Free Republic

Officials at the New York State Catholic Conference are calling the Reproductive Health Act “worse than we thought it would be.” “It foresees a time in New York where it’s a crime to be pro-life,” said Kathleen Gallagher, director of pro-life activities and the Catholic Action Network for the conference, which is the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops. The measure, introduced in the Legislature the week of January 7, will expand access to abortion in the state, despite being promoted as simply codifying Roe v Wade. It not only increases access to abortion across the board, including...

Cdl. Wuerl asks for ‘understanding’ after evidence shows he lied about McCarrick WASHINGTON, D.C., January 14, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – In a January 12 letter addressed to the priests of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., Cardinal Donald Wuerl offered no apology for months of deceitful statements denying his knowledge of sex abuse allegations against disgraced ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Instead, he asked for “understanding.” The letter (read full letter below) comes after news last week that Wuerl was deceitful about his knowledge of sex abuse allegations against McCarrick, further vindicating the testimony from former Papal Nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò on who knew about...

Francis and Sexual Abuse. The Pope Who Knew Too Much Pope Francis has already made it clear for some time how he judges and how he intends to address the question of sexual abuse among sacred ministers. As a problem not primarily of sex but of power, not of individuals but of caste, the clerical caste.He gave this to be understood in the letter on this question that he addressed to the “people of God” on August 20, 2018, in which he never mentions “sexual abuse” on its own, but in the combination of “sexual abuse, the abuse of power...

Washington D.C., Jan 10, 2019 / 05:19 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Little Sisters of the Poor are back in court this week, as two states are challenging their religious exemption from the HHS contraception mandate. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra have each filed lawsuits saying that the sisters should not receive a religious exemption from the mandate. Other states have joined onto these lawsuits as well. “The Little Sisters are looking forward to a final victory in this case, so they can put this whole lawsuit behind them. It's been a long fight,” Becket...

A California pastor is looking for a job after facing backlash over a church sign that affirms the biblical definition of gender and marriage. Pastor Justin Hoke of Trinity Bible Presbyterian Church in Weed, California, posted a new church sign in early January. The sign read: "Bruce Jenner is still a man. Homosexuality is still sin. The culture may change. The Bible does not."

Viganò tells McCarrick: repent, for the sake of your soul Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has called on Archbishop Theodore McCarrick to repent publicly of alleged “crimes against minors and abuses of seminarians”.In an open letter, the former nuncio to the Unites States told McCarrick that “time is running out” and his “eternal salvation is at stake”.“No matter what decision the supreme authority of the Church takes in your case, what really matters, and what has saddened those who love you and pray for you, is the fact that throughout these months you haven’t given any sign of repentance,” Viganò...

GUESS WHO? (New Vatican PR Chief Identifies "Great Accuser") Looks like next month's Vatican summit meeting with the world bishops’ conference heads—called, ostensibly, to address the massive sex abuse crisis in the Church—will likely have all the effectiveness of a very nice bumper sticker. The real problem in the Church today is, of course, homosexuality in the priesthood. But how can the Vatican be expected to address that when there are so many other more pressing problems to tackle? Clericalism, for example. That’s a biggie!  And the abuse of power, immigration, plastic straws in the ocean. There’s a lot on...

Influential Editorial declares Francis Pontificate a "failure": Hope for an end to Hyper-Papalism The very recent publication of the editorial by R.R. Reno, the editor of First Things, declaring the pontificate of Pope Francis a “failure” ("A Failing Papacy", Feb. 2019 issue), is both newsworthy and more importantly the beginning, we hope, of an intellectual examination of the present papacy that will result in an honest assessment of the present papacy and, one further hopes, a call for an end to the hyper-papalism of the past years—perhaps even over a century--, and a theological reassessment, based on the Tradition...

Long before he concealed McCarrick’s misconduct, he had done the same for his mentor. In the latest revelation about Donald Wuerl — that, contrary to his claims of ignorance, he knew about McCarrick’s misconduct for at least 14 years — he emerges as the amoral but self-protective bureaucrat, undone by his own pass-the-buck-style record-keeping, which gives a grimly ironic dimension to his downfall. Wuerl’s policy wasn’t one of zero tolerance but of zero legal exposure, and toward that end he needed to keep records of complaints he had received and transmitted to the papal nuncio.

Cantalamessa: Benedict XVI’s Resignation "Democratized" Papal Office Benedict XVI’s resignation constituted a significant step on the path to "humanizing" and "democratizing" the papal office according to liberal Father Raniero Cantalamessa, 84, the longtime preacher of the papal household. During a retreat for the US bishops last week Cantalamessa went on calling the present deadly Church crisis a “golden age" compared to past centuries when many bishops were more concerned about governing their territory than caring for the flock.” [At least then, the bishops were not actively engaged in leading the flock into the abyss and, after all, still had a...

