Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Father Kenneth Doyle: Communion for divorced, remarried?

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: If a Catholic gets married by a priest, later gets divorced, then gets married by a judge, can that person still receive the holy Eucharist? A: The short answer is “no,” but there is so much more to it than that. First, to explain the rule: The church is a communion of […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Why no Old Testament saints?

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: Figures from the Old Testament are never referred to as saints. Were there no saints in those days? (Albany, New York) A: Your question is an excellent one, and the answer is a bit complex. It is true that, in the Catholic Church, Old Testament figures have not been formally canonized and […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Can prayers guarantee heaven? Priest won’t attend beach wedding

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: I was given a prayer folder that tells me that I will suffer no purgatory and be taken directly to heaven when I die, provided that I say these prayers daily for 12 years. (Missed days can be made up.) I am about ready to start the third year, but a dear […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Crying babies are ruining Mass. Plus: Should my daughter take communion?

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: I love children, and I know that babies will cry at inopportune times. That said, I am puzzled at the young parents in our parish who allow their children to cry loudly in church for extended periods of time. I tend to believe that it might be part of our American culture […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Is it better to go to church or be kind? Why do Catholic light candles in church?

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: Who is a better person? Someone who attends Mass every Sunday and receives Communion but is not nice to people (rude, insulting, doesn’t help the poor)? Or someone who attends Mass sporadically but is a kind, considerate and helping individual? (Gahanna, Ohio) A: Is it better to walk on your right leg […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Did Jesus feel abandoned? Should adoration be silent?

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: When Jesus was dying on the cross, according to the Gospel, he cried out, “My God, why have you abandoned me?” Why was he saying this? Did he really feel that his Father had abandoned him? (Coxs Creek, Kentucky) A: Half a century ago, when I first began to think about the […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Why a deacon if a priest is present? Is it wrong to long for heaven?

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: Often, I have been at a Mass where the deacon reads the Gospel, which is fine. But then, sometimes, the deacon goes on to give the homily while the priest watches. This disappoints me and makes me feel that the deacon is overstepping his bounds. Why should a deacon, rather than the […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Why can’t we use a closed church? Can a non-Catholic be a cantor?

by

  QUESTION CORNER Q: I am having a hard time understanding why a Catholic church closed by a bishop can no longer be used for Masses, weddings and funerals. For more than 100 years, this particular church — built by my great-great-grandparents — was considered sacred ground. Now my grandson wants to get married in […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Missing Mass while on a cruise ship? Celebrating Mass in a state of sin?

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: Every summer, my husband and I go on a cruise. Only one cruise line (Holland America) continues to have a priest on board to say Mass. When we travel on other cruise lines, frequently we have missed Sunday Mass because there was no priest on board and we could not get to […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: What’s the Catholic view on tithing? Should a couple cohabitat before getting married?

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: I grew up in a Protestant church but converted to Catholicism. Sometimes it seems to me that Catholics give a lot less money to their churches than Protestants do. (The Sunday collections reported in our parish bulletin would, I think, be dwarfed by some Protestants parishes much smaller than our own.) On […]