Q: I recently attended an ordination, and that got me wondering: Hypothetically, what would happen if the bishop accidentally left out the part of the ordination Mass where the future priest promises celibacy? That wouldn’t mean that the new priest was actually free to marry, would it? A: The short answer is no, if for…
Q: Why is it that when the SSPX says Mass, it’s only illicit, but now going to confession with them would be not only illicit but also invalid? A: The short answer is because the sacrament of penance has a much stronger juridical or ‘legal’ dimension than most of the other sacraments. For reference, keep…
Q: I’m a Catholic who loves the traditional Latin Mass. I’m completely against the recent episcopal consecrations that happened against the pope’s warnings, but I used to be supportive of the SSPX and have regularly attended Mass at their chapels at different points in my life. How do I know if I’m excommunicated now? A:…
Q: I’m divorced and remarried, and have recently felt called to return to the Catholic faith. I just submitted my annulment paperwork to the tribunal, but they said the whole process can take at least a year. My parish priest said I could do something called the “brother-sister process” in the meantime to start receiving Communion again right…
Q: I have a question about the last judgement. When Jesus comes again to judge us all, how public will this be? As in, will everyone know each other’s sins when this happens? A: There is a lot that we simply don’t – and indeed, can’t – know about what our first-hand experience of…
Q: This past week a member of our parish was confirmed at Sunday Mass, but it was just our parish priest who did the confirmation. I always thought confirmation had to be done by a bishop? Is it allowed for a priest to confirm, or was the recent confirmation at my parish an invalid sacrament?…
Q: Is six months of donations to a parish a normal requirement for baptising a baby in the parish? A: You are correct that the Church teaches that newborn infants should be baptised as soon as reasonably possible. While the Church doesn’t give us a strict time limit, Canon 867 of the Code of Canon…
A: For a few reasons, it’s hard to determine in the abstract whether or not ‘dating’ a divorced person who has yet to receive a declaration of nullity is strictly speaking a sin per se. However, I would say that in general it is a bad idea. For some background, we as Catholics believe that…
Q: I have a question about appeals to Rome of the declaration of nullity process. The metropolitan tribunal of my local archdiocese has completed their review of the case and stated that it has been proved that there is sufficient ground to find the marriage invalid (“decision in the affirmative”). However, my former spouse has…
Q: Recently I went to confession on Saturday afternoon before my parish’s vigil Mass. The priest told me to say a rosary for my penance. But since I was the last one in line, Mass was starting right away and I didn’t have time to say my penance. Then I’m embarrassed to admit I wound…