Free Republic

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court decision, June 26, interpreting the U.S. Constitution to require all states to license and recognize same-sex “marriage” “is a tragic error that harms the common good and most vulnerable among us,” said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The full statement follows: Regardless of what a narrow majority of the Supreme Court may declare at this moment in history, the nature of the human person and marriage remains unchanged and unchangeable. Just as Roe v. Wade did not settle the question of abortion over forty years...

On this slender thread does the promise of religious liberty hang. Justice Anthony Kennedy, in his majority opinion in Obergefell that declares same-sex marriage a constitutional right, barely mentions the means by which most Americans conduct their weddings — houses of worship. Only on page 27 does Kennedy get around to addressing the connection between church and state, and the assurances in this paragraph are less than compelling, to say the least: Finally, it must be emphasized that religions, and those who adhere to religious doctrines, may continue to advocate with utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts, same-sex marriage...

Take up this Lamentation for the Land of the Free,America, once the liberator of others, who will liberate you? Are you really free? Free of what? You have set your self free alright, By your social revolution, you are now free from Marriage, commitment, family, and fruitfulness Yours is the freedom of the madman,who observes no conventions, who wears no clothes, and who breaks all chains, (He will NOT be restrained) and who now lives among the tombs crying and cutting himself… Yours is the Freedom of Adam and Eve, Who broke away from God, and from Eden, and from...

In light of recent events...

A longstanding and well-beloved member of this Forum (anonymous, so if you know the man, please do not reveal his name) tomorrow will be ordained as a priest of Jesus Christ. He has requested this thread so that prayers may be offered. Please join me in thanksgiving and petition that his vocation will be fruitful and joyous: Heavenly Father, grant these and other blessings unto thy servant, for thy glory and the salvation of souls. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Ad multos annos, gloriosque annos, vivas, vivas, vivas!

"Do you believe God is in complete control of everything - even the situation you face today? Dr. Charles Stanley reminds you in this sermon that understanding God's sovereignty - and acting on its truth - strengthens your faith and calms your fears. Take hold of God's love with My Assurance: God is in Control, Part 1." From Charles Stanley

20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24...

Happy Ramadan from you friends in the Muslim world. Just in the last 12 hours. Man decapitated as severed head is 'covered in Arabic writing' and hung on a fence next to Islamist flag at factory in France after terrorists storm building and set off 'gas bomb' explosions Tunisian officials say a gunman is still at large after a deadly attack on two hotels packed with British tourists left 27 dead. ISIS Claims Deadly Blast at Shiite Mosque in Kuwait Islam is like so totes misunderstood.

Patriarch Sako calls for Chaldeans and Assyrians to form one Church of the EastChaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako has proposed that the three main Iraqi Christian churches should merge in order to secure the survival of the faith in that country. Writing on the patriarchate website the head of the Chaldean Church, which has been in communion with Rome, proposed a reunion between his church and the two largest Assyrian churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Ancient Church of the East. In a statement the patriarch said: “I would like to share some personal thoughts with...

Pope Francis recently released a new encyclical. Portions of it deal with environmentalism, global warming, and climate change. Naturally, this has prompted controversy.It’s noteworthy that Francis didn’t merely make a passing comment on global warming during this or that sermon, but that he issued a papal encyclical on the matter. Encyclicals are much more formal and significant than remarks made during mass. They are letters written by a pope and sent to bishops all around the world. In turn, the bishops are meant to disseminate the encyclical’s ideas to all the priests and churches in their jurisdiction, so that the...

Last week marked the passing of a woman whose missionary work and writings inspired hundreds of thousands of Christians to live lives of faith and obedience to God, and led thousands to bring the gospel to people in countries around the world. Elisabeth Elliot died June 15 at age 88, but her legacy will continue through the lives transformed by her example. I knew her simply as “Aunt Betty,” as she was my father’s sister. Elliot first entered the news in 1956, when her husband, Jim Elliot, and four other missionaries were killed by a group of Auca Indians, today...

