Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Jenna Marie Cooper: ‘Protomartyr’ is both literal, symbolic

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Question corner Q: A Catholic church near me is named after a certain saint, but has “protomartyr” after the name. What does this term mean? (Indiana) A: My guess is that the church you’re thinking of was named “St. Stephen,” since “protomartyr” is a title specific to him. “Protomartyr” is a Greek term that is […]

Jenna Marie Cooper: Women have key roles, but not as deacons

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Question corner Q: I heard that the Vatican recently decided against having women deacons for now, but that they will revisit the question at a later time. How long will we have to wait before we have women deacons? (Ohio) A: The short answer is, we’re unlikely to ever have women deacons in the way […]

Jenna Marie Cooper: ‘Vocation’ can mean many things

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Question corner Q: At my parish, we pray “for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.” But at the other parish in town, they pray for “vocations to the priesthood, the diaconate, marriage and religious life.” How many vocations are there actually? A: This is a tricky question to answer, because in our Catholic tradition […]

Jenna Marie Cooper: Infidelity and marriage nullity

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Question corner Q: My husband and I got a divorce because my husband had an affair. Why doesn’t the church agree with me that it was his fault and grant my annulment? Why is my church siding with him? (New York) A: I’m very sorry you went through such a painful experience. But with respect […]

Jenna Marie Cooper: Church doors must remain unlocked

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Question corner Q: I’m one of the parents on a new “safety committee” for our local parish school. One of the parents’ main suggestions is that, for our school Masses, we lock the church doors and keep the Mass private. To us, this seems like basic common sense. However, our pastor says we can’t do […]

Jenna Marie Cooper: Spiritually, divorce is impossible

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Question corner Q: Does the church ever use the word “divorce,” or in every case is it always an “annulment”? Didn’t Jesus allow for a spouse, in the case of a cheating spouse, to be granted a divorce, even calling it “a divorce”? (Indiana) A: The church does use the term “divorce” in some contexts, […]

Jenna Marie Cooper: Livestreaming fee is OK, in context

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Question corner Q: I’m retired and I volunteer with my parish to do the tech stuff to livestream some of the parish’s Masses online. Sometimes I livestream funerals for people who have family members who can’t be there in person, and I’m happy to help people out that way. Recently I heard that the parish […]

Jenna Marie Cooper: Eucharist does not replace confession

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Question corner Q: When I was in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (commonly known as RCIA, now the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults), the instructor said normal weekly Eucharist counts as a “confession,” and reception counts as “absolution.” She said in most cases, most people “don’t need to bother” the priest with […]