Free Republic

...by Mary Eberstadt,  a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, is a great article in the August/September issue of First Things and is available online. I'll get you started: That Humanae Vitae and related Catholic teachings about sexual morality are laughingstocks in all the best places is not exactly news. Even in the benighted precincts of believers, where information from the outside world is known to travel exceedingly slowly, everybody grasps that this is one doctrine the world loves to hate. During Benedict XVI’s April visit to the United States, hardly a story in the secular press failed to mention...

We are not contending against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). “This combat rages fiercely even today, aided and abetted by well-known secret sects, Satanic groups and New Age movements, to mention but a few, and reveals many ugly heads of the hideous anti-God monster: among them are notoriously secularism, which seeks to build a Godless society; spiritual indifference, which is insensitive to transcendental values; and relativism, which is contrary to the permanent tenets of the Gospel. “All...

The Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan today declared that Gene Robinson, the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire, "should resign for the sake of the church." In a press conference at the decennial Lambeth Conference, the Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul said that homosexual ordination "is not what is found in the Bible" and that it is "not the norm of the Anglican world."

“Maintain support” for traditional marriage? Catholic support requires more episcopal muscle than the release of a mild statement. Because the Church is "the universal sacrament of salvation" (Lumen Gentium), our shepherds should be mobilizing Catholics to fight back. Every Catholic priest, religious, businessman, teacher, doctor, banker, grocer, landlord, professor, and college student should be sent out with a mandate to fight for marriage. Others did send public and sober warnings. Bishop Thomas Wenski of the Diocese of Orlando wrote, In redefining the legal definition of marriage to include same-sex unions, the proponents of "gay marriage" are in effect imposing their...

OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline)-Oklahoma Attorney General W.A. Drew Edmondson is featured in a county commissioner's anti-gay campaign comic book. In the comic created by Oklahoma County Commissioner Brent Rinehart, a devil threatens a small child with a pitchfork, saying" "If I can get the kids to believe homosexuality is normal!" while an angel yells, "Not with Brent around you won't!"

It hasn’t taken that many days to realize that the once-every-ten-years Lambeth Conference is again abundant in elaborate rhetoric. Last night’s sermon by the Bishop of Colombo, the Rt. Rev. Duleep de Chickera is a good example. We heard from the bishop that the Anglican problem is very simple, "The church is called to be an inclusive communion,” de Chickera stated, “where there is space equally for everyone and anyone, regardless of color, gender, sexual orientation, ability. Unity in diversity is a cherished Anglican tradition, a spirituality which we must reinforce in all humility for the sake of Christ and...

‘Harassed for being a Christian’- the policeman who objected to gay ribbons and is turning to a tribunal Last updated at 01:08am on 20.07.08    A policeman is taking his force to an employment tribunal, claiming that he has been harassed because of his Christian beliefs.Constable Graham Cogman says he has been persecuted since he objected to wearing ribbons to mark a gay event.The controversy echoes the case of Lillian Ladele, the Christian registrar who successfully took on Islington Council in London over her refusal to conduct civil-partnership ceremonies for gay couples.  Making a stand: PC Graham Cogman says...

In 1986, Brother Don Fleischhacker of Notre Dame University wrote a letter to Playboy protesting that magazine’s fragmented view of human sexuality. Citing Humanae Vitae, this intrepid Holy Cross religious reasoned that once “the contraceptive mentality is accepted, there can be no coherent objective ground for opposition to homosexual activity.” If the unitive aspect of sex becomes an end in itself, he went on to explain, “There is no essential reason why sex should be restricted to couples of different sexes.” Recent events have proven that Brother Don was as prophetic as was Pope Paul VI when he penned Humane...

Americas Brazilian law would prohibit Christian teaching on homosexuality Rio de Janeiro, Jul 15, 2008 / 01:36 pm (CNA).- The Brazilian Senate is considering a bill approved unanimously and without debate by the country’s House of Representatives that aims to promote homosexuality and prohibit Christian teaching on the issue, under the guise of combating discrimination. According to the Association of the Defense of Life, the bill would make it crime punishable by five years in prison to impede expressions of “homosexual affection” in public places or private places open to the public. It would also punish those who deny employment...

