Free Republic

Excavations at the Zultepec-Tecoaque archaeological site in Tlaxcala, Mexico, have revealed that indigenous Acolhuas peoples captured a caravan of 550 conquistadors and their allies in 1520, kept them in captivity, and ate them over a period of nine months. And new research suggests that these acts were not random; it seems the Acolhuas people were re-creating their creation myths. Who were the Acolhuas’ Sacrificial Victims? Hernán Cortés , the Spanish usurper of Mexico at the time, was in the caravan to Tenochtitlan but rode ahead to help put down a rebellion in Mexico City before the Acolhuas party struck. The...

Cardinals are spending loads of Catholic cash instead of embracing the long arms of justice. Last September, New York's Cdl. Timothy Dolan hired Barbara Jones, a former federal judge, to conduct an independent investigation into how the archdiocese handled allegations of sex abuse. At $750 per hour — what Jones typically charges — the archdiocese has already shelled out around half a million dollars — all for naught, as Church Militant reported that Dolan is ignoring Jones' recommendations to remove several predator priests from active ministry. Dolan has also wasted untold funds in obstructing justice which demands that the relatives...

(JTA) Dirty, hot and exhausted Israeli soldiers waiting for their bus home from the army base tend, understandably, to be in a hurry to get on board. But when I was living in Israel during the first intifada, soldiers didn’t jostle to be first in line. Rather, the most coveted position was second. That’s because the bus driver had the right – under rules issued by the army and made clear to each armed soldier before she or he left the base – to order any soldier to sit in the front seat and remain alert. And the first one...

American society is currently in a dysfunctional state, and like all things dysfunctional, it will implode if not addressed very soon. We live in a world that contains a vast amount of knowledge, but little understanding. The United States has not experienced extreme tyranny, but it is headed in that direction. The shift of authority from private sector to public sector has created a serious imbalance. As a country, there is great arrogance. We take for granted that we will always be the land of the free. Like all civilizations prior, we’re moving from liberty to totalitarianism and it’s happening...

Confused about Obama's foreign policy? With Clinton's foreign policy? You are likely familiar with the "Hierarchy of Needs" - Things a human MUST have in order survive: for a minute, for an hour, for a day, for a week, for a year, etc. Until those needs are met, he or she cannot look for less important things. Air, water, food, clothing, shelter, etc .. All can get ranked according to a human's most important priorities. Now consider every foreign policy decision, speech, foreign leader, foreign trip (well - except vacations), and foreign award or recognition Obama has chosen since 2008....

"...We are doomed because there is no coherent organization and the cost of government rises under this structure as the efficiency of management declines. Our organizational skills are seriously lacking. We have far too many agencies all regulating in an overlapping manner and this increases the cost as well as the inability to actually manage anything. This was one of the complaints in the Declaration of Independence: He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. It is time to understand this inherent barbaric tribal tendency...

Bishops of the Anglican Church in the United States have voted to overturn a three-year moratorium on the election of gay bishops. The decision seems likely to lead to the Episcopal Church's eventual exit from the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Communion has been fighting to avoid disintegration since the Episcopal Church consecrated the openly gay bishop Gene Robinson in 2003. The decision is expected to be confirmed in the next few days. Archbishop's regret The election of the Bishop of New Hampshire, the Right Reverend Gene Robinson, created an apparently irreconcilable rift between liberal and traditional Anglicans. Liberals believe the...

Pope Accepts Resignation of Bishop of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Appoints Successor; Names Auxiliary Bishop in St. Paul-Minneapolis WASHINGTON—Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Bishop Edward P. Cullen, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, and has named as his successor Msgr. John O. Barres, 48, chancellor of the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware. The same day he also named Father Lee Piché, 51, as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Bishop–elect Piché has been vicar general of the archdiocese.John O. Barres was born September 20, 1960, in Larchmont, New York, to Oliver...

Anyone who dreams of a "classless society" may be disheartened by the results of a brain-scanning study reported today: Hierarchical awareness seems to be deeply embedded in the human brain, so much so that there are distinct circuits activated by concerns over social rank. In the study, a team led by neuroscientist Caroline Zink of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, first set up a "stable hierarchy." Twenty-four adult subjects were asked to press a button quickly whenever a blue circle changed to green. Ostensibly based on their skill at the task, the subjects were assigned a...