Through bitter experience over the years, I have learned never to proclaim that some trusted figure couldn’t possibly be guilty of sexual abuse. I have learned to wait, to weigh the evidence, and if a court finds the man guilty, to accept that finding. Since I don’t know the facts, I cannot guarantee that Cardinal George Pell is innocent of the offenses of which he has been convicted in a secret trial. But I can say that a grave injustice has been done, for several reasons. First, because in a proper legal system, not only is justice done, but justice...

The Zanchetta case: a fatal blow to the Pope’s reputation as a reformer Last week the Vatican acknowledged that an Argentine bishop working at the Vatican faces sex-abuse charges. The story drew little attention from American media outlets, and understandably so: just one more in a long line of complaints against clerics, in this case involving a bishop whose name (Gustavo Oscar Zanchetta) was unfamiliar to readers in the US. But reporters who look at the story just a bit more carefully recognize it as a blockbuster: a potentially fatal blow to the reputation of Pope Francis as a reformer....

U.S. Catholics losing trust in clergy, survey finds Trust in the clergy has declined sharply over the last year, a new Gallup poll shows. Only 31 percent of American Catholics now rate the honesty or ethical standards of the clergy as “high” or “very high.”The figures, released Friday, show a drop of 18 points since 2017. Among American Protestants, the same question produced a relatively stable number of 48 percent, a drop of only one point since 2017.The survey was conducted between December 3-12 and surveyed 1,025 adults.Americans previously registered a drop in confidence with the Church itself. A...

The Church of England's Oxford diocese is facing an uncertain future after a large group of its serving clergy publicly rejected their bishops' views on sexuality. A letter to the bishops signed by a wide grouping of more than 100 church ministers says that 'the situation [in the diocese] is serious. If not addressed, we would all struggle to support the leadership of our bishops in this matter and a number of our churches may want to seek alternative means of receiving episcopal ministry, in recognition that your position is seriously differentiated from theirs. This would be a tragedy.' The...

Art exhibition at Cdl. Schönborn’s cathedral gallery features lesbians kissing on Church step January 10, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – A recently concluded art exhibition in the rectory of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, Austria included an image [WARNING: Following links lead to graphic images] of two lesbians kissing in front of a church as well as an image of an almost completely nude woman posing as the Resurrected Christ.  The Austrian news website Kath.net reported today that these pictures were to be found and seen in the Curhaus, the building adjacent to St. Stephen's Cathedral which is among other things...

The head of The Episcopal Church has issued a partial restriction on the ministry of a New York bishop who recently refused to allow same-sex wedding ceremonies at his diocese. Bishop William Love of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany released a pastoral letter last year stating his refusal to follow a recently passed resolution mandating that all regional bodies in The Episcopal Church perform same-sex marriages. A spokesperson for The Episcopal Church directed The Christian Post to a statement released Friday by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, who supports same-sex marriage and leads the mainline Protestant denomination. “During the period of...

Vatican theologian: Pope contradicts his ‘mercy’ saying it’s better to be ‘atheist’ than hypocrite ROME, January 10, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – A prominent theologian has challenged Pope Francis’s recent off-the-cuff remarks implying it’s better to be an atheist than a Christian who hates, saying the Pope sometimes “slips into a contradictory vision” and “schizophrenia that clashes with the very idea of mercy” he seeks to promote. In a Jan. 4 interview with the Italian daily Quotidiano di Foggia, Monsignor Nicola Bux, a theologian consultor to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, said “certain statements, if they fall on weak or unaware groups, are dangerous and have detrimental...

Francis From Innocent To Guilty. Bad News From His Argentina Tough times for the new squad of the pope’s press agents. The first public statement that Alessandro Gisotti, the new director of the press office of the Holy See, released after embarking on his role concerns the case of an Argentine bishop (in the photo) who is in danger of smashing to smithereens the strategy that Francis has adopted for addressing the question of sexual abuse committed by sacred ministers.It is the strategy that also inspires the letter that the pope sent at the new year to the bishops of...

* Students claim John Finnis, 77, attacked same-sex relations in essays published* Campaigners launched a petition and say his presence threatens gay people * However, Oxford has supported his right to academic freedomStudents are demanding Oxford University sacks a Roman Catholic professor for allegedly criticising homosexuality. They claim essays published by John Finnis, 77, emeritus professor of law and legal philosophy, attack same-sex relations and are ‘discriminatory’. Campaigners say his presence on campus threatens gay people, and a petition demanding his removal from his academic position has 350 backers so far. However, Oxford has supported his right to academic freedom....

Gay Jesuit candidate attacks 'ideological militants'Sometimes, the homosexual subculture in the Church and among the clergy isn't content to slink in the shadows. Sometimes, it narcissistically demands center stage, and it seizes the limelight with a ferocity that is best viewed as an upside-down parody of what true virtue really is. One would be hard-pressed to find a more complete example of this kind of unintended parody than in the social media presence of Jesuit order candidate R. Jay Pearson. Jay Pearson is as proudly and publicly "gay" as one can be. "My name is Jay, I am a Greek...