Christian Methodist Episcopal Bishop Kenneth Wayne Carter has been suspended by the church until his criminal case is resolved. Carter, 51, was indicted by a Tarrant County grand jury last month on sexual assault charges involving a 46-year-old Dallas County man. The man was applying for a job as the bishop’s driver and says he was assaulted at Carter’s home in Arlington. Carter was released on $10,000 bail last week. The CME’s College of Bishops made the decision to suspend Carter with pay during a special meeting last week. Under the suspension, Carter is barred from performing sacramental duties. Although...

LONDON - The first openly homosexual U.S. Episcopal bishop was barred from a once-a-decade Anglican meeting so he wouldn't become a focus of the global event. Anglicans on all sides of the issue agree: The strategy has backfired. New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson has been embraced by sympathetic Anglicans in England and Scotland who view his exclusion as an affront to their Christian beliefs. Robinson plans several appearances on the outskirts of the Lambeth Conference to be what he called a "constant and friendly" reminder of homosexuals in the church. "I'm just not willing to let the bishops meet and...

The Islington Council, by trying to force a civil marriage registrar to participate in homosexual domestic partnership ceremonies, perpetrated a "violation" of her dignity and "created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment." In unexpectedly strong language, the Central London Employment Tribunal has ruled that Lillian Ladele, a Christian civil marriage registrar, cannot be forced to act contrary to her conscience in conducting homosexual domestic partnership ceremonies. The panel ruled, "Islington Council rightly considered the importance of the right of the gay community not to be discriminated against but did not consider the right of Miss Ladele as a...

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle spoke about the two gay mayoral candidates this morning on the radio. He said he thinks a "responsible homosexual'' could win the post. He defined that as one who rejects the idea that it's OK to take over public parks for gay sex, and who would "do something about the AIDS crisis here, recognizing promiscuous activity has a heavy cost on life and dollars.'' Asked on 850 WFTL how he feels about being remembered for his comments about gays, he said he was proud of a legacy against political correctness. Naugle caused a huge stir...

A homosexual man is suing two major Christian publishers for violating his constitutional rights and causing emotional pain, because the Bible they publish refers to homosexuality as a sin. Bradley LaShawn Fowler, 39, of Canton, Mich., is seeking $60 million from Zondervan and another $10 million from Thomas Nelson Publishing in lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the Grand Rapids Press reported. Fowler filed his claim against Grand Rapids-based Zondervan Monday, alleging its Bibles' references to homosexuality as a sin have made him an outcast from his family and contributed to physical discomfort and...

The Episcopal Church has been at the forefront of baptizing active homosexual lifestyle as God-blessed. Since 1960, that denomination has decreased in membership by 48%. The United Methodist Church has been roiled by those adamant on establishing homosexual lifestyles as Christian legitimate. In the fight for one side or another that denomination has decreased in membership by 25%. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has likewise been embroiled in the tussle. That denomination has decreased in membership by 44%. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has also been riddled with in-house fighting over homosexual lifestyles as anti-God or pro-God. That denomination's membership...

A council has been accused of discriminating against homosexuals over plans to clear undergrowth from a notorious gay cruising spot. Bristol City Council wants to prune bushes and remove cover from an area known as the Downs to improve the landscape and encourage rare wildlife. But its own gay rights group has opposed the move, claiming that cutting back the bushes was "discriminating" to homosexual men who used the area for late night outdoor sex known as dogging. Work on the beauty spot has been temporarily delayed while talks with gay rights groups take place to try and break the...

Thomas M. Disch, science fiction writer and poet, committed suicide July 4 in New York. He was sixty-eight years old. Disch was an exceptionally talented writer. Unfortunately, he was a man without hope, without which no man can survive. A futurist who had little use for the future, Disch specialized in stories of humans struggling to survive against inhuman, invincible forces outside of their control. His first novel, 1965's The Genocides, is a bleak no-future tale in which the entire human race is wiped out by aliens; his (arguable) magnum opus, 334 (1972), is a detailed examination of the grim,...

Two men, including a former Ravena minister who is now a prison chaplain, face criminal charges after they were allegedly caught in a sex act Saturday at a Northway rest stop near Exit 24. State Police said Joseph A. Loux Jr., 62, of Hannacroix in Greene County, and Eugene F. Barnaby, 34, of Thurman in Warren County, admitted to investigators that they engaged in oral sex along a path behind the rest stop, about 15 feet from an outdoor picnic area. Loux, a chaplain assigned to the Washington County prison, was suspended without pay Tuesday, said Linda Foglia, a spokeswoman...

