Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Ask Father Kenneth Doyle: About those disruptions in church. Plus, relics in altars

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QUESTION CORNER Recently I responded in this column to a question about disruptions at Mass. The letter writer said that a parishioner had been creating a scene regularly in church — throwing her arms toward the sky, shouting out in a loud voice and walking up to the altar before anyone is invited to. The […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Why hasn’t the church condemned boxing? And what’s the church say about flags on the altar?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: Why has the Catholic Church not condemned boxing? It is the only sport in the world whose purpose is to hurt your opponent, even to knock him out. People in other sports get hurt, but the purpose is not evil. The goal is to get a home run or a basket or […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Did God ‘require’ sacrifice of Jesus? Plus: What to do about a regularly disruptive adult at Mass?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: I wonder about Jesus being a “sacrifice” for the expiation of sins. Why did God the Father “require” that Christ be a “sacrifice” for the forgiveness of the sins of mankind? (Louisville, Kentucky) A: I don’t believe that God the Father “required” that Jesus die such a gruesome death to redeem us […]

Ask Father: Part 1-Can ashes be commingled? Part 2-Can prayer change God’s mind?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: Among my dying husband’s wishes was the desire to save land for the living and therefore to be cremated and interred at Willamette National Military Cemetery near Portland, Oregon. I, too, shall be cremated and interred at Willamette National, sharing my husband’s niche. I would like my ashes to be mingled with […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Am I wrong to receive Communion? Can I ask my priest why he’s growing out his hair and beard?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: For the past year, I have been striving for a stronger Catholic faith. (Before, I guess I would say that I was a lukewarm Catholic.) I was married in a Methodist church and divorced 30 years ago through no fault of my own. I have always received holy Communion. Is this wrong? […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Baptism for a child of non-Catholics? What if I forgot to fast before Mass?

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Question corner Q: A friend of mine asked me recently to find out if the parish I was raised in would baptize her new baby. My friend is not a Catholic, so I was surprised that she asked me this. The priest at my parish said that he could not baptize the baby because the […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: May I buy a used chalice? Can you use cremains as fertilizer?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: As a Catholic, I like to decorate my home with religious art that helps draw my heart and mind to God. At times, I am able to find vintage religious pieces on online auction websites that I can’t find elsewhere. I noticed recently that some online resellers have items like used chalices […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Friday abstinence for a vegan?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: I grew up Catholic, and we always did meatless Fridays year-round as part of the Catholic practice of abstinence. (We had fish instead.) Now, as a vegan adult, since I’m already skipping meat anyway (fish, too), if I still wanted to do some kind of Friday abstinence, could I give up things […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Can we pray for Satan’s redemption? Why do priests wear golden vestments and use gold chalices?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: Jesus tells us to love our enemies. Satan is our enemy. Should we love Satan, perhaps by praying for his redemption? Is it possible that, through our prayers, Satan could repent and be reunited with God? (Woodbridge, Virginia) A: There is no reason to believe that Satan would ever change his ways, […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Perfume a serious matter. Fallen-away Catholic kids.

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QUESTION CORNER Q: Recently, in answering a reader’s concern about “perfume fests” in her parish church on Sundays, you offered your opinion that “perfume terrorism is not universal.” Let me tell you that it is, in fact, universal; there are people who are suffering in every parish. I have had to leave Mass early to […]