Q: I’m a new mother in the middle of a divorce. I admit that I have never been a very good Catholic, but I still want my baby baptised in the hope that he will have a better relationship with God than I’ve had. My ex-husband and I share custody, and in many ways, he is…

Q: I have a question about the vocation of marriage. I’m very moved by the examples of widowed family and friends who continue to be very devoted to their deceased spouse, praying for them daily and visiting their graves. Often, they speak of looking forward to seeing their spouse again in Heaven. Does the Church…

Q: These days we hear so much about trans people. I really have never heard anything ‘official’ about the Church’s position. What does our Church say about it? Thank you. A: It is true that, with transgender issues being a relatively new phenomenon in modern society, the Church does not yet have an extensive teaching…

Q: What scriptural basis is there for praying for the dead, for their repose, or for praying to the dead, for their intercessions? And in a related way, what scriptural basis is there for the Catholic practice of ‘relics’, such as saving a person’s bone fragments? My Protestant friends say these practices are not in the Bible…

Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraphs 50 – 74 By natural reason we can know God with certainty, based on his works. But there is another order of knowledge, which we cannot possibly arrive at by our own powers: the order of divine Revelation. His plan of loving goodness He reveals His mystery, His plan…

Q: Please explain what an indulgence is and how it can reduce or eliminate the time a soul must spend in purgatory.   A: Indulgences are perhaps one of the more misunderstood parts of Catholic practice. But indulgences are deeply rooted in several key Catholic theological concepts, such as the nature of purgatory, the Church’s…

Q: I recently took a six-week theology class, and the priest teaching it was emphatic that most don’t make it to Heaven. First, we must be without mortal sin. So, all those who forsake Mass or the Holy Sabbath would not be eligible. I have also heard other well-known priests state the same thing. One…

Q: When I was evangelical, we said a ‘saved’ person went immediately to Heaven at death. In a recent homily our priest said most Christians, including himself, will likely go to purgatory at death. How can Jesus’ shed blood pay for a person’s sins, but they not go to Heaven at death?   A: Your…

Q: I have heard some priests refer to ‘non-sacramental’ marriages on the annulment question. I presume these are civil marriages. Is it so? Or do these marriages become ‘non-sacramental’ due to the various other faults in the couple’s status? A: Terms like ‘sacramental marriage’, ‘non-sacramental marriage’, ‘civil marriage’, and ‘valid marriage’ all refer to slightly…