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - District Heights Mayor James L. Walls, also an associate minister at a local church, will keep his jobs, for now, after being charged with soliciting a male prostitute in the District of Columbia early Thursday morning, his colleagues said. The 30-year-old fast-rising black political star — he holds positions with nationwide civic groups and the local NAACP chapter, among others — has been charged with solicitation for lewd and immoral purposes after he allegedly attempted to pick up an undercover District officer who was posing as a male prostitute around 12:30 a.m. at Sixth and F...

Virginia resident Lisa Miller, mother of 6-year-old Isabella Miller, was involved in homosexuality for a short time. Thankfully, she found freedom from the destructive "gay" lifestyle – as so many others have done –through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and, along with Isabella, is now a Christian. For the past five years or so, Lisa and Isabella have been trying to live their lives in peace at home in Virginia. But unfortunately, they've been unable to do so, as Lisa's dark past has come back to haunt them. They've been the target of a vicious legal attack by militant...

Police have been targeting Estabrook Park for years trying to stop men from soliciting sex from other men there. Video: Deacon Charged For Lewd ActThe latest suspect is 48-year-old Jerome Pitchford, long-time deacon of Milwaukee's Holy Redeemer Church of God in Christ.   The warm weather seems to expose the issue at the park, and in this case, the apparent secret of a married man with children, a church leader.  Police said Pitchford apparently does not practice what he teaches in Sunday School. Police say after church at the Holy Redeemer Church of God in Christ on Sunday afternoon, he was...

In officiating at the June 17 “marriage” of the same lesbian couple he had joined in dubious wedlock four years ago, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom beat Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to the punch. But Villaraigosa, like Newsom a potential contender for the Democratic nomination for governor, was not to be bested. On June 23, Villaraigosa united Hollywood producer Bruce Cohen with his five-year-long male companion, art consultant Gabriel Catone. And, the previous week, the Los Angeles mayor voiced his warm support for legalized same-sex marriage. "The California electorate is coming into a new age realizing that [gay] marriage...

In a press release issued last week, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union and Equality California claimed that a November ballot initiative that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman is unconstitutional. The four groups filed a petition with the state Supreme Court on June 20, asking it to remove the initiative from the ballot because, “the rules for revising the California Constitution were not properly followed.” [[Volokh062808.jpg]]The argument of the four groups against the initiative turns on the distinction in constitutional law between an amendment and a...

Heinz is set to challenge some viewer expectations with a light-hearted TV campaign that features two men sharing a kiss. The TV commercial, which promotes a new range of dressing called Heinz Deli Mayo, breaks tonight and will be supported by a press campaign.

WASHINGTON — The Army and Air Force discharged a disproportionate number of women in 2007 under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military, according to Pentagon statistics gathered by an advocacy group. While women make up 14 percent of Army personnel, 46 percent of those discharged under the policy last year were women. And while 20 percent of Air Force personnel are women, 49 percent of its discharges under the policy last year were women.

Bishop William Murphy Rockville Centre, NY, Jun 20, 2008 / 05:07 am (CNA).- Rockville Centre Bishop William Murphy has criticized New York Governor David A. Paterson for ignoring the democratic process in order to recognize same-sex “marriages” in the state and for acting contrary of the common good of the state. In his weekly column in Long Island Catholic, the prelate began by recalling that in the wake of the decision to approve same-sex “marriages” in Massachusetts, the New York judicial system declared any ruling on the matter beyond its mandate. However, the bishop pointed out, “previous governors indicated...

A month before the Lambeth Conference, the leaders of the "conservative", or traditionally Christian wing of the Anglican Church have declared that the Worldwide Anglican Communion no longer exists. The declaration comes in a 94-page book, titled "The Way, the Truth and the Life," from the church leaders meeting at the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) in Jordan. The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports that in the book, Archbishop Peter Akinola, the Primate of Nigeria, states, "There is no longer any hope, therefore, for a unified Communion". The book was prepared by GAFCON Theological Resource Team and provides the theological and...

The rector of St Bartholomew the Great in the City of London, in the eye of storm over gay 'marriage', explains why he decided he must bless a gay relationship Robustly heterosexual since early adolescence, unable to see that any love surpasses the love of women, and once branded by the odious Daily Mail as 'Dud the Stud', I may seem miscast in the role into which I have now been thrust, that of the turbulent rebellious priest who defies bishop and archbishop to bless two gay men, also priests, in their civil partnership. Yet there is a sense in...

