Free Republic

NEWARK — The word “pilgrimage” usually evokes visions of far-off, exotic places, but for some 100 gay and lesbian Catholics and their families, a pilgrimage to the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart here on a recent Sunday was more like a homecoming. The doors to the cathedral were opened to them, and they were welcomed personally by the leader of the Archdiocese of Newark, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin. They were seated on folding chairs at the cathedral’s center, in front of the altar in the towering sanctuary, under the blue-tinted glow of stained glass. “I am Joseph, your brother,”...

As night falls on West Hollywood – the LA County Department of Public Health is shedding light on the unusual spread of meningitis among gay men. Darren Bitonio says he recently got vaccinated for the rare disease – that can cause brain damage or even death. And it can be spread by saliva. “I am a guy. Just for extra protection,” he told KCAL 9’s Jeff Nguyen. Since last year – LA County has had 29 cases of meningitis — 10 involve gay men. The Department of Public Health believes only about a third of the community has been vaccinated....

While I have stood fast in my call to those who engage in sodomy to repentance rather than face either God's justice or man's justice against them under God (Romans 13:1-5), we are now beginning to see several people step up in various states and are pushing the people to recognize the natural moral, and even written, law of God against those who engage in sodomy. The Michigan State Senate recently cleared a bill, SB 0219, that will move on to the House, which would once again recognize sodomy as a crime. The bill is addressing animal cruelty. However,...

In the weeks since the historic Supreme Court ruling that recognized same-sex marriage as a “fundamental right” many leftist commentators and LGBT activists have turned their sights on Christians. From attacks on bakery owners who refused to bake cakes for same-sex weddings to daily attacks on all things Christianity, the hard left has made it clear that they are far from done with their “culture war” and will not be happy until anyone that disagrees with them is completely silenced. Now, in what can be described as the opening silo in another round of the war on Christianity, LGBT activist...

Gay Pride weekend festivities are rarely understated, but after the Supreme Court’s decisions last week, marches and rallies all over the country were expected to be especially celebratory this year. Pride weekend generally occurs at the end of June to commemorate the Stonewall Riots, in which the gay community exploded against a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, in New York City on June 28, 1969. After the Supreme Court’s decision on Wednesday to overturn DOMA, granting legally married same-sex couples the same federal benefits as their heterosexual counterparts, and to let "Prop. 8" die, resuming the legalization of gay...

REGINA, Saskatchewan, January 28, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A prominent Saskatchewan homosexual activist has been charged with possession of child pornography and suspended from his position as an English professor at the University of Regina, according to the Regina Leader-Post. Nils Clausson, 66, was reportedly charged with one count of possession of child pornography after the university tipped off police. "Notification by the university of some activities over there" led to Clausson being charged, said Sgt. Ron Weir of the Saskatchewan Internet Child Exploitation Unit. "In regards to a place of employment contacting us, that doesn't happen very often," he added....

The "enlightened" who claim a firm grip on the steering wheel of Western civilization see the future through a lens in which man becomes ever more perfectible as outdated religious creeds fade away. And thus the irony. For all the contempt these cosmopolitans show for religion, there is one faith beyond public rebuke. Call it Islamic exceptionalism. Public Enemy No. 1 right now is the man who made a ridiculously shoddy YouTube video titled "The Innocence of Muslims." This man and his so-called "film" have been blamed with a very broad brush for every riot and protest across the Mideast....

Justice Vaughn Walker’s ruling that California’s Prop 8 amendment—declaring marriage to be between a man and a woman—is unconstitutional is a serious challenge to the results of victorious referenda in 31 American states and an important step in the ongoing Cultural War against Christianity. Consequently, its analysis is important for all who stand for traditional marriage and the natural moral law. Same-Sex “Marriage” is Not the Ultimate Goal of the Homosexual Lobby First of all, we should take note how Judge Walker’s ruling reveals how wrong we are to believe that the homosexual movement will be content and disband, once...

News that several "gay" and lesbian-identified college and university presidents met recently to organize a push for the homosexual agenda is drawing the ire of pro-family organizations. Nine presidents of higher-education entities recently gathered in Chicago and decided to form a new organization called LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education. The group agreed that a top priority should be "to push higher education to include issues of sexual orientation when talking about diversity." Matt BarberMatt Barber, director of cultural affairs with Liberty Counsel, calls the meeting "bizarre," but he is not surprised by the strategy. "This group of higher-ups within academia...

In the current argument over the question of gay marriage, both sides focus on their respective moral and even constitutional claims. But when the battle is pitched on those rather elevated and abstract grounds, the pro-heterosexual factions are at a big disadvantage, drowned out by the gay cohorts, who claim, not without justice, that their constitutional rights, for equal protection under the law, are being violated by any ban on same-sex marriage. But more than the civil rights of a deviant minority may be at stake: not only the matter of gay marriage, but the larger matter of marriage itself,...

Gay rights vs. religious beliefs http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/15345126.htm Posted on Thu, Aug. 24, 2006 Commentary By Roger T. Severino Live and let live. A simple concept, to be sure, but can we apply it to the growing conflict between gay rights and religious beliefs? The answer increasingly seems to be no. Recently, Philadelphia ordered the local Boy Scouts of America chapter (the nation's third-largest) to renounce the national organization's ban on openly gay members or begin paying rent on its city-subsidized headquarters of 78 years. Some thought this issue was settled by the Supreme Court in 2000, when the Boy Scouts won...

Street's Ousting Of The Boy Scouts An Act Of Political Cowardicehttp://www.theeveningbulletin.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16997240 http://tinyurl.com/qhhrm 08/02/2006 By: GREGORY J. SULLIVAN, Special To The Evening Bulletin The decision by Mayor John Street and supported by the Fairmount Park Commission to punish the Cradle of Liberty Council of the Boy Scouts of America for its adherence to the organization's long-standing prohibition on openly homosexual members and leaders is the triumph of political correctness over sound policy. What is more, it is a betrayal of an organization and, most especially, the young boys who desperately need the moral instruction of the Scouts more than ever. Since...

Good turns' ought to counthttp://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/15140277.htm http://tinyurl.com/n2kxw Posted on Fri, Jul. 28, 2006 Hans Zeiger In 1928, the City of Philadelphia made a promise to the Boy Scouts "in perpetuity." That was the city's arrangement for its leased land to the Scouts at 22d and Winter Streets, where today sits the headquarters of the Cradle of Liberty Boy Scout Council. In exchange for the city property, the Boy Scouts have contributed countless "good turns" to Philadelphia. A good turn is an act of kindness, a volunteer project, a daily decision to invest in the lives of others. Scouting teaches boys to...