The Catholic Church and its views and teachings on specific subjects.
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608 views
How many kinds of Catholics are there?
Until recently I was under the impression that Catholics are unanimous in their beliefs and don't have the kind of fragmentation that Protestants have.
But I’ve learned that there are several small ...
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1answer
201 views
Has the notion of “legitimacy” been abandoned in the Catholic Church?
This isn't a question about pastoral advice, but it is being asked on behalf of a friend who is worried that her children will become illegitimate if her marriage is annulled and all I can find to ...
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3answers
87 views
Changes in Rome since Trent versus the Evangelicals
I am aware that there have been two wide spread movements to bring the Evangelical and Roman Catholic Churches closer together (ECT and ECT2). My question is this: What has changed in Roman Catholic ...
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1answer
57 views
Why did the popes begin issuing encyclicals?
It appears as if heavy duty instructions to the world at large began with Pope Leo XIII in the late 19th century.
How did it come about that he issued so many encyclicals? Did he set a precedent ...
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1answer
57 views
Is the OT unveiled in the entire NT or just the Gospels?
St. Augustine Sayeth:
the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.
(paraphrased quote from the Catechism)
Just for context, I looked this up and he ...
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1answer
715 views
What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the Roman Catholic church?
What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the Roman Catholic church? When I search online, I mostly find stuff about filioque. But I want to know specifically what he does. What is his role? How does he ...
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3answers
81 views
Do Catholics really believe in contemporary miracles?
I know beatification requires a miracle. And, I keep reading statements like this,
"On 19 December 2009, John Paul II was proclaimed venerable by his successor Pope Benedict XVI and was beatified ...
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1answer
44 views
How is excommunication handled during the interregnum?
Not that I'm plotting anything heinous, but can one be excommunicated or have excommunication lifted during the interregnum?
I think, but I'm not positive, that some offenses that carry ...
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1answer
79 views
What is the Holy See and when is it appropriate to use this term?
Is the Pope, himself, ever referred to as the Holy See or is it simply the place where he lives?
Wikipedia says, "Often incorrectly referred to as 'the Vatican', the Holy See is not the same entity ...
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1answer
39 views
What is the “Light-Life Movement”
I saw this in a user profile, and would just like a description of what the movement is. Beliefs, how it varies from "the norm" (if it does) history, etc.
So, simply, what is the Light-Life ...
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1answer
68 views
What is a Consistory?
In Raymundi Martini's Pugio Fidei, there is a section entitled, De Consistorio. While it seems he is using it in reference to Judaism, it also appears there is an equivalent in Catholicism. So, what ...
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143 views
When and where did Pope Paul VI say the “Mass is the most perfect form of prayer”?
I was trying to source this quote,
The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer - Pope Paul VI
but the Google, in her wisdom, seems to think I only want to see what my fellow zealous Mary lovers ...
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1answer
191 views
How common is intinction in the Catholic Church?
Intinction at communion is "the practice of dipping the bread in the cup and partaking the elements simultaneously".
The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) at their 2012 General Assembly narrowly ...
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1answer
118 views
What translation does the Catholic Breviary of England use for Psalms?
I've heard that in England the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours uses a different translation for the readings from the U. S. (Specifically, the British use Jerusalem Bible in their liturgies ...
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2answers
207 views
What is the purpose of godparents?
I was looking through Catholic baptismal records, while doing genealogy, when I realized that I didn't know what the purpose of godparents is. What is their purpose? Why are they recorded? Are the ...
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1answer
250 views
Which nuns get new names?
I know that some Catholic nuns chose new names, like Mother Teresa (previously Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu), and others didn't, like Sister Helen Prejean.
What determines whether a woman changes her name ...
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2answers
2k views
What is the difference between Natural Law and Divine Law?
In Catholic understanding, there is a divine law and a natural law. Based on my reading, it seems like Divine Law = Revelation (as a Protestant would call it) and Natural Law = what you could deduce ...
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1answer
68 views
Was the white smoke ever supposed to be miraculous?
