Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

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

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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?

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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.”

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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?

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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?

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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 […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Christ ‘descended into hell’? Did the Holy Family go to Egypt or Nazareth?

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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 […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: How are non-Catholics forgiven? How are parish donations split?

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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, […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Homilies printed and distributed? Saying a Mass for a non-Catholic?

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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 […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Why is the pope approving of civil unions? Should I have my hands raised in prayer?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: Why is the pope approving of civil unions for homosexuals? Isn’t this still one of the deadly sins? (Lexington, Indiana) A: First, to clarify: I have never seen homosexuality mentioned as one of the seven deadly sins. In fact, many people with a homosexual orientation are celibate. The seven deadly sins are […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Was Friday really ‘Good’? Should I return to my parish if I can’t understand the priest?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: Why do we call the day Jesus was crucified “Good” Friday? Christ was made to suffer horribly, so this has always bothered me. (Radford, Virginia) A: A fair number of people agree with you, and some have suggested that “Black Friday” would be a more appropriate designation. Interestingly, in the Greek Orthodox […]