Ave Maria!Recent initiatives in support of the Dogmatic Declaration of Marian Coredemption are springing up like May flowers in this Month of Mary and are the fruit of many years of dialogue and theological discussion organized by the Hierarchy, the Franciscans of the Immaculate, and Vox Popoli Mariae Mediatrici. This movement is supported by a wide range of theologians and lay people, and the initiatives have five main thrusts: Hierarchical, Theological, Popular Apologetical, a Video Series on the internet, and a Lay Petition drive.Hierarchical: A symposium was held on May 3rd to the 7th, 2005 in Fatima, Portugal, led by...

The Pope as Monarch: Reflections on Politics by Dr. Jeff Mirus As I ponder the life and death of John Paul II, I am reminded that there is something about a pope that is very much like a king. This analogy with the social order is far from perfect, for the Church and the body politic are very different things. But there is much to be gained from wondering about the sheer greatness of this fallen leader. For both the Church and the world, some of these gains may be political. The Ideal Form of GovernmentThe Church has never taught...

The Suicide of Altering the Faith in the Liturgy by Father Paul Kramer Editor’s Note: This is an edited transcript of a speech given at the Fatima Peace Conference in October, 2001. Father Kramer was trained at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome (the Angelicum) under whom he describes as “the last group of traditional Dominicans,” which had lasted until the 1970s. It contains sobering points on the nature of the New Mass and the Catholic’s obligation, enshrined in the Tridentine Profession of Faith, to adhere to the “received and approved rites,” that is, the Traditional Mass....

The homosexual scandal in the Austrian seminary of Sankt Pölten is the breaking news. Let me put some order into the different accounts that are coming from everywhere. The source: A seminary insider, a priest, took many pictures of homosexual acts among seminarians, and also between priests and seminarians. One of these photos was of the vice-rector of the establishment, Fr. Wolgang Rothe, kissing a seminarian on the mouth. These pictures that began to circulate early this month caused some priests to request an investigation of the seminary by civil prosecutors (Deutsche Welle, online, July 13, 2004; Iafrica, online, July...

Are the Mainlines Derailing?Rifts Widen in Major Protestant DenominationsFeature by Ed VitaglianoJune 18, 2004 (AgapePress) - Whether or not the average member in the pew knows it, many leaders within some of the nation's oldest Protestant denominations are steering their churches into schism. Especially on the contentious issue of homosexuality -- but also on the subject of abortion -- denominations like the United Methodist Church (UMC), Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA), and the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) have lurched leftward in a turn that is as breathtakingly swift as it is radical. This deviation threatens to further the rupture between...

LOOKING FORWARD:An archbishop examines himself & church structuresCOMMONWEAL/August 15, 2003 "From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required" (Luke 12: 48). That admonition weighs heavily upon me. My personal failings are now public knowledge. I have apologized to the local church of Milwaukee and to the larger church for my transgressions, and I have begged forgiveness. The thousands of letters, e-mails, and phone calls I have received since stepping down as archbishop of Milwaukee convince me that the church's faithful in the United States remain incredibly strong in their understanding of human frailty, sinfulness, and the...

A major legacy of Pope John Paul II is already evident - saints, both canonized and living. Some are offering arguments to the contrary, pointing to the outbreak of immorality within the priesthood. That overlooks an ancient reality, that resolute and dutiful leadership can till the soil for the germination, growth, and flowering of saints; it cannot always prevent the Enemy from sowing seeds of the most deadly and evil sort alongside those that produce the most beautiful flowers. In fact, that enemy is at his most determined when a champion of holiness appears in history such as our present...

Linux shouldn't work. It's an operating system designed by hackers, the kind of people who can give you detailed plot synopses of every "Star Trek" episode. The "official" releases of the OS are really just releases of the kernel, the basic core of the system. Other companies and groups assemble drivers, programs, interfaces, etc., and package them all together in distributions, which are free to the public. You can view and modify the Linux source code, if you're into that kinky stuff. Microsoft would spend a zillion dollars in court before it let anyone look at the code for Windows....

  We Are One: A Pastoral to the Church in Rochester Nov 16, 1998 by Most Rev. Dr. Robert M. Bowman, Presiding Bishop, United Catholic Church   (Those unfamiliar with what has happened to Corpus Christi parish in Rochester, NY may first want to read the background, then return and read this Pastoral.  Go to Background on Corpus Christi)   I, Bob, by the grace of God a successor to the apostles; to the people of God of Corpus Christi parish in Rochester, New York. Greetings. May the joy and peace and love and grace and blessing of Almighty...