Free Republic

In thirty months, St. Peters Square will return to looking like that which was conceived and built in the second half of the 1600s. Work has already begun on the Bernini columns and soon they will be restored in all of their original color and brilliance; as one of the most important Baroque symbols, famous not only in architecture and urban planning – as a space dedicated to public religious ceremonies – but also as highly allegorical artistic representation of an ecumenical embrace of the universal Church to all people. The immense construction site aims to restore all of the...

I don’t think anyone will begrudge the president for celebrating his 50th birthday. It’s a big milestone in life that deserves to be marked. But does he need to do it in such an extravagant and insensitive style at a time of tremendous economic turmoil when tens of millions of Americans are hurting financially and nearly one in ten are out of work? Barack Obama is not a Hollywood celebrity or corporate mogul. He is a public official, paid for by the American people, and is expected to lead the country by example.

DUBLIN -- The Vatican encouraged Catholic bishops not to tell police about suspected pedophile priests and flouted Irish law, Ireland's lawmakers declared Wednesday in an unprecedented denunciation of the Holy See's influence in this predominantly Catholic country. The government and all opposition parties unanimously backed a motion accusing the Vatican of sabotaging the Irish bishops' 1996 decision to begin reporting suspected cases of child abuse to police. "This is not Rome. This is the Republic of Ireland 2011, a republic of laws," Prime Minister Enda Kenny told lawmakers. In a direct challenge to the Vatican, Kenny denounced what he called...

Even if you are fortunate enough to have a retreat out in the country getting to your safe haven maybe impossible during upheaval. Roads blocked by wrecked and fuelless vehicles will stop most bugouters in their tracks. Maybe you were born lucky and can make it out safely before the balloon bursts, then what? People in rural areas, will start shooting if threatened by mobs of refugees fleeing the city. Don’t expect to be welcomed with arms outstretched. Most country folks don’t trust outsiders; you will likely be greeted with a load of buckshot and not the cup of fresh...

Once again Europe's debt crisis has metastasized, and once again the financial authorities face systemic contagion unless they take immediate and dramatic action. If the ECB's Jean-Claude Trichet is right in claiming that Europe was on the brink of a 1930s financial cataclysm a year ago - and I think he is - it is hard see how the threat is any less serious right now. Fall-out from Greece flattened Portugal and Ireland last week. It is engulfing Spain and Italy, countries with €6.3 trillion of public and private debt between them. Yields on Italian 10-year bonds hit a post-EMU...

The captain of the US 'Audacity of Hope' arrested for violating a Greek ban on sailing to Gaza from its ports was freed on Tuesday, Reuters reports. Greek authorities last week banned ships destined for Gaza from leaving Greek ports "for their safety". American John Klusmire, 60, was charged during a hearing on Tuesday with breaching the ban and putting lives at risk after being intercepted last week at sea by the Hellenic Coast Guard. When ordered to return to port Klusmire, ferrying mostly American passengers, refused, leading to a two-hour stand off that ended when Greek commandos boarded his...

Moody's on Tuesday cut Portugal's credit standing to junk in the first such move by a ratings agency and warned the country may well need a second round of rescue funds before it can return to capital markets. Moody's Investors Service slashed Portugal's credit rating by four levels to Ba2, making it follow Greece into junk territory below investment grade. It cited heightened concerns that Portugal will not be able to fully achieve the deficit reduction and debt stabilization targets set out in its loan agreement with the European Union and International Monetary Fund. There also is an increasing probability...

After President Barack Obama revealed the suspect status of his support for Israel — and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wowed crowds with a sternly-worded address to a special joint session of Congress — some speculated Jewish American support for Obama would wane. But a new Gallup poll out yesterday shows a large majority still approve of the president. Jewish Americans gave President Barack Obama a 60% job approval rating in June, down from 68% in May, but statistically unchanged from 64% in April. Thirty-two percent of U.S. Jews now disapprove of the job Obama is doing, similar to their...

Hillary: State Dept. ‘Instrumental in Sealing Deal’ For Lady Gaga’s Gay Pride Gig Monday, June 27, 2011 By Penny Starr (CNSNews.com) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday that the State Department played an instrumental role in “sealing the deal” for pop-rock star Lady Gaga to perform at a gay pride rally in Rome, Italy. Clinton specifically pointed to a letter that David Thorne, the U.S. ambassador to Italy, sent to Lady Gaga urging her to participate in the event. “And then there is the work that our embassy team in Rome has been doing,” Clinton said. “Two...

