Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Father Kenneth Doyle: Friday abstinence for a vegan?

by

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?

by

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.

by

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 […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: After Crucifixion, why a need for repentance? Is a Catholic marriage invalidated if a couple doesn’t raise their kids Catholic?

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: I can understand that Jesus died on the cross to reconcile us with the Father, but why do we say that Jesus died to forgive our sins when we have to repent continually for those sins? (City and state withheld) A: The Bible does say that Jesus has forgiven our sins; St. […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Where did the Ascension happen? Do you have to stay for the recessional song at Mass?

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: Where did the Ascension take place? Matthew and Mark tell us that the apostles are to go back to Galilee, but Luke says that they should stay in Jerusalem until Jesus has risen. (Louisville, Kentucky) A: On the top of the Mount of Olives outside of Jerusalem’s Old City is a small […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: What if the Eucharist is stolen? Is it a mortal sin to miss Mass?

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: I have recently volunteered to attend adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as a “guardian.” I do this twice a week. I have been wondering this: What happens if the monstrance and Eucharist is stolen? The monstrance can be replaced, but I have heard that a priest may have to reconsecrate the church […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Is donating my body allowed? What do you pray when entering a church?

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: At my death, I would like to donate my body to the local medical school for their continued research and training of students. Is this allowed in the Catholic Church? (Kailua, Hawaii) A: Yes, it is allowed — but with certain cautions. The Catholic Church teaches that it is permissible and even […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: “May I be buried in a non-Catholic cemetery?” And” I am dying and not sure if I need to confess again.”

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: Years ago, my parents purchased burial plots for my family in the local small-town cemetery where we lived. My family is not Catholic, and I wasn’t at that time either — so the cemetery is Christian, but not Catholic. I have since happily converted to Catholicism and am wondering if there is […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Wasn’t our first pope married? Can the church bless our relationship?

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: My wife and I recently came into communion with the Roman Catholic Church. I know that a hot-button topic in the church is the question of whether there should be married priests. I have slowly come to the belief that unmarried priests make logical and biblical sense. Seeing how hard our parish […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: What happened to creed wording? Can you be cremated?

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: I recall some time ago a change in the language of the creed we say at Sunday Mass to make it more inclusive. The new phrases were things like “For us and for our salvation” and “was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became one of us.” I realized recently, though, that […]