Q: I am a member of the Maronite [Catholic] Church. I was recently invited to a Latin-rite Mass on a Sunday for the celebration of a number of women religious 50+ years of consecrated life. The Mass took place at 3 PM, and the readings were not the day’s readings but rather readings associated to what we were celebrating.
Are Catholics (Maronite, Latin or otherwise) required to attend Mass to hear the Sunday readings, or is attendance at any Mass on Sunday sufficient? –Kathleen Continue reading
Q: As for religious order priests or bishops, who normally take the three traditional vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, how does ordination to the episcopate change the requirement that they observe their vows? E.g., a Franciscan who is vowed to poverty suddenly becoming a bishop with the usual perquisites such as a salary, nicer living accommodations, driver, etc.? Unlike a diocesan priest, this would seem to be a contradiction to the life of poverty/simplicity implicit in their initial profession. –Daniel Continue reading
Q: The priests of our parish have been [illegally refusing us the sacraments], so we wrote respectfully to our Bishop. We quoted some canons which you discussed in your articles.
The Bishop replied to our letter and defended the priests. He quoted a new letter from Cardinal Sarah of the Vatican, saying that Catholics must obey everything the Bishops say and do.
We are astounded. Did Cardinal Sarah say these things? … How is it possible that Bishops have the authority to violate canon law, and we are required to accept this? Why do we have canon law then? –Carlos Continue reading
Q: Probably you already know all about the priest in New Orleans who desecrated the altar of his parish together with a couple of prostitutes…. The bishop announced that he had the altar burned and would consecrate a new one. My wife and I were surprised at how quickly this was done and we’re wondering if the bishop shouldn’t have spent more time investigating the facts first … why for example was this man even a priest? We’re having a hard time imagining that he was a model Catholic all his life and then one morning he woke up and decided to do this! –Josh Continue reading
Q: I am a volunteer in our parish’s catechism program, and I help run the First Holy Communion preparation…. As has unfortunately become very common, we get a LOT of uncatechized children and an ever-increasing number of uncatechized parents in our program. We normally require the candidates and their families to regularly attend Holy Mass for obvious reasons, though attendance is very patchy in some cases.
If a child shows signs that he or she doesn’t believe what we are teaching, e.g. explicitly saying things in a very innocent way that clearly contradict what we are teaching, can the pastor still decide that the child is properly disposed? Can he decide to delay the Sacrament to the next year?
Or to use stronger language: can you imagine a situation in which admitting a child to First Holy Communion would ever be a sacrilege? Is the child’s youth or family situation an excuse for all manner of unbelief?
I understand that fruitful reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist is tied to being properly disposed. At the same time, I understand that the “faithful” have a right to the Sacraments. But is there a definition of what constitutes a “faithful” person? –Jenny Continue reading
Canon lawyers are not responsible for the content of canon law. The Supreme Legislator is. Only Pope Francis can change the Code of Canon Law, so if you're not happy with what the law says, please take it up with him.
