Free Republic

A Tennessee abortionist says her Christian faith led her to believe that women should have easy access to abortions without judgment or shame. In a column for Refinery 29, Sarah Wallett explained why she is both abortionist and a Christian. She said her Christian upbringing and her family’s dedication to caring for people in need were what “inspired” her to pursue her line of work. Women “require and deserve” abortions, Wallett claimed. She described her abortion work as an “integral” part of women’s health care, and said women should not be judged for having them. Wallet said her patients often...

Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson speaks with CNA in Rome, June 26, 2014. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA. Toronto, Canada, Aug 2, 2016 / 08:46 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholics need to stop voting for pro-abortion politicians, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson told an international gathering of the Knights of Columbus.“Pope Francis has emphasized how important it is for Catholics to be engaged in the political process,” Anderson said Aug 2. “His words regarding the importance of Catholics being faithful citizens are especially important for us.”Anderson’s remarks to the Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus meeting in Toronto reiterated his comments...

An Irish man who was allegedly dismissed from the national seminary after complaining of homosexual activities will meet with police to discuss a formal complaint. The man, who has sought to preserve his anonymity, told the Irish Independent that a faculty member at St. Patrick’s seminary in Maynooth made homosexual overtures. He eventually left the seminary and married, but testified that his experience left him “severely shaken” and troubled by depression. The possibility of policy involvement and formal charges comes at a time when the Irish news media are reporting multiple complaints of homosexual misconduct at the Maynooth seminary. Ex-trainee...

MIAMI SHORES, Florida, August 2, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — An investigation that began as a group of parents concerned with financial and personnel changes at their children’s parish school revealed that their priest violated archdiocesan policy by hiring someone with a criminal record who had also been arrested for prostitution, fired longtime school maintenance staff in order to hire his friends, and went on lavish vacations and outings with the man arrested for prostitution. A group of parishioners who call themselves Christifidelis (“Christ’s faithful” in Latin) at St. Rose of Lima parish became concerned with the sudden news that the religious...

Exactly a week after two terrorists killed Father Jacques Hamel while he said mass in his own church, nearly 2,000 mourners paid their respects to the Catholic priest, described by his sister as “my brother. Everyone’s brother.” The emotionally powerful ceremony at Rouen cathedral, attended by the French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, and religious leaders including Muslim representatives, took place amid high security. Hundreds of people who could not get into the cathedral watched the ceremony from under umbrellas on a big screen. Priests lead the procession as Father Hamel’s coffin is carried to the cathedral. Photograph: Jacky Naegelen/Reuters Dominique...

In a shocking development the Illinois Conference of Catholic Bishops have declared themselves “neutral” on a controversial bill that would force pro-life medical professionals and pregnancy care centers to tell mothers about the “benefits” of abortion and give mothers information on where and how to end the life of her child in an abortion clinic. Pro-lifers have worked very hard to defeat SB 1564 since it was passed in May but the Illinois Bishops, by taking a “neutral” position, have essentially sided with Planned Parenthood and the Illinois abortion lobby in criminalizing any medical professional or care center worker who...

The Irish Independent may not be posted on FR, so click HERE for the full article.

Beware the Deception of False Prophets Msgr. Charles Pope • July 31, 2016 • In today’s first reading (Monday of the 18th Week) the Prophet Jeremiah denounces the false prophets of his day, who promise all sorts grand visions for Israel despite its sin. Jeremiah says to the people, By breaking a wooden yoke, you forge an iron yoke! (Jer 28:13) In other words, by failing to repent (breaking the wooden yoke) you shall know an iron yoke. (Think about the addiction to sin of many who do not show restraint earlier in life.) To the false prophets of...

I know this will cause a lot of heavy breathing and stomping of feet but I think Colleen McCrum of Christendom College has written a worthy piece and made good arguments. These should be seriously considered because a lot is at stake. I could brush it all off and say, “I am almost 62 years old and in a decade or two will be with the Lord so I really don’t care that much.” But, I have four kids and twelve grandkids so I DO care and will vote to prove it.I could also say, “I am too principled to...

Ever heard of Bishop Nunzio Galantino? Crux’s John Allen reported on him back in May. Excerpts: If you’re seeking the prototypical “Pope Francis bishop,” you need look no further than Nunzio Galantino. Francis overlooked all 500 Italian bishops to pluck Galantino out of obscurity and name him head of all Italian bishops. Galantino, appointed by Benedict XVI in 2011, was very last of all the bishops in a poll of the Italian episcopate requesting their input in who should govern them — yet Francis went to the back of the line to elevate him. Why? Allen writes: What did Francis...

