18
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between "Catechism" and "Canon Law" in Catholicism?
Yes, the Catechism and Canon Law are two separate things
The Catechism is a teaching tool for the bishops and various catechists to instruct the faithful. (Why do we receive the Eucharist? What ...
- 6,707
18
votes
Accepted
Is a Roman Catholic ever permitted to take the Anglican Eucharist?
No.
Canon 844 says:
Catholic ministers administer the sacraments licitly to Catholic members of the Christian faithful alone, who likewise receive them licitly from Catholic ministers alone.
So ...
- 7,852
14
votes
Accepted
Are priests who committed a sin together able to validly administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation to each other?
The case you describe is explicitly forbidden and declared invalid in canon law. (The sixth commandment is against adultery.)
can. 977 CIC The absolution of an accomplice in a sin against the sixth ...
- 1,737
13
votes
Accepted
Can Bishops give dispensations from certain marriage vows?
What a “dispensation” is
First of all, a “dispensation” is a legal term, in which the competent authority relieves one of its subjects from having to follow a law (or part of a law) in a particular ...
- 13.2k
12
votes
What is the difference between "Catechism" and "Canon Law" in Catholicism?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a book, promulgated in 1992 by Pope St. John Paul II, which seeks to explain the doctrine (that is, the body of teachings) that the Catholic Church holds. It ...
- 2,795
11
votes
Accepted
If I win the Powerball jackpot will Catholic Church accept a donation?
There is no prohibition of it in Canon Law.
St. Thomas Aquinas, in Summa Theologica II-II q. 32 a. 7 ("Whether one may give alms out of ill-gotten goods?"), mentions three ways in which money may be "...
- 38.5k
8
votes
Can Catholic priests disclose the fact that someone has seen him for confession?
Church law does not explicitly prohibit revealing that a given person has been to confession or not. Here are the relevant canons from the Code of Canon Law:
Can. 983 §1. The sacramental seal is ...
- 13.2k
8
votes
Accepted
Is there a medical dispensation formally allowed from Lenten fasting in Catholicism?
The USCCB website has several questions and answers about Lenten observances.
The last one of these is:
Q. Are there exemptions other than for age from the requirement to fast on Ash Wednesday and ...
- 7,852
8
votes
Accepted
What are the reasons for the Catholic Church's law regarding the Communion fast?
Fr. William P. Saunders of Catholic Straight Answers gives the following reasons for fasting before Communion:
The most important point regarding this question concerns why we ought to [ever] fast. ...
- 15.3k
8
votes
In the Catholic Church, is there specific canon law on voluntary excommunication?
There is no such thing as voluntary excommunication, in the strict sense of excommunication. There's a good answer by AthanasiusOfAlex which explains the purpose of excommunication; I'll restrict this ...
- 14.1k
8
votes
Accepted
What do Protestants think about canon laws given by the Church Fathers?
In general, Protestants don't think about the early church canon laws much at all! Protestants endorse the ecumenical creeds, and they accept the councils' judgements of heretics, but that's about the ...
- 19.7k
8
votes
Can a church pastor prohibit sacraments to people for any reason, other than mortal sin?
Absolution cannot be denied for truly penitent sinners:
1980 Code can. 980If the confessor has no doubt about the disposition of the penitent, and the penitent seeks absolution, absolution is to be ...
- 38.5k
8
votes
Can a church pastor prohibit sacraments to people for any reason, other than mortal sin?
Can a church pastor prohibit sacraments to people for any reason, other than mortal sin?
The short answer is no. This is bared out in Geremia’s answer.
Can. 980 If the confessor has no doubt about ...
- 67.7k
7
votes
If I win the Powerball jackpot will Catholic Church accept a donation?
The Catechism says this about Gambling.
2413 Games of chance (card games, etc.) or wagers are not in themselves contrary to justice. They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of ...
- 2,718
7
votes
Accepted
What happens if one wishes to go through the RCIA process but lacks a sponsor?
The Church believes that it is important for a baptizand (in this context also called the catechumen) to have a sponsor, for a couple of reasons. The Church considers the newly baptized to be part of ...
