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Category Archives: Clergy Issues
Can a Priest Have His Ordination Annulled?
Q: Some years ago my diocese had to settle a number of sex-abuse lawsuits, all involving the same priest. More recently I learned that in the chancery, the diocesan staff had considered making the claim that the priest’s ordination was … Continue reading
Posted in Clergy Issues, Holy Orders, Sacraments
Tagged canon law, Catholic, ordination, priest, validity
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What is the “Old Catholic Church”?
Q1: Could you tell me more about other Catholic ecclesial communities that are not Roman Catholic, such as the American National Catholic Church, and how they fit into the big picture of Catholicism? –John Q2: What is the “Old Catholic … Continue reading
Posted in Canonical Issues Involving Non-Catholics, Clergy Issues, Holy Mass, Parish Life, Sacraments
Tagged American National Catholic Church, canon law, Catholic, Old Catholic Church
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What Do You Do With the Deacon Who Refuses to be Ordained a Priest?
Q1: We have a seminarian in our diocese, who spent a summer in my parish. He was expecting to become a priest several years ago, but the bishop declined to ordain him. Nobody knows why. Today he’s just a deacon … Continue reading
Posted in Clergy Issues, Holy Orders, Sacraments
Tagged canon law, Catholic, deacon, diaconate, ordination
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Why Would an Illegitimate Man be Barred from the Priesthood?
Q: I heard about a boy who wept when he found out that he could not be admitted to our local seminary. The reason I heard was because he was an illegitimate child. I also read in the Catholic Encyclopedia … Continue reading
Posted in Clergy Issues, Holy Orders
Tagged bishop, canon law, Catholic, illegitimate, ordination, priesthood, seminarian
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How Can You Tell a Real Priest From a Fake?
Q: Did you hear about the man caught masquerading as a priest in Los Angeles? I never thought about it before, but now I’m wondering why this doesn’t happen more often…. What is a pastor expected to do when a … Continue reading
Posted in Clergy Issues, Parish Life, Sacraments
Tagged canon law, Catholic, celebret, Erwin Mena, priest
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