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Q u i c k Q u e s t i o n s
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This Rock
Volume 20, Number 6
 July-August 2009 
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Should Catholics be Liberals or Conservatives?
Q: Is it a sin for a Catholic to be a liberal? Or is it a sin to be a conservative?
A: The question is impossible to answer because the labels liberal and conservative are too vague. The focus should be on determining whether particular propositions that individuals either hold to or reject are true or false. For example:
- Abortion is morally neutral because a person has the freedom to choose. (False)
- Euthanasia is a moral evil because it is a form of murder. (True)
- Same-sex marriage is a moral good because it allows people to enter into marriage with those they love, regardless of their gender. (False)
Care must be taken not to reduce complex human beings to the sum of the labels they bear or to unjustly condemn them on the basis of labels they either accept or are given.
—Michelle Arnold
Q: If a baptized Catholic marries a non-baptized person, is that a valid marriage? Are there any special requirements?
A: The Code of Canon Law allows this by dispensation only. Here are the requirements for dispensation:
The local ordinary can grant a permission of this kind if there is a just and reasonable cause. He is not to grant it unless the following conditions have been fulfilled:
- the Catholic party is to declare that he or she is prepared to remove dangers of defecting from the faith and is to make a sincere promise to do all in his or her power so that all offspring are baptized and brought up in the Catholic Church;
- the other party is to be informed at an appropriate time about the promises which the Catholic party is to make, in such a way that it is certain that he or she is truly aware of the promise and obligation of the Catholic party;
- both parties are to be instructed about the purposes and essential properties of marriage which neither of the contracting parties is to exclude. (CIC 1125)
—Jim Blackburn
Q: When I told my Catholic friend that the Church teaches that Muslims worship the one true God, he said it was strictly a private opinion of popes. Is this true?
A: The idea that Muslims worship the one true God is not a "private opinion of popes." It was the teaching of Vatican II in its document Nostra Aetate:
The Church regards with esteem also the Muslims. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in himself; merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even his inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. (NA 3)
—Peggy Frye
Q: My daughter asked me what happens to the consecrated host. She asked if we digest Jesus.
A: When the host is digested and it no longer has the appearance of bread, it is no longer the body of Christ. The Lord is only present as long as the appearance of bread is present.
—Fr. Vincent Serpa
Q: I arrived a few minutes early for confession, but the priest never showed. If I had I been hit by a bus and died, would my sins have been forgiven since I showed up for confession?
A: While the act of showing up for confession does not, in itself, obtain forgiveness of sins, it may be an indication of contrition—"sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with a resolution not to sin again" (CCC 1451). Contrition does forgive sins when it is perfect. The Catechism explains: "When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called ‘perfect’ (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible" (CCC 1452).
—Jim Blackburn
Q: A non-Christian friend of mine is having a difficult time understanding the mystery of suffering and death and why a loving, all-powerful God allows it. She is not open to a Christian explanation of the matter. Is there a non-Christian explanation I can use?
A: One possibility is to draw upon the Fatherhood of God. Good human parents, you might point out, do not rescue their children from every difficulty they encounter or from every bump and bruise they may suffer—even when it is within their power to prevent it; instead, they sometimes allow their children to experience the natural consequences of their choices. Likewise, God is no less all-loving and all-powerful if he allows us to experience the natural consequences of our choices.
Obviously, this analogy doesn’t account for the innocent suffering of those who have committed no wrongdoing. That is where Christian revelation enters with its understanding of vicarious responsibility for sin, vicarious atonement for sin, and the redemptive value of innocent suffering offered up in union with Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary. Nevertheless, you could start by appealing to common human experience to see if that opens the door to a discussion of the Christian understanding of suffering and death.
One of the most powerful secular explorations of suffering and death in recent years has been J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Some argue that the series draws on Christian imagery and Christian themes, but it does not explicitly mention Christ or Christianity, and it has been popular with audiences uninterested in Christian literature. If your friend is not interested in an explicitly Catholic explanation of suffering and death, perhaps she will be interested in a secular story that incorporates those themes.
—Michelle Arnold
Q: What should be done with the leftover oils from the celebration of the sacraments of initiation, holy orders, and anointing of the sick?
A: The Book of Blessings, Chapter 32, Order for the Blessing of a Repository for the Holy Oils, says, "Each year when the bishop blesses the oils and consecrates the chrism, the pastor should see that the old oils are properly disposed of by burning and that they are replaced by the newly blessed oils."
—Peggy Frye
Q: Is the death penalty permissible for criminals who are violent in prison?
A: The death penalty may be permissible when it is the only possible way to defend human lives. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains:
Assuming that the guilty party’s identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people’s safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person.
Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm—without definitively taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself—the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically nonexistent. (CCC 2267)
—Jim Blackburn
Q: If one were to add wine to the precious blood, what would happen? Is it somehow less precious blood per volume? Is the wine consecrated by contact, or does it cease to be precious blood at all?
A: Adding unconsecrated wine to the Eucharist does not result in wine being mixed with wine but wine being mixed with blood. After the consecration, any wine poured into a chalice containing the precious blood would not by that fact become the blood of Christ. It would still be wine, even though this would not be visible to the eye. It would also be a sacrilegious act.