[Still looking for that scary youtube video of State Dept. official warning illegal aliens from south of the border seeking "work", that they could be banned from the U.S. for life if caught working here illegally.] [So far, not having any luck finding that video. Mabye they just made one for the benefit of young Israelis thinking about coming here to work illegally.] From INN: "The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv released a video warning young Israelis not to be tempted by illegal offers of work in the United States. The YouTube video features testimony by young Israelis who were...

"The only thing we learn from history is that we never learn from history. If you read Augustine’s City of God and how consumed the people of Rome were with entertainment, luxury and sexual deviance - and then compare it to the immoral state of this nation, the United States overlaps perfectly with the state of Rome before it was sacked by the Visigoths. Another thing we are going to see repeated is the evil that follows the lust for power by people of a sinful nature when tolerated by a society of narcissistic degenerates. Polls show that over 60%...

Prosecutors want to lock a 12 year old boy up for the rest of his life - to stop him from killing again. Cristian Fernandez could become America's youngest ever 'lifer' after being charged as an adult in the murder of his two year old brother. Prosecutor Angela Corey said: 'We have to protect the public from this young man'. She recommended he face trial as an adult. Ms Corey said the public had a 'right to be protected' from him. If Fernandez were charged as a juvenile and convicted he would be free by the time he is 21...

Many people with whom I talk these days say they sense something is happening to their familiar world.  They are not sure how to put this feeling into words.  For them, the river of time seems to have altered its course.  You hear this uncertainty expressed not only at cocktail parties but at barbecues, too. We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America." These words by Barack Obama echo through time. Have they been heard before, in another language, in another age? I sense those who walk by the banks of the Potomac nowadays...

Western Europe's largest mosque opened its doors to the grand public on Saturday - It was an occasion for Muslims and non-muslims alike to discover and even appreciate Islam. As a growing community with approximately 1.6 million members throughout the country, the goal was to share its customs and culture with fellow Italians. Inaugurated in 1995, the mosque is spread out over 30 thousand square meters of land and can hold 12 thousand worshippers at any given time. It's also quite pleasing to the eye, with its marble steps, lots of greenery and intricately designed columns. While the beauty of...

Many factors led to ancient Rome’s fall, say politically-correct experts. True. At the same time, there were many reasons to explain her rise too. Also forgotten: some stand out more than others. Thus, to ignore history’s greatest forces is to ignore her most important lessons. Standing on the work of the late historian Will Durant, Rabbi Daniel Lapin turns to big-picture ethics. “Excessive regulation, excessive government size and intrusion, and excessive and abusive taxation policies were only the tip of the iceberg. The essential causes of Rome’s decline lay in her people, her morals, her bureaucratic despotism, her stifling taxes,...

According to a New York Times editorial this week, “As Housing Goes, So Goes the Economy”. It is a call to the United States government to intervene in the housing market which, nearly two years after the housing bubble burst, is still in trouble and will not, says the Times, fix itself. That may be so in the short term, but a report published today by the Family Research Council suggests that the long-term fix for the economy must come from another quarter. Tweaking foreclosure rules may make it possible for more people to keep their homes, but it...

The Apostle to Rome Philip Neri By: Patricia Mitchell “Ecco Filippone! Here comes the great Philip!” This was not an unfamiliar cry in the streets of sixteenth-century Rome as the local youth spotted Philip Neri strolling down the street with his friends in the late afternoon. Philip was hard to miss, with his large white shoes, rough coat and comical hat. This was the priest who made them laugh, the one carrying a bunch of weeds and smelling them as if they were roses, the one wearing his clothes inside out. This priest—who brought the joy of the Lord...

Businesses have reported requests from one in five people to have time off work and many are also keeping children away from school and heading to the beach or country for the day. Romans are taking it so seriously that local newspapers have even been publishing survival guides with tips of what to do – if – the ground starts to tremble. The panic has been fanned by Facebook, Twitter and text messages around a prediction by Raffaele Bendani, a seismologist who forecast in 1915 that a "big one" would hit Rome on Wednesday. He is also said to have...

ROME -- US secretary of state Hillary Clinton wound down after a packed day of international diplomacy in Rome by enjoying an outdoor dinner on a balmy evening at one of the Eternal City's famed eateries, ANSA news agency reported Friday. Clinton was joined by David Thorne, the US ambassador to Italy and brother-in-law of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), at the unnamed restaurant near the Campo de' Fiori in the center of the Italian capital Thursday evening after walking along the Via Condotti, a major shopping street, the report said.

QUESTION : WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED IN 2,066 YEARS? "The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance." - CICERO - 55 BC ANSWER : APPARENTLY NOTHING