18th June 2008 The Reverend Dr Martin Dudley, St Bartholomew the Great Parish Office, 6 Kinghorn Street, London, EC1A 7HW. Dear Martin, You have sought to justify your actions to the BBC and in various newspapers but have failed more than two weeks after the service to communicate with me. I read in the press that you had been planning this event since November. I find it astonishing that you did not take the opportunity to consult your Bishop. You describe the result as “familiar words reordered and reconfigured carrying new meanings.” I note that the order of service, which...

... Sixty gay and lesbian couples had appointments today to get their marriage licenses in Santa Ana and at a second county office in Laguna Hills. Many others were expected to wait in line and get their licenses without an appointment. The California Supreme Court cleared the way for the same-sex wedding ceremonies in a ruling it issued last month. The ruling struck down a provision of state law that defined marriages only as between a man and a woman. Opponents of same-sex marriage have turned their attention to a ballot measure in November, which would embed that traditional definition...

LAKE FOREST – The conversation dealt with transgendered individuals, homosexuality, and theology. Representatives of the gay community today shared their "coming out" stories and discussed religious attitudes toward homosexuality with Saddleback Church staff. "I feel the foundation is being built for other dialogue between Saddleback and the gay community," said Richard Finch... One person talked about being transgender and Christian, attendees said. Another individual talked about being in the brink of suicide because of his childhood church's views on homosexuality. ... Jeff Lutes, executive director of Soulforce — a gay rights advocacy group that organized the project — said the...

A 5-year-old Los Angeles boy is fighting for his life after police say he was severely tortured with burns and food deprivation by his lesbian mother and her live-in girlfriend. Officials say the child has countless cigarette burns all over his body, including his genitals, and can't open his hands because he was forced to put them flat on a hot stove. The boy was also repeatedly beaten and forced to sit in his own urine, police said. "In my time in policing in 27 years, I have never seen anybody with these kinds of injuries that has lived," Los...

It seems that almost weekly there is another assault on true marriage. The unrelenting efforts of an activist wing of the homosexual community have succeeded in reframing the issues of the debate and now aim to enforce nothing short of a Cultural Revolution. They have been joined by eager collaborators in the Judiciary and elected officials who believe they are some kind of new “liberators”. Notice the pervasive use of the language of this new Cultural Revolution. No longer are there any news reports using the word marriage for what it ontologically is, the lifelong union between one man and...

On Monday, Episcopal Bishop Marc Handley Andrus, of the Diocese of California (the San Francisco area) issued a pastoral guideline calling for all couples, regardless of sexual orientation, to follow the same pattern for marriage, seeking a civil ceremony first followed by a church blessing. This will allow, the bishop said, for all couples to enter marriage on the same footing. He is even going to personally volunteer to perform the ceremonies as a Deputy Marriage Commissioner. In other words, he wants those whose marriages the church can sanction to seek a civil ceremony instead, followed by a church blessing......

Maureen Monks, about to become the newest judge of the Middlesex Probate and Family Court, is a long-time radical lesbian activist attorney. She specializes in "gay" family issues. Last week, when her nomination hit some rocky waters getting through the Governor's Council, Governor Deval Patrick simply ignored their official vote and announced he will swear her in. Monks' nomination - and the governor's action -- was strongly supported by both the Boston Globe and Boston Herald on their editorial pages.

He maintains he is following the Holy Spirit in calling for this radical revision of Christian orthodoxy. Yet, he argues against the clear teaching of the Scriptures and unbroken teaching of the Christian tradition that reserve sexual activity to the loving, lifelong marriage bond between a married man and woman. Clearly, Bishop Gene Robinson views himself as a liberator, and he is doing more to foster the splintering of the Anglican Communion worldwide singlehandedly than anyone else. He seems to take delight in both his celebrity and his self appointed task. Now, the controversialist crusader for homosexual equivalency with marriage...

You know thins is coming. Is your average 9-1-1 operator ready to take the call for the world's first "pregnant man?" Odds are it will go something like today's "Geeks On Caffeine" cartoon...

Rome was the scene of another gay pride paradeon Saturday. It was over-reported, as usual, the sympathies of journalists and editors having overmastered their professional objectivity. As usual, hatred and ridicule of the Church was a chief theme of the festivities, which the media treated with amused indulgence. By what may seem historical accident, as other defenders of Judeo-Christian morality fade into the inert secular background, the Catholic Church assumes a more prominent combatant role in the culture wars. There is no new belligerence on the Church's part; simply by standing pat and holding on to those moral truths she...

