugnant” and “corrosive” bigotry toward individuals identifying as LGBT on the part of “a group of people across all religious views.” This “particularly antagonistic” regard for LGBT individuals by people in this group generates from the depths of the souls, Bishop McElroy said. It is a reality that must be faced and one that is “incompatible with what we hope to be as a church.” The bishop was cited and quoted by New York Times columnist Frank Bruni for a recent “The Scariest Catholic in...

You know who you are. You are the person other people tip toe around when it comes to discussing current events or religion. You are the person who can spend hours devouring scripture or news with equal vigor, pointing out ‘last days’ events to anyone who would listen to you. You are semi-shunned at church. You are disinvited from church socials, because you are just too intense and narrow-minded. You are called a ‘conspiracy theorist’ or a ‘Jesus Freak’ behind your back. You are always going on about the Lord’s return and that “Rapture thingy”. Admit it. You are one...

“We can understand that in the enthusiasm of wanting an agreement between China and the Vatican, Chinese culture, Chinese people and Chinese mentality are exaggerated and exalted, as Pope Francis does. But presenting China as a model…” It is a dumbfounded Fr. Bernardo Cervellera, director of the agency Asia News of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, who comments on the judgments of Argentine bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, just back from a trip to China.Sánchez Sorondo is the chancellor of two pontifical academies, that of sciences and that of social sciences, as well as a diligent lackey of the court...

A Vatican-China deal is imminent. Millions of Chinese Catholics should be afraid. Feb. 8, 2018 7:15 p.m. ET Ever since the red flag rose over China in 1949, Roman Catholics there have suffered because of their fidelity to the pope in Rome. Now the Holy Father himself has become a source of tribulation. In its eagerness to reach a deal with China, the Vatican is elevating the persecutors over the persecuted. Xi Jinping, an atheist and hard-line communist, became leader of China in 2012. The Chinese government has since stepped up its violations of human rights, including religious freedom. This...

When I tell people about my childhood church, they will usually insist that I was in a cult. While I strongly suspect that they are correct, I never thought of myself as a cult member. Sure, my church may have shunned the outside world and taught that it alone possessed “the truth” but we never had to swear our undying loyalty to the leaders or live in a compound or drink poison. Should you wish to stop attending the church, you were free to do so, but you had to accept that the members who remained were no longer your...

Proverb 10 (NKJV) A Wise Son and a Foolish Son01 The proverbs of Solomon: 00 A wise son makes a glad father, 00 But a foolish son is the grief of his mother. 02 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing 00 But righteousness delivers from death. 03 The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish, 00 But He casts away the desire of the wicked. 04 He who has a slack hand becomes poor, 00 But the hand of the diligent makes rich. 05 He who gathers in summer is a wise son; 00 He who sleeps in...

A court victory for a designer accused of blasphemyTHIS week the European Court of Human Rights handed down a verdict, which law-and-religion pundits will be pondering for years to come. It vindicated Sekmadienis, a company selling the work of Robert Kalinkin, a Lithuanian fashion designer. The seller had been fined for using images of Jesus and the Virgin Mary which Catholics found offensive. The case refers to a Kalinkin campaign in 2012 which featured a bare-chested young man and a woman, both with halos: the man was sporting jeans and tattoos, and the female figure wore a white dress with...

LEMONS, GRAPEFRUITS, oranges and figs grow in abundance in the three gardens of Nadia Younis Butti’s house in Mosul, the house her parents built from scratch. She used to enjoy the lush trees and alluring fruits, sitting in her rocking chair near the flourishing, scented bushes. On July 17, 2014, however, Nadia had to leave Mosul, because ISIS had captured Iraq’s second-largest city. “With pain in my heart I left,” she says. ISIS has been ousted from Mosul and Nadia, who belongs to the Assyrian Church, recently returned to visit the city of her birth. “It is still extremely dangerous...

The communist-party controlled Global Times has lavished praise on a Vatican bishop who recently proposed China as the “best” model of Catholic social teaching, claiming he speaks the “truth” about life in China. In a Friday op-ed, Global Times writer Ai Jun said that recent comments exalting China’s communist government by Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, express “the perspective of an authoritative religious figure” and are helpful in contradicting “misunderstandings of China.” The Global Times is owned by the Communist Party mouthpiece, the People’s Daily. “The overwhelming majority of Catholics in China have...

As reported earlier this week, the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Washington, DC, passed a resolution to stop using masculine pronouns for God in future updates to its Book of Common Prayer. The resolution to "avoid the use of gendered pronouns for God" was passed quickly by delegates to the Diocese's 123rd Convention. To be sure, this is not the first group to move in the direction of "gender-inclusive" language when it comes to the deity.