Q: I’ve noticed that in many flourishing Catholic communities with a lot of young adults (such as some Catholic university communities, or parishes in some big cities with an active young adult ministry), marriage preparation programs often seem to go far beyond what you find in most parishes. I’m thinking of things like retreats, serious catechesis, good mentorship programs…
Q: Does a person’s mortal sin prior to becoming Catholic follow him or her until confession and absolution? In particular, if a non-Catholic friend paid for someone’s abortion during the 1970s under the false belief that the foetus was just ‘tissue’ and not a baby yet, should the friend now acknowledge that his or her…
Q: As a divorced, over-50 Catholic man with an annulment, I met a Catholic woman my age with the same history of divorce and annulment. After dating for a while we began to talk about marriage and went to see our priest. He asked if we were open to the idea of having kids. We…
Q: Does the Church ever use the word ‘divorce,’ or in every case is it always an ‘annulment?’ Didn’t Jesus allow for a spouse, in the case of a cheating spouse, to be granted a divorce, even calling it ‘a divorce?’ A: The Church does use the term ‘divorce’ in some contexts, such as when…
A: The short answer to your question is that excommunication is specifically a punishment for canonical crimes. And although political support for pro-choice policies is morally problematic, it is not a canonical crime in and of itself. For context, usually when we speak of pro-choice politicians being denied Holy Communion, the relevant citation is Canon…
Q: I’m retired and I volunteer with my parish to do the tech stuff to livestream some of the parish’s Masses online. Sometimes I livestream funerals for people who have family members who can’t be there in person, and I’m happy to help people out that way. Recently, I heard that the parish wants to…
Q: In watching The Chosen, I find I have real sympathy for Judas, who seemed to misunderstand Jesus and was merely trying to force him to accept the role of king. How accurate is this, though, and either way do you think Jesus forgave Judas? A: I haven’t watched The Chosen, so I can’t…
Q: Why would God allow Satan to torture and torment Job when he knew Job was a wonderful man and if God is, indeed, omniscient? A: First of all, it’s not known whether Job was a literal historical figure. Many Scripture scholars believe that the Book of Job in the Old Testament is essentially a…
Q: When I was in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (commonly known as RCIA, now the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults), the instructor said normal weekly Eucharist counts as a ‘confession,’ and reception counts as ‘absolution.’ She said in most cases, most people “don’t need to bother” the priest with their sins,…
Q: I used to bring Holy Communion to the sick and wondered: why can’t we bring the Precious Blood to those who are dying and can’t consume solid food? A: The short answer is that, with a few caveats, the Church does in fact allow Holy Communion under the form of wine to be taken…