The vague wording of Section 18 of the Sexual Orientation Regulations of the new Equality Act may enable the Society to confound the contentious rules by simply amending its constitution to refer directly to "married heterosexual couples" rather than its current reference to "couples who wish to adopt." Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor said he was in full agreement with the decision to challenge the new government policies. "I fully support the decision of the trustees in their endeavours to continue the valuable work of the Society," the Cardinal said. As LifeSiteNews.com reported last week, other Catholic adoption agencies in Britain have either...

Heard about the pregnant "dude" on Oprah? Well he's in "Geeks On Caffeine" and...uh...well, the title of this post pretty much says it all. Further evidence of the decline of Western civilization? A sign of the apocalypse? Or just another story about a nutbag that expects the rest of the world to buy into personal delusion? YOU MAKE THE CALL!!

'Gay counselling' call rejected Iris Robinson said gay people should seek counselling A gay rights campaigner has rejected a Northern Ireland assembly member's call for homosexuals to seek psychiatric counselling.David McCartney from the Rainbow Project was responding to comments from Iris Robinson, who is the chair of the Stormont health committee. Mrs Robinson said with help, gay people could be "turned around". Mr McCartney said there was "no body of evidence" to support this and asked to meet the MP. Mrs Robinson made her comments on BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show on Friday. She said she would defend her...

Advocates of same-sex “marriage” present the idea as a step forward for tolerance and respect. But recent developments place that interpretation very much in doubt. Legalizing same-sex “marriage” is not a stand-alone policy, independent of all the other activities of the state. Once governments assert that same-sex unions are the equivalent of marriage, those governments must defend and enforce a whole host of other social changes. Unfortunately, these government-enforced changes conflict with a wide array of ordinary liberties, including religious freedom and ordinary private property rights. It began with the persecution of Catholic Charities in Boston. The archdiocese eventually closed...

A business owner has to worry about many "groups" with a social agenda. After coffee shop owner Joe Black had a run-in with the Transsexual Mafia, the next group with a social bone to pick made its presence known!

Kern County Auditor-Controller-County Clerk Ann Barnett repeatedly tried to avoid licensing and performing marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples, interviews and e-mails obtained by The Californian show. At her request, County Counsel Bernard Barmann filed a brief with the California Supreme Court opposing implementation of the May 15 ruling allowing gay marriage. She tried to resign her elected position as county clerk — while keeping her positions as auditor-controller and elections boss. “She really wanted to get rid of it,” Barmann said. And finally, when the ruling came down Wednesday that she had to license same-sex marriages, she decided to stop...

Within the perspective of the nation’s Cultural War, Americans felt the full force of two actions favoring the homosexual movement in May 2008. Same-sex "marriage" is now being imposed upon the nation by government fiat. On May 15, 2008, California’s Supreme Court declared the unconstitutionality of Proposition 22—ignoring the voices of 61% of California voters who approved the measure in 2000—and all other California statutes restricting marriage to the union of one man and one woman and imposed homosexual "marriage" on the Golden State. Concomitantly, New York Governor David Patterson unilaterally ordered all government agencies... to same-sex "marriages" contracted outside...

The title pretty much says it all. Check out the toon!!

Sometimes it's just so durn easy to get confused when you're having a conversation with a transsexual...

CHRC Spokesman Will Not Say if Christian Teaching on Sexuality is “Hate” Calgary Bishop Henry says "we're into a new form of censorship and thought control, and the commissions are being used as thought police.” By Hilary White OTTAWA, May 30, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A spokesman for the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) has refused to say whether Christian moral opposition to homosexual activity constitutes a “hate crime”. Pete Vere, a Catholic writer who has been working on the clashes between the Human Rights Commissions and Christians, asked Mark van Dusen, a media spokesman for the CHRC, “If one, because...

SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline)-In a rare move, attorneys general from 10 states are urging the California Supreme Court to stay its ruling that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed Thursday with the California Supreme Court, the attorneys general say they need additional time to determine if their state would recognize gay marriages performed in the Golden State. "Certainly if the new California definition of marriage continues past November, the resulting litigation in our courts of the recognition issue will have the virtue of being both necessary and unavoidable under the principles of 'our federalism,'...

You know what happens to those who cross the mafia, right? They get whacked, rubbed out, erased and so on. Well with the transsexual mafia, you wind up at the bottom of the river swimming with the fishes in a pair of cement...