- 18.5k
7
votes
Can a church pastor prohibit sacraments to people for any reason, other than mortal sin?
As in most such cases: It depends on the context and is complicated. The relevant norms of the CIC are:
Can. 213 The Christian faithful have the right to receive assistance from the sacred pastors ...
- 1,737
6
votes
Are non-Catholics allowed to go to confession?
Yes, a non Catholic can confess to a Catholic priest. (The canon law point has already been addressed).
What the non Catholic is not generally eligible for is the full sacrament of Penance and ...
- 6,707
6
votes
Do Jehovah's Witnesses recognize marriages performed by non-denominational ministers?
As your brother and sister-in-law are not yet baptized members of Jehovah's Witnesses it would not matter who performed their legal marriage ceremony. In fact a baptized member of Jehovah's Witnesses ...
- 324
6
votes
Accepted
Is there a canon law for what to do if a hostage situation breaks out while consecrating the Eucharist?
This isn't a matter of canon law, which governs the general conduct and culpability of the people of God; this is covered by the instructions for Mass.
The last Latin Missal (the Missale Romanum of ...
- 14.1k
6
votes
What exactly was the earliest start time of a Catholic mass before 1957? - What means aurora?
"Aurora" in Latin means "dawn", as opposed to "sunrise" (which is "ortus solis", the rising of the sun). This would mean, more or less, the period at which the sky was visibly bright.
The reason for ...
- 18.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Do clerics commit a sin if they do not recite the liturgy of the hours?
Do clerics commit a sin if they do not recite the liturgy of the hours?
The short answer is yes.
First of all, we must distinguish among those who have an obligation to pray the Divine Office.
...
- 67.7k
6
votes
Accepted
Does the Catholic Church have a contingency plan for the case that the pope and all cardinals are dead?
Does the Catholic Church have a contingency plan for the case that the pope and all cardinals are dead?
There is no known official contingency plan for the Catholic Church in the case that if God ...
- 67.7k
6
votes
Does the phrase "in good standing" have a definition in Catholicism?
It's not a term used in canon law.
Canonist Charles Augustine, O.S.B., uses the the phrase "good standing" in his commentary on canon law, but it doesn't appear anywhere in the code of canon ...
- 38.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Do Catholic anathemas apply to people who lived before it was codified?
Do Catholic anathemas apply to people who lived before it was codified?
For example: Do the anathemas issued by the Council of Trent regarding the canon of the scripture applies to the Church Fathers ...
- 67.7k
5
votes
Accepted
Did any of the Catholic or Protestant paramilitary groups of the Northern Ireland conflicts of the 60s and 70s ever have an actual theological creed?
The paramilitary organisations did not hold particular theological positions and members were not, in general, especially pious. They were, for the most part, members or adherents of their respective ...
- 7,852
5
votes
Accepted
How many practicing Canon Lawyers are there in the USA, and the world?
Disclaimer
My answer is hardly based upon poor database, wild speculations and extrapolations. If you have access to any of the data I claim to have no access or any other useful data or suggestions ...
- 1,737
5
votes
What is the difference between "Catechism" and "Canon Law" in Catholicism?
They are two separate books, and the English translations of the Catechism and the Code of Canon Law1 can be found on the Vatican website. (The Catechism can also be found, in Flash format only, on ...
- 18.5k
5
votes
According to the Catholic Church, is it a sin to marry your cousin?
"Consanguinity is a diriment impediment of marriage as far as
the fourth degree of kinship inclusive."
See the table at the end of this article for how 4° kinship is
determined, or this table:
The ...
- 38.5k
5
votes
Accepted
Could the Pope be removed from office for lapses in judgment?
A valid Pope's subjects cannot depose him. That would be conciliarism, which Fr. John Hardon, S.J., in his Modern Catholic Dictionary as:
The theory that a general council of the Church is higher in ...
- 38.5k
5
votes
Is holding hands and forming a circle around the altar during eucharistic prayer allowed?
Is it permitted to form a circle around the altar and hold hands during the Eucharistic Prayer?
The short answer is: No.
When I was in the major seminary, we would gather around the altar once a ...
- 67.7k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible