Canon Law and Donations to the Church

Q: My elderly mother is thinking about making a big donation to the parish school, or maybe leaving it in her will. All of her children went there and some of her grandchildren. Lately they’ve been complaining that the school is overcrowded, so she thought maybe she could give them the money to build an addition. My mother said she’d like it to be named for our family.

I ran into one of the accountants who helps the parish out, and mentioned her idea to him, and he got really excited. He said that even if they don’t build a new wing, they can use the money to pay off debt and/or other things. But that’s not what my mother wants to give the money for! Is there a way to insist that her donation be used for this one purpose? Continue reading

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Canon Law and “Catholic” Organizations

Q1: How come the pro-abortion group “Catholics for Choice” gets away with calling itself a Catholic organization? Why doesn’t the Church stop it from using this name? —Dale

Q2: There’s a school in our diocese that is run by Catholic laywomen. They teach Catholic catechism and the kids regularly go to Mass. But you wouldn’t know from its name that it’s a Catholic school, because it doesn’t say “St. X Catholic School,” but just “St. X School.” It isn’t mentioned in the diocese’s list of Catholic schools, either. Is it safe to assume that this is some schismatic fringe group running a school that claims to be “Catholic” but isn’t in communion with the Pope? I’m worried because one of my Catholic friends is considering sending her children there next year…  –Theresa Continue reading

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Bishops, Archbishops, and Cardinals

Q: What’s the difference between a bishop and an archbishop? And why are some archbishops addressed as “Cardinal” but others aren’t? –Jackie

A: On the surface, it certainly can seem that members of the Catholic hierarchy fill identical roles but don’t always have identical titles. The system is actually consistent and reasonable, once one understands how it works!  Jackie’s question actually contains two separate parts, the first pertaining to the Church’s organized system of dioceses, and the second to its system of hierarchical ranking. Continue reading

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Can Catholic Children Receive the Last Rites?

Q: Some years ago, a good friend’s two-year-old daughter died of a congenital problem. Only recently she told me that when the priest came to see them all in the hospital when the girl was dying, they asked him to anoint their daughter, but he said no. He told them she didn’t need it because she was “innocent.” This evidently didn’t bother the family, but I was shocked! Isn’t every Catholic supposed to receive the last rites when he’s dying?  —Melanie

A: It may be surprising to many Catholics, but no, it is not appropriate to administer the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick—also known as Extreme Unction—to every baptized Catholic, even when he is dying. Continue reading

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Can a Priest Ever Return to the Lay State?

Q: I thought once a man was ordained a priest, he is always a priest. So how is it that some priests get permission to leave the priesthood and get married?  Sometimes you hear about somebody being a “former priest,” and I don’t see how that’s possible.  –David

A: This is certainly an excellent question, because it is true that the Church teaches that “you are a priest forever” (Ps. 110.4). Continue reading

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