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Tag Archives: canon law
How Can You Tell a Real Law from an Illegal Decree?
Q: In this period of such confusion in the Church, you sometimes point to the law as the final answer on the subject. Other times, though, you have criticized a law as being unjust and said that it must be … Continue reading
Posted in Other Canonical Questions
Tagged canon law, Catholic, common good, decree, law, Thomas Aquinas
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How Many Masses Can a Priest Say on Sundays?
Q1: I recently received notice from a local parish that since the state has ordered that no more than ten people may attend any religious service, there will only be one Mass on Sunday. It said a priest can only … Continue reading
Posted in Clergy Issues, Holy Mass, Parish Life
Tagged canon law, Catholic, Christmas, clergy, holyday of obligation, Mass, Masses, priest, Sunday
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Re-post: Confession and General Absolution
(For years, readers have returned to this article again and again in the weeks just before Christmas, which would indicate that the problem it addresses still persists. And now that the Catholic faith and the Church’s sacramental life are being … Continue reading
Posted in Confession, Parish Life, Sacraments
Tagged canon law, Catholic, confession, general absolution, valid
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Which Mass Fulfills My Sunday Obligation? Part I
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 … Continue reading
Posted in Holy Mass, Parish Life
Tagged canon law, Catholic, Mass, Sunday, Sunday obligation
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What Happens When a Religious Who’s Vowed Poverty Becomes a Bishop?
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 … Continue reading
Posted in Clergy Issues
Tagged bishop, canon law, Catholic, obedience, priest, religious institute, vow of poverty
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