Free Republic

Rome, Italy, Jan 31, 2011 / 02:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Rome is already bracing for the impact of the many pilgrims who will converge on St. Peter's for the May 1 beatification of Pope John Paul II.Sleeping space in religious communities across the city - around 15,000 beds - was booked up within a day of the Jan. 14 announcement. The Domus Aurelia hotel run by the Emmanuel Community has been reserved "since literally two minutes after the announcement," said Lorenzo Amico, who was working the hotel desk at the time. The hotel is located a short way from St....

BETHESDA, Md. -First lady Michelle Obama has helped open three new residences for families of ailing U.S. soldiers and veterans in Maryland. Obama cut the red ribbon Thursday for the Fisher Houses at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. She was flanked by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Ken Fisher of the Fisher House Foundation. Obama says the homes provide a comfortable place for families who have made a sacrifice for their country. The residences will provide free lodging for the families of as many as 60 sick and injured service members. The Rockville-based foundation has built dozens of...

When Manoj Patel's family bought the Wigwam Motel in Rialto, Calif., four years ago, the iconic Route 66 property was rundown. Its stucco teepees, built in the 1930s by Kentucky motor-inn visionary Frank Redford, had been frequented by drug addicts and prostitutes because the Wigwam's previous owners tried to reel in customers with a cheesy sign urging them to DO IT IN A TEE PEE. The Patels, who left India for the U.S. in 1980, worked hard to restore the motel to its former glory and added some modern amenities, including free wi-fi access. Says the owners' son Manoj, 27:...

In the rooms of Manhattan's trendy Soho Grand Hotel guests can enjoy an eclectic selection of underground music, iPod docking stations, flat-screen TVs and even the living company of a complimentary goldfish. But, alas, the word of God is nowhere to be found. Unlike traditional hotels, the 10-year-old boutique has never put Bibles in its guest rooms, because "society evolves," says hotel spokeswoman Lori DeBlois. Providing Bibles would mean the hotel "would have to take care of every guest's belief." What might be surprising to many Americans is that the Bible-free room isn't a development just in hip New York...

Hotel chain quits animal rightists The national Accor Economy Lodging hotel/motel chain has responded to a flood of calls and letters from U.S. sportsmen and is discontinuing its partnership with the nation's largest animal rights group, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). So says the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, a hunting advocacy organization that has led the fight to get Accor Economy Lodging to stop helping HSUS. Hunters and anglers might want to thank Accor Economy Lodging for its decision. Contact George Le Mener, President and CEO, Accor Economy Lodging, P. O. Box 809092, Dallas, Texas 75380-9092, or send...