—Fr. Vincent Serpa
Q: My husband and I married in the Catholic Church, but now I am separated from my husband and in the process of divorce and annulment. Priests have told me that I can date and still receive the sacraments if the relationships are pure and entered into prayerfully. Is this correct?
A: No. Currently you are not even legally divorced, much less have you received a decree of nullity from the Church. Until the latter happens, you must presume that you are a married woman and may not date anyone. Once you are legally divorced, you will no longer be married in the eyes of the state, but you will be married in the eyes of the Church unless and until you receive an annulment—and there is never any guarantee that an annulment will be granted. If you maintain a life of chastity appropriate to your state as a married woman legally separated from her husband (the Church considers civil divorce the equivalent of a legal separation), and otherwise remain in a state of grace, you may receive the sacraments. Once an annulment is granted, then you will be free to date.
—Michelle Arnold
Q: Our first daughter lived only 20 hours. One of the nurses told me she baptized her, but I don’t know if the nurse was Catholic or not. Was my daughter’s baptism valid, and is she in heaven now?
A: The Catechism of the Catholic Church states,
In case of necessity, anyone, even a non-baptized person, with the required intention, can baptize, by using the trinitarian baptismal formula. The intention required is to will to do what the Church does when she baptizes. The Church finds the reason for this possibility in the universal saving will of God and the necessity of baptism for salvation. (CCC 1256)
If the nurse used the correct form and matter and had the intent to administer Christian baptism, then the sacrament was valid. But even if your daughter died without baptism, there is reason to trust in God’s mercy and hope for her salvation. The Catechism explains,
As regards children who have died without baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward children which caused him to say: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them," allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without baptism. All the more urgent is the Church’s call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy baptism. (CCC 1261)
—Jim Blackburn
Q: In the Apostles’ Creed we profess that God is the "creator of heaven and earth." What does this mean?
A: The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains it in this way:
The Scriptural expression heaven and earth means all that exists, creation in its entirety. It also indicates the bond, deep within creation, that both unites heaven and earth and distinguishes the one from the other: "the earth" is the world of men, while "heaven" or "the heavens" can designate both the firmament and God’s own "place"—"our Father in heaven" and consequently "the heaven" too which is eschatological glory. Finally, "heaven" refers to the saints and the "place" of the spiritual creatures, the angels, who surround God. (CCC 326)
—Peggy Frye
Q: I would like to attend a Mass in a downtown church on Sunday at 8:00 a.m. and then return home and attend a 10:30 a.m. Mass at my parish with my wife. Is there anything wrong with attending both Masses and receiving communion so close together?
A: You may receive the Eucharist twice in one day provided the second reception is within a Eucharistic celebration in which you "participate." This is understood to mean the standard level of participation of one attending Mass. The Code of Canon Law states, "A person who has already received the Most Holy Eucharist can receive it a second time on the same day only within the Eucharistic celebration in which the person participates, without prejudice to the prescript of can. 921 §2" (CIC 917). (Note: Canon 921 §2 deals with reception by those in danger of death.)
—Jim Blackburn
Q: Is it a requirement of all priests to say (or concelebrate) Mass daily, whether in private or in assembly, on vacation, or their days off?
A: There is no requirement that a priest celebrate Mass every day. But one would hope he would want to. There is no greater privilege on earth.
—Fr. Vincent Serpa
Q: In my diocese, January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, was not a holy day of obligation. But in another U.S. diocese, it was. Could you please explain?
A: In accord with the provisions of canon 1246 §2 of the Code of Canon Law, the USCCB has ruled: "Whenever January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, or August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption, or November 1, the solemnity of All Saints, falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated" (www.usccb.org).
This covers the bulk of instances in which you will find holy days of obligation dispensed for Latin-rite Catholics in the United States. However, there is one more provision of canon law to keep in mind: "Whenever he judges that it contributes to their spiritual welfare, the diocesan bishop can dispense the faithful from disciplinary laws, both universal laws and those particular laws made by the supreme ecclesiastical authority, for his territory or his subjects" (CIC 87 §1).
This means that an individual bishop can dispense the obligation of a holy day of obligation for his diocese. That is why in some U.S. dioceses January 1 is celebrated as a holy day of obligation, and in others it is not.
—Michelle Arnold
Q: Where did people who died before Christ go?
A: According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, before the Resurrection, Abraham, Noah, Moses, Adam and Eve, and all the righteous were in the Limbo of the Fathers (limbus patrum) where they remained until "in his human soul united to his divine person, the dead Christ went down to the realm of the dead. He opened heaven’s gates for the just who had gone before him" (CCC 637).
Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. . . . He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him—he who is both their God and the son of Eve. . . ."I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. . . I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead." (CCC 635)
—Peggy Frye
Q: A visiting priest told us that according to the Vatican, it is not proper to hold hands or lift our hands upward when reciting the Lord’s Prayer—that this was reserved exclusively for the priest, who offers the prayer collectively to God for the congregation. If holding hands is in violation of Church practice, then perhaps it needs to cease?
A: In his book, Mass Confusion, Jimmy Akin states, "The Holy See has not ruled directly in this issue. In response to a query, however, the Holy See stated that holding hands ‘is a liturgical gesture introduced spontaneously but on personal initiative; it is not in the rubrics’ . . . For this reason, no one can be required to hold hands during the Our Father" (161). The appendix notes that the practice of holding hands during the Our Father is "discouraged."
—Jim Blackburn
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Catholic Answers