With everybody waiting on a puff of white smoke to eminate from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, the engineer in me is curious about the mechanics.
I know in modern times that a special additive ...
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2answers
105 views
What is the basis for penance (satisfaction) in sacramental confession?
From the Catholic Encyclopedia, The Sacrament of Penance (Confession):
As stated above, the absolution given by the priest to a penitent who
confesses his sins with the proper dispositions ...
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1answer
60 views
How long, and in what cases did Catholics participate in the Black Fast?
I ran across the term "Black Fast" and looked it up. The articles I'm finding indicate that it's extreme, and give some information about the types of foods allowed during it, but I keep expecting to ...
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1answer
80 views
What is a Scapular, and what theology is tied to it?
I ran across this question, and I'm wondering if someone can give me more information on what a Scapular is, and what, exactly, the significance and/or theology goes along with it?
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1answer
87 views
According to Roman Catholic Doctrine, what things have the power to decrease a person's time in purgatory?
Roman Catholic teaching states that many people spend a certain amount of time in purgatory after they die before going to heaven. I remember hearing something to the effect that people who are still ...
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2answers
96 views
Is there a special significance attached to a Latin Mass?
Every so often, one of my Catholic acquaintances will mention that they will be, or have just attended a Latin Mass. I know pretty much nothing about a Latin Mass, other than (obviously) that it's ...
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1answer
51 views
What different acts do Catholic priests require of people who go to confession?
I understand that when people go to confessional in the Catholic Church, the priest will often prescribe certain things for them to do for penance in order for their sins to be forgiven.
I have heard ...
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1answer
59 views
Who is the oldest Blessed?
Just a question that ought to have a concrete answer and be a good example for how the process of canonization works for my Religious Ed. class:
Who has been declared blessed for the longest period ...
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1answer
59 views
Can Catholic works of ‘satisfaction’ (prayer, fasting, etc.) for the removal of temporal punishments of venial sin be credited to others still alive?
Here is what I think I understand:
A Catholic believes in something called penance that is understood as a sacrament by which forgiveness of sins (committed after baptism) is granted through the ...
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3answers
150 views
Can dogma ever be modified, and how does this relate to papal infallibility?
I have two questions related to the concept of dogma in the Catholic church. I appreciate any guidance. Also, references would be helpful.
Is there any point in the history of the Roman Catholic ...
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1answer
120 views
Is it valid to baptize multiple persons at once?
To take an extreme example, if a person is on a plane that's about to crash, and she wishes to perform a baptism that is valid according to the Catholic Church (and therefore valid according to the ...
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1answer
79 views
Is there any connection between minimum age for marriage in Catholic Church and tradition about Mary's age at Annunciation?
According to Canonic law, the minimum age for marryage to be valid for girls is fourteen (it can be and usually is higher for the marriage not to be illicit):
Can. 1083 §1. A man before he has ...
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1answer
301 views
What is the status of St Malachy's prophecy within Catholicism?
As might be well-known to some, and perhaps especially to Catholics, the name of Saint Malachy, a former Archbishop of Armagh, is often associated with the Prophecy of the Popes. Much of the recent ...
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1answer
170 views
What's so great about the Canticle of the Sun?
A few years ago, I tried to explain to the 7th-8th graders in my catechism class how awesome St. Francis was. I told 'em about him giving up all his stuff and rebuilding the Church etc... but, for ...
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1answer
2k views
When is the end of the Christmas Season for Latin rite Catholics?
When does Christmas really end for Catholics? I know it starts different for most Eastern Orthodox, but for Latin Rite Catholics, like myself, I don't know when it actually is supposed to end. At the ...
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1answer
162 views
Does ex opere operato apply to infants?
"Ex opere operato" says that a person must have the proper disposition and desire in order to receive graces through sacraments (correct me if I'm over simplifying this).
Does this not apply to ...
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49 views
What does St. Augustine mean by predestination?
