What do we mean when we talk about reducing specific amounts of time in purgatory?
Q: In an earlier column, you said that purgatory was a state outside of time and that we can't talk about how long someone spends in purgatory in terms of years. But then why do you sometimes see ...
Is there any way to know how long a person might be in purgatory?
Q: At Mass we typically pray for the souls of "those in purgatory," often mentioning names of persons long since passed, sometimes 10 or even 20 years ago. Is there any way to know how long a person could ...
In families involved in occult practices, does baptism free their infants from such things?
Q: In families that are suffering from generational curses or that are involved in a lot of occult practices, why doesn't baptism free their infants from the power of demons? (Ohio) A: The short ...
Does a married Catholic need their bishop's permission to separate from their spouse?
Q: I read online that a married Catholic needs their bishop's permission to separate from their spouse. My husband abandoned our family to live with his girlfriend. How can I get our bishop to make him ...
Why won't the church grant me an annulment after my husband had an affair?
Q: My husband and I got a divorce because my husband had an affair. Why doesn't the church agree with me that it was his fault and grant my annulment? Why is my church siding with him? (New York) A: ...
Can parishes lock doors after a school Mass begins for safety?
Q: I'm one of the parents on a new "safety committee" for our local parish school. One of the parents' main suggestions is that, for our school Masses, we lock the church doors and keep the Mass private. ...
Would a couple who had excellent marriage prep have a harder time getting an annulment?
Q: I've noticed that in many flourishing Catholic communities with a lot of young adults (such as some Catholic university communities, or parishes in some big cities with an active young adult ministry), ...
Does a person's mortal sin prior to becoming Catholic follow him or her until confession and absolution?
Q: Does a person's mortal sin prior to becoming Catholic follow him or her until confession and absolution? In particular, if a non-Catholic friend paid for someone's abortion during the 1970s under the ...
