Q: I heard a priest on the radio talking about holy water fonts in church, and he said that as a sacramental, the holy water “absolves us from venial sin.” He actually used the word “absolves.” That doesn’t sound right to me. What does the Church teach about this? A: I can see where…
Q: Is it acceptable in the eyes of God to have an alcoholic drink at a bar that was once an altar? My diocese has deconsecrated said altar. A: I of course can’t speak directly for God, but I know I personally would not feel comfortable consuming any kind of ordinary food and drink served…
Q: I’ve recently decided to return to my childhood Catholic faith after many years aways, and my priest told me I need to get an annulment. When I called the marriage tribunal, they said they needed to contact my ex-husband for this. But I don’t see any need to drag him through this whole process. Does my…
Q: In a recent homily, my parish priest suggested that we all “give up prayers of petition for Lent.” He said we’re not being good friends to God if all we do is ask him for things, and that “you’ve all said enough prayers of petition, it’s time to say some other prayers.” But I’m…
Q: I think the Catholic Church’s Lenten discipline is kind of a joke. Specifically, Friday abstinence really isn’t that tough since most people aren’t going to suffer if they can’t have meat for one day a week. Why doesn’t the Church require something more demanding, like omitting all animal products on days of penance, or…
Q: I’ve read a lot recently about how the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) is planning to ordain new bishops this summer, with or without the pope’s permission. Why is this such a problem, if the SSPX are all validly ordained anyways? A: The quick, big-picture short answer is that the SSPX’s proposed…
Q: Why are there so many different kinds of convents out there? I don’t understand why a young woman who feels called to give her life to God would need that many choices. A: The short answer to the question of why there are such a variety of convents out there is: You would have…
The Anglican Church is elevating its first woman to the role of Archbishop of Canterbury, the chief diocese of the Church of England. Theologically, do we as Catholics see this as a problem A: I think the answer here could be either ‘yes’ or ‘no’, depending on how we approach the question. Of course,…
Q: A Catholic Church near me is named after a certain saint, but has “protomartyr” after the name. What does this term mean? A: My guess is that the church you’re thinking of was named “St Stephen,” since “protomartyr” is a title specific to him. “Protomartyr” is a Greek term that is usually translated as…
Q: At Mass we typically pray for the souls of ‘those in purgatory,’ often mentioning names of persons long since passed, sometimes 10 or even 20 years ago. Is there any way to know how long a person could be in purgatory? Could a deceased person still be in purgatory 20 years later? A: Generally,…