St. Augustine says somewhere (quoted in the old Catholic Encyclopedia):
Predestination is nothing else than the foreknowledge and foreordaining of those gracious gifts which make certain the ...
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2answers
164 views
Is the Pope morally obliged to submit to every secular authority?
Among the Protestant faith a believer is to submit to the government:
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to ...
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2answers
303 views
An open atheist's fate in the middle ages in Europe
What would happen to me if, while living in Europe, say, in the 13th or in the 15th century - in fact, in any time of the existence of the Roman Catholic Church before reformation - I openly declared ...
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195 views
Is the Catechism of the Catholic Church considered scripture?
Is the Catechism of the Catholic Church considered scripture? Does it have the same authority as the Bible? If not, what is its place in the church? Is it considered heresy to preach or believe ...
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2answers
258 views
Biblical basis for Peter being the leader of the apostles?
The Roman Catholic church claim that the apostle Peter was the first bishop of Rome and that he was the leader of the other apostles/bishops and since the pope is the rightful heir of Peter's title ...
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3answers
216 views
Is civil divorce OK for Catholics, are there mitigating circumstances?
This is not a pastoral advice question, I'm happily married. I just really don't know the answer to this question to help a friend, so I guess it's pastoral pastoral advice, but I definitely don't ...
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2answers
543 views
How does Pope Benedict XVI reconcile conscience and authority?
A recent talk by Father Bob Pierson 1 quoted Joseph Ratzinger (as he then was, now Pope Benedict XVI) as saying that the individual conscience must overrule ecclesiastical authority. I was intrigued ...
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2answers
244 views
Does the Catholic Church consider abortion to be murder?
As a Catholic, I know that I am accountable to a higher law than human/positive law. The natural moral law is the guiding force behind the formation of my conscience and if human laws are not in ...
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2answers
137 views
What is the earliest record of using icons to worship God in the Catholic or Orthodox traditions?
The question is as simple as the title. I am simply wondering, ‘When is the earliest recorded date of this tradition?’
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2answers
99 views
Where did the hierarchical designations of priest, cardinal, bishop, and pope come from in the Catholic church?
Protestantism typically recognizes offices that include pastors, elders, and deacons. Another common belief is the priesthood of all believers, and thus there is no such designation for a particular ...
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2answers
101 views
In what order were the Sacraments added?
In his book The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer has this phrase:
'The sacraments' were first two, then three, then four, until with the triumph of Romanism they were fixed at seven.
What were these ...
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1answer
83 views
What happens to retired Popes like Pope Benedict?
Does the pope get paid for being the pope?
The above question is answered very well and shows that the Pope genuinely has no personal assets. He is well cared for by the Vatican.
But what about the ...
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1answer
149 views
Did Pope Benedict XVI grant permission for hetrosexual couples to use artifical birth control methods?
In a book of interviews by Peter Seewald "Light of the World" the Pope is quoted as saying something to the effect that homosexual prostitutes would be better off if they used condoms than if they ...
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1answer
73 views
What is the basis for the Roman Catholic teaching regarding the Sin of Presumption?
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that there is something called the Sin of Presumption, which states that it is a sin for one to believe that he or she is assured of his or her salvation.
It seems ...
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1answer
117 views
Any Roman Catholic Church martyrs from 10 - 15th centuries?
Do we know of any martyrs from among the Roman Catholic Church that lived during the 5 centuries before Martin Luther (i.e. 10 - 15th centuries). I am especially interested in those who have been ...
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2answers
90 views
Any dangers for the usage of sacramentals that are not-yet-blessed-by-a-priest?
I just bought a new Rosary, and I haven't asked our priest in the locality to bless it.
Is there any danger when I pray the Rosary (or use of any "not-yet-blessed" sacramental for this matter) using ...
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1answer
86 views
What would happen if a priest venerated Santa Muerte in an RCC church?
In Mexico, the mix of native and Catholic religions has produced an interesting figure called Santa Muerte or literally, "Saint Death." In many ways, the icons, statues, and venerations ascribed to ...