SALEM, Mass. —It’s a hot summer night, and leaders of the Satanic Temple have gathered in the crimson­-walled living room of a Victorian manse in this city renowned for its witch trials in the 17th century. They’re watching a sepia-toned video, in which children dance around a maypole, a spider crawls across a clown’s face and eerie, ambient chanting gives way to a backward, demonic voice-over. The group chuckles with approval.On Monday, the group plans to introduce its After School Satan Club to public elementary schools, including one in Prince George’s County, petitioning school officials to allow them to...

You Can’t Take It with You, But You Can Send it on Ahead! Five Teachings on Wealth Msgr. Charles Pope • July 30, 2016 • The Gospel today is not merely a warning against greed; it is an instruction on income and wealth given by Jesus to help us root out greed. As the Gospel opens, the problem of greed is presented. Following that, a prescribed perspective on wealth is offered. Let’s take a look at both parts of this Gospel. I. The Problem that is Portrayed – The text begins, Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher,...

Katherine Haik’s one-year reign as Miss Teen USA ends Saturday evening in Las Vegas. An active member of her youth group at First Baptist Church in Franklinton, Louisiana, in 2015 Katherine became the youngest-ever contestant to win the pageant. Alas, the then 15-year-old high school freshman did not earn her victory without making a certain compromise – disregarding the Scripture advising that “women should adorn themselves in respectable attire, with modesty and self control.” Well, one needn’t be prudish to wonder whether sashaying across a stage in high heels and a teensy bikini fits the Biblical definition of “modesty.” Especially,...

Yes, Bergoglio said this to young people, many of whom are wrestling with all sorts of temptations right now. For the record, saying God wants us to be morally weak is a vicious and damnable lie. From Catholic News Agency: God prefers us weak, Pope Francis says off-the-cuff to youth Krakow, Poland, Jul 30, 2016 / 09:28 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The weaker we are, the more God's mercy can transform our lives. Pope Francis made these impromptu remarks on Saturday to crowds of young people gathered outside of Krakow’s St. John Paul II shrine. “Today, the Lord wants us to...

BATON ROUGE - A win for the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Baton Rouge today in a legal case that centered around a church doctrine prohibiting a priest from revealing what is said inside a confessional. A state appeals court affirmed that Father Jeff Bayhi does not have to reveal any conversation between him and a woman who claims she was sexually abused by a now deceased parishioner. Rebecca Mayeux claimed in a lawsuit against the Church that she told Bayhi about the alleged behavior in 2008 and that those statements between the two should be included during...

KRAKOW, Poland, July 29, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – The head of the Polish bishops conference says that in a private meeting this week Pope Francis held with the country’s bishops, he spoke of allowing local bishops conferences to make decisions about the controversial practice of giving Communion to those who are divorced and remarried. “The Holy Father says that general laws are very hard to enforce in each country, and so he speaks about decentralization,” Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki told reporters after a July 27 closed-door meeting with the Pope in Krakow. The pope had traveled to Poland for World Youth Day....

The diocese of San Jose is saying its LGBT ministry will not "elaborate" on Church teaching on "sexual morality, conscience, and personal sin," while claiming that gay people can't change their sexual orientation. The document "Guidelines for the Catholic LGBT Ministry Council" bears the name of Bp. Patrick J. McGrath and is the guide by which Catholic parishes are to deal with LGBT people. It maintains from the outset that the guidelines "do not presume any particular social or psychological analysis of sexuality in our society, except for a generally accepted premise that individuals do not choose and cannot change...

Canadian Catholic journalist Lianne Laurence has written a profile offering new insight into the role that Fr. Antonio Spadaro, SJ — editor of the Italian Jesuit magazine, La Civiltà Cattolica — plays in divulging the mind of his close friend, Pope Francis. In a new interview at World Youth Day, Fr. Spadaro gives details on his relationship with Francis that help paint a picture of how attuned he is to the mind of the pope. The fortnightly journal is reviewed by the Vatican’s secretary of state before publication, and is seen as reflecting the “official” views of the Holy See....

The more liberal Francis was always going to have a problem with Poland's more traditionalist Catholic hierarchy Poland plays a waiting game: how senior clergy are biding their time for a more conservative pope. The Polish bishops will have given Pope Francis a suitably polite welcome on his arrival in Krakow this week. But behind the scenes, they are determined to ignore most of what he says and sit out his papacy in the hope of getting a more conservative successor.

A Planned Parenthood affiliate in Utah is facing public backlash after it integrated a Mormon trademark phrase on its new condom packages. KLS News in Utah reports the condom packages showed the letters “CTR” against a pink shield, a reference to a popular Mormon hymn and symbol used in youth religious education programs. On Monday, the abortion group posted a photo of the condoms on its Facebook page, but deleted it later that day after the public began to complain, according to the report. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints issued a statement saying it has a registered...