Msgr. Charles Pope is the pastor of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian in Washington, D.C., and writes for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. at blog.adw.org. Send questions to msgrpope@osv.com.
Question: You recently referenced Matthew 19, where Jesus forbids divorce. But you said nothing about an exception the Lord makes “for unchastity.” Please explain what the Lord means here. — Name Withheld, Chicago Answer: The particular verse you reference reads as follows:
Question: Should priests, organists, altar servers and sacristans be paid for participating in a funeral? — Name withheld, via e-mail Answer: It varies according to each. Priests are not “paid” for celebrating funerals. And while it is customary for many families to
Question: What is the difference between a monastery and a convent? — Allen Eberle, Hague, N.D. Answer: Like many words, we can denote a strict sense and a more relaxed colloquial sense. We can also note that the meaning of the words
Question: A Jewish friend insists that, according to his religion, there is simply no afterlife. Is this true and consistent with the Old Testament? — Charley McKelvy, via email Answer: The views of the Jewish people regarding the afterlife vary to some
Question: I am a bit confused about the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s treatment of acedia. What does the Catechism mean to teach by this sin? And how is it related to joy? — Inigo Incer, via email Answer: The more common
Question: Why do the Catholic Church and Catholic Bibles fail to use the uppercase pronouns when referring to the persons of the Trinity? Does not the Lord’s Prayer say, “hallowed be Thy name?” — Joseph Krueger, Divide, Colo. Answer: Capitalizing pronouns (e.g.
Question: Did Satan know Jesus was God, or was he just tempting his human nature to fail? —Ann, city withheld Answer: It would seem that Satan and other evil spirits did know Jesus was God, at least in some general way. Scripture