Morris tells me the recyclical Laudato Si’ is subtitled: “Pope Francesco’s Amazing Climate Theatre,” and how appropriate this is. The recyclical provides fun for all the family: there’s something in the show for everyone: global warming enthusiasts, liberals, Buddhists, atheists, New Age hippies, greens, and everyone who enjoys those lovely pictures of Saint Francis surrounded by corgis, hummingbirds and My Little Pony, without asking awkward questions like, “What did Francis say about sin?” At the heart of this recyclical is the popular image of Saint Francis surrounded by cuddly animals, and this is where we find the real theological and...

The Catholic Church in Sydney is sending letters to companies that publicly support same-sex marriage, expressing its "grave concern" about their stance. The Archdiocese of Sydney has targeted some of the 150 businesses that put their names and logos to recent newspaper advertisements supporting gay marriage. The ABC has seen a copy of one letter addressed to the chairman of partners at Maurice Blackburn law firm, Steve Walsh, from the Archdiocese's business manager Michael Digges. "It is... with grave concern that I write to you about the Marriage Equality for Australians campaign," it reads. "You are publically supporting a strategic,...

NEWS ANALYSIS: According to one priest, the working document, issued Tuesday, reflects fidelity to the Church’s traditional teaching and the diversity of opinions within the Church today regarding hot-button issues.VATICAN CITY — A highly anticipated working document for the upcoming synod on the family, published by the Vatican on Tuesday, pushes back on same-sex relationships, reaffirms much of the traditional Church’s teaching on the family, but controversially offers an opening for divorced-and-civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion. Although praised for being attentive to a diversity of opinions within the Church on a wide variety of issues to do with marriage...

I can’t resist G.K.Chesterton’s quip: “Birth control? No birth. No control”Writing here at the National Catholic Reporter, Jamie Manson argues that Pope Francis should have lifted the birth control ban in his recent encyclical.Manson uses the usual over population scare tactics that we’ve seen in the famous 1968 shock horror “non fiction” work The Population Bomb. Do you remember? There was going to be mass starvation in the 1970s and 80s. Terrible civil wars were going to break out. Countries would be flooded with hungry immigrants on the rampage.Except it didn’t happen. Instead humanity got busy and provided better water...

The Irish government is now in the business of trying to get an elderly Evangelical pastor, who is in ill health, in prison for simply saying that Islam is a satanic religion. His name is Pastor James McConnell. Shoebat.com commended the pastor and also posted his sermon last year:(video at link)Now the Irish government is going to be prosecuting the pastor, and will try to get him into prison. If they succeed, he may get up to six months in jail. The pastor stated: I am facing up to six months in jail and a hefty fine for saying what...

From pro-choice Methodist Minister John M Swomley: “There is also covert violence in the idea that women should not have sexual intercourse if they don’t want children. An act of sexual intercourse is not an implied contract to have children. While this may be the belief of those who accept the doctrine that every sexual act must be open to procreation, it would be violent for any government to decide that such a sectarian doctrine should be enforced against anyone, Catholic or non-Catholic, who does not accept that teaching.” John M Swomley Compulsory Pregnancy: The War against American Women (Amherst,...

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that East Texas Baptist University, Westminster Theological Seminary, the Catholic Diocese of Beaumont, and Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas are not exempt from cooperation with the HHS mandate. “We join our sister circuits in concluding that the plaintiffs have not shown a substantial burden on their religious exercise,” the court ruled.

Christian rights activists in the US have now got a new clarion call to flock to: Ted Cruz. Fence sitters among them (almost all of them count themselves as Republicans) are listening to a new political speaker in the block: the father of the presidential candidate himself: Rafael Cruz. The new speaker suits all their sensibilities of an excellent orator and most important of all, quotes the Bible at every possible opportunity. Pastor to politics Ted Cruz's father, Rafael Cruz is a well-known evangelical pastor presently making political speeches at churches around the country. He recites the guidelines for selecting...

...One thing that I wish from Pope Francis is that he be more emphatic in his statements, and be more specific as to whether or not all weapons manufacturers are evil, or that only the ones who profit from evil are placing their souls in jeopardy. I doubt Francis himself takes the former position, since he is constantly surrounded by very tough Swiss Guardsmen who are all armed....All of the guns that the Swiss Guard uses are manufactured, and I doubt that Francis is condemning these manufacturers. Lets not forget that not too long ago the Vatican was pushing for...