QUESTION CORNER Q: What does it mean when we say in the Apostles’ Creed that Jesus “descended into hell”? That statement is not used in the Nicene Creed, which we often say at Mass. It bothers me so much that when I say the rosary, I substitute “limbo” for “hell.” (Charlottesville, Virginia) A: Since Advent […]
Pope amends canon so women can be installed as lectors, acolytes
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Recognizing “the gifts of each baptized person” — women and men — Pope Francis ordered a change to canon law and liturgical norms so that women could be formally installed as lectors and acolytes. “A consolidated practice in the Latin church has confirmed, in fact, that […]
Father Kenneth Doyle: How are non-Catholics forgiven? How are parish donations split?
QUESTION CORNER Q: Catholics are blessed to have the sacrament of reconciliation. But what about other faiths? How do non-Catholics have their sins forgiven? (Honolulu) A: The Catholic Church has a long history of the confession of sins. In the earliest centuries, confession was actually done in public, the thinking being that when we sin, […]
Katie Prejean McGrady: We need grace to succeed in our resolutions
WINDOW SEAT WISDOM I learned the Act of Contrition in second grade. Mrs. Tartamella would patiently practice with us every day. We’d go through the prayer line by line, and when we’d get to “I firmly resolve, with the help of thy grace, to sin no more …” there’d be a huge emphasis on the […]
Catholic advocates urge clemency for woman on death row
By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — The execution date of Lisa Montgomery, the only woman on federal death row, is set to go ahead on Jan. 12. In late December a federal judge said the Justice Department unlawfully rescheduled her execution while there had already been a stay in effect, granted because one […]
Vatican says 20 ‘missionaries’ died violently in 2020
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Attacked because of their faith, killed in a robbery, murdered in a general climate of violence or struck down by someone with obvious mental difficulties, the 20 missionaries who died violent deaths in 2020 were witnesses of the Gospel, said Fides, the Vatican’s missionary news agency. […]
Doctrine committee sets standards for evaluating church hymns
By Greg Erlandson Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — Expressing concern for the doctrinal soundness of some of the lyrics of Catholic hymns now available for use in Catholic liturgies, the U.S. bishops’ doctrine committee in a forthcoming report suggests guidelines for bishops in evaluating hymn lyrics and for selecting hymnals being considered for use in […]
Effie Caldarola: How generous are we?
FOR THE JOURNEY Someone I know is a waiter. Like restaurants across the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, his establishment has been open, closed, carry-out only, 50% capacity — in other words, his income has bounced like a yo-yo. The other evening, with renewed closure rules going into effect, he served his last table. He […]
Richard Doerflinger: The problem of political theologians
A MORE HUMAN SOCIETY Some say religious leaders get too involved in politics. But we should also worry about politicians who wander into theology. One example comes from Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia, while announcing new restrictions on social gatherings due to growing COVID-19 cases. To justify placing further restrictions on church services, he urged […]
Father Kenneth Doyle: Homilies printed and distributed? Saying a Mass for a non-Catholic?
QUESTION CORNER Q: Recently you answered a reader’s question regarding their pastor, an African priest who is difficult to understand and who gives 30-minute homilies, the result being that parish attendance is dropping. (You suggested asking a parish council member to speak to the priest, voicing parishioners’ concerns.) Here’s another suggestion. In our diocese, we […]
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