Free Republic

TOMS RIVER, N.J. -- Authorities said Tuesday that they have found a body they believe is that of a 16-year-old Ocean County girl who disappeared more than two weeks ago. Brittney Gregory, of Brick Township, was last heard from on July 11. Authorities started searching for her one week later after they charged a family acquaintance with her murder. There is no word on a possible motive. Police have not yet announced where the body was found. Previous searches of acres of woods in Lakewood, Howell and Brick yielded nothing. Ocean County prosecutors have scheduled a 3 p.m. news conference...

Rep. Gregory's alignment with the GOP brings the total number of Republican members serving in the state House of Representatives to 47, the largest number of Republican Representatives to serve at one time in modern Mississippi history.

These pages have spent the past few months arguing that San Jose's ethics laws are lax. We've contended that they create a culture of permissiveness at City Hall. Today, a Mercury News editorial page investigation reveals that council member Terry Gregory appears to have violated numerous state and local ethics laws, possibly including soliciting a bribe. And if he hasn't violated the letter of the law, he has made a mockery of the spirit of ethics regulations. This is the story: In the Fall of 2003, the city of San Jose threw in the towel in its efforts to take...

PRESIDENT BUSH: The Prime Minister and I will have some opening comments. We'll answer two questions per side. Mr. Prime Minister, welcome. I'm glad you're here. I've really been looking forward to this meeting because I view it as a meeting between friends and allies. I really appreciate the Prime Minister's clear vision about the world in which we live. He understands the danger of terror. He understands the opportunity of trade. And he understands that we share values that will -- that are so important, the values of freedom, human dignity. We care about the human condition. I appreciate...

Most found to favor discussion of mandate By TOM HEINENtheinen@journalsentinel.com Posted: Jan. 30, 2004 Lay volunteers are surveying diocesan and religious order priests in at least 52 of the country's 195 Roman Catholic dioceses to document how many think the requirement of mandatory celibacy for diocesan priests should be openly discussed by church leaders. The effort is being coordinated by two national reform groups that advocate the ordination of married men and of women - the Chicago-based Call to Action and the Cleveland-based FutureChurch. It is another in a series of ripples that were set in motion last year when...

Remarks by the President to the Press Pool Nothin' Fancy Cafe Roswell, New Mexico 11:25 A.M. MST THE PRESIDENT: I need some ribs. Q Mr. President, how are you? THE PRESIDENT: I'm hungry and I'm going to order some ribs. Q What would you like? THE PRESIDENT: Whatever you think I'd like. Q Sir, on homeland security, critics would say you simply haven't spent enough to keep the country secure. THE PRESIDENT: My job is to secure the homeland and that's exactly what we're going to do. But I'm here to take somebody's order. That would be you, Stretch --...

Date: 2003-09-04 Bishop Gregory's Letter to Milwaukee Archbishop on Celibacy Response in the Wake of a Petition From Some Clergy WASHINGTON, D.C., SEPT. 4, 2003 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of the letter Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. episcopal conference, sent to Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan in the wake of a letter from about 160 priests urging optional celibacy for candidates to the clergy. * * * September 3, 2003 His Excellency Most Reverend Timothy M. Dolan Archbishop of Milwaukee Dear Archbishop Dolan, I have received a letter dated August 18 from Fathers Thomas Suriano, Joseph Aufdermauer and...

Married priests win new support Catholic clergy groups expected to champion Milwaukee movement By MARY ZAHN and TOM HEINENmzahn@journalsentinel.com Last Updated: Aug. 26, 2003 Representatives of Catholic priest associations in Boston, New York, Chicago, southern Illinois and Pittsburgh said Tuesday they plan on taking action to support more than 160 Milwaukee-area priests who signed a letter urging that the priesthood be open to married men. In addition, three liberal church reform groups that have long advocated optional celibacy used the Internet on Tuesday to launch state, national and international efforts of their own in response to the Milwaukee letter. The...

VATICAN CITY (AP) _ The Vatican gave its approval Monday to the revised U.S. bishops' policy to combat sex abuse in the clergy, declaring the need to restore the image of the priesthood in a scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. Approval had been expected after differences in the original plan were worked out by a joint U.S.-Vatican commission in November. The Vatican released a letter from Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re to Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, pledging the Holy See's support to ``combat and to prevent such...