Category Archives: Clergy Issues

Catholic Priests Who Become Non-Catholic Ministers

Q: Recently, a Catholic priest in our area left to become “pastor” of an Episcopal church.  If we assume for a moment that the Episcopal liturgy contains the valid words of Institution, and if we assume that valid matter was … Continue reading

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Could Women Ever be Ordained Deaconesses?

Q: A coworker was talking loudly at work about an article she’d read, endorsing the ordination of women as deacons, and she was all for it.  It didn’t sound right to me, though, but I couldn’t put my finger on … Continue reading

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Am I Permanently Barred from Ordination to the Priesthood?

Q: I have been discerning my vocation, trying to determine whether or not I am called to be a priest.  I happened to find a commentary on canon law in my school library… it says that a person is barred … Continue reading

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What Can (and Can’t) a Deacon Do?

Q:  We have a permanent deacon at our parish.  Some of us are wondering if the pastor sometimes allows him to do things that he’s not supposed to do… for example, occasionally the deacon preaches a homily at Sunday Mass … Continue reading

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Are SSPX Sacraments Valid? Part II

(Part I of this article on the SSPX was posted on August 1, 2013, and can be read here.) We’ve been looking at the sacraments administered by priests of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), an institute which, despite … Continue reading

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