Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Father Kenneth Doyle: Do I have to go to Mass in pain? Isn’t the ambo for readings only?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: In a few weeks I will turn 65 years old. I have arthritis in most of my joints; in the early spring, when it’s rainy and damp, the arthritic pain can be unbearable. Is it a sin to miss Sunday Mass, given the extreme pain? When is it acceptable to stop going […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: In Lent, do Sundays count? Is the pope promoting a one-world religion?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: My mother was very religious and she always told us that during Lent, whatever you gave up — ice cream, candy, etc. — you could have on Sundays. Is that true? Do Sundays count as part of Lent? (Green Bay, Wisconsin) A: I’ll answer your second question first, because that’s the easier […]

Ask Father Doyle: Did Jesus say ghosts exist? May I be a witness at a Protestant wedding?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: In a recent column, you quoted Luke 24:39 (“Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”) Are we to believe from this that Our Lord is confirming the existence […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: How does excommunication work? What became of the 10-minute limit on homilies?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: From what we are seeing on social media here in New York state, there seems to be some misunderstanding about what excommunication is and how it happens. Does the pope excommunicate someone, or can a bishop? Is there a process? What is the pastoral approach to something like this? What are the […]

Ask Father Kenneth Doyle: Why do the properties of bread, wine remain? Do miscarried babies go to heaven?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: I firmly believe that at Mass the Eucharist becomes Christ’s body and blood. But here’s what I don’t understand: Why then do the properties of the bread and wine still affect people — for example, those with wheat allergies or alcoholics? (Danville, Indiana) A: Not surprisingly, this is a bit difficult to […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: May I give to Shriners Hospitals? When should I put away my Advent wreath?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: Can Catholics morally give donations to the Shriners Hospitals? Their ads are very convincing, but aren’t the Shriners Masons? (Surry, Virginia) A: All Shriners are Masons. (The reverse, though, is not true. Shriners International began in 1872 as a spinoff of Freemasonry, with philanthropy as one of its principal goals.) Shriners Hospitals […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Why so much incense at Mass? Can non-Christians be saved?

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QUESTION CORNER   Can’t stand the incense Q: Our pastor is very old-school and loves elaborate liturgy. He uses incense frequently, and my wife — who is seriously affected by the smoke — is at the point of not going to Mass at all. (She never knows when he might fire up the censer.) I […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: What if the priest is a worse sinner? And how to mark your baptism day

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QUESTION CORNER Q: I know of several Catholics today who refuse to go to confession because they feel that the priest might be a worse sinner than they are. But yet if they get sick, they want their parish priest to come immediately to give them a blessing. How can I explain to them their […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: May a Lutheran receive Catholic Eucharist? Can you confess online?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: One of my sisters who is Lutheran recently moved to an area where there is no Lutheran church, so she started attending Mass at a nearby Catholic parish. She has been receiving the Eucharist at Mass even though she is not Catholic. She says that she asked the Catholic pastor and he […]