In a time where Catholics are unable to receive the sacraments, the term “spiritual communion” has been mentioned frequently. A reader asks: “How do I understand this, and, once churches open again, can I go on making a spiritual communion, or am
A reader asks Monsignor Pope, I think the bishops are denying the right of the faithful to have the sacraments. Since when does a governor or mayor have the right to tell the Church to deny sacraments to the faithful? Monsignor explains
This week in Pastoral Answers, Monsignor Charles Pope answers the question: Did Jesus always know he was God, or did that understanding grow gradually in him? Monsignor Pope explains that, as God, Jesus has divine knowledge that is entirely comprehensive; he knows
In his column this week, Monsignor Pope answers two questions. First, How am I supposed to honor my father and mother who so mistreated me? I have a lot to argue with God over in this commandment. Why should I have to
In his latest column, Monsignor Charles Pope answers two questions about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. In the first question, he addresses what it means when Jesus says in the Gospel of John, “I am the bread of life.”
Belief in the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven is universal in the Eastern, Western and Orthodox Churches; no one doubts this. However, the exact historical details are sketchy, including the location — Jerusalem or Ephesus. While Mary lived in Ephesus with
What does the Church teach regarding married couples who never have kids? Since marriage is oriented toward the procreation of children, does that make their marriage invalid? Monsignor Charles Pope clarifies this misunderstanding, explaining that what the Church asks of every couple
What does the Church teach on cloning, DNA manipulation and stem cell research? Monsignor Charles Pope explains that the Church does not ban any of these scientific practices. However, certain areas of each are problematic. Human cloning, he explains, is forbidden because
A reader asks why the feast of the Presentation of Our Lord is celebrated after the feast of his baptism. Monsignor Charles Pope says that this is not the only example where the chronological events of Christ’s life are celebrated in a
Sometimes a literal interpretation of the Bible leads to confusion. So, what does John the Baptism mean when he says he did not know Jesus? They were cousins, after all. Monsignor Charles Pope explains that Saint John the Baptist probably meant that