Inclusive Language and Baptismal Validity
Q: I’ve heard that some Episcopalians who became Catholics had to be re-baptized, because at the Episcopalian baptism the minister said something like “in the name of the Creator, and the Redeemer, and...
View ArticleAre SSPX Sacraments Valid? Part I
Q: What’s the canonical status of priests ordained by SSPX bishops, and what’s the canonical status of the sacraments they administer? –John A: It would have been marvelous to be able to respond to...
View ArticleAre SSPX Sacraments Valid? Part II
(Part I of this article was posted on August 1, 2013, and can be read here.) We’ve been looking at the sacraments administered by priests of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), an institute which,...
View ArticleCan a Priest Have His Ordination Annulled?
Q: Some years ago my diocese had to settle a number of sex-abuse lawsuits, all involving the same priest. More recently I learned that in the chancery, the diocesan staff had considered making the...
View ArticlePedophile Priests and Sacramental Validity
Q: At a family reunion this summer, we learned that the priest who had married my cousin and her husband has been removed from the parish. He was accused of pedophilia or some other sexual...
View ArticleCan You Marry Validly While Intoxicated?
Q: In a case where either bride or groom was inebriated at the time they exchanged vows, would the validity of the marriage take effect when the offending party regained sobriety? Let’s say they...
View ArticleWhy Can’t These Priests Ever Celebrate a Valid Catholic Wedding?
Q1: Can a laicized Catholic priest ever validly marry a Catholic couple? —Courtney Q2: My best friend is going to marry a divorced Catholic man, and she asked me to be a bridesmaid… her pastor said...
View ArticleWhat Makes a Baptism Catholic?
Q1: What makes a Catholic baptism Catholic? I’m a lay Roman Catholic who just started working as a hospital chaplain, which means I may be called upon to administer emergency baptisms in some cases....
View ArticleDiscovering an Impediment Right Before the Wedding
Q: My sister has an upcoming marriage in our Catholic Church in the USA. She is divorced for about 8 years now from her civil marriage. She did not tell her priest she was civilly married because she...
View ArticleWhat Makes a Mass Invalid? (Part II)
Q: At Mass, one visiting priest, consistently and with full intention, refuses to elevate the Eucharist at the consecration, rather he offers it to the congregation. He says this is in line with the...
View ArticleWhy Can’t an Ex-Catholic Marry Validly Outside the Church?
Q: Over ten years ago, there were two weddings of ex-Catholic friends outside the Church that I decided to attend, because I considered their membership in other Christian denominations to be a formal...
View ArticleAre SSPX Sacraments Valid? Part I
Q: What’s the canonical status of priests ordained by SSPX bishops, and what’s the canonical status of the sacraments they administer? –John A: It would have been marvelous to be able to respond to...
View ArticleAre SSPX Sacraments Valid? Part II
(Part I of this article was posted on August 1, 2013, and can be read here.) We’ve been looking at the sacraments administered by priests of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), an institute which,...
View ArticleCan a Priest Have His Ordination Annulled?
Q: Some years ago my diocese had to settle a number of sex-abuse lawsuits, all involving the same priest. More recently I learned that in the chancery, the diocesan staff had considered making the...
View ArticlePedophile Priests and Sacramental Validity
Q: At a family reunion this summer, we learned that the priest who had married my cousin and her husband has been removed from the parish. He was accused of pedophilia or some other sexual...
View ArticleCan You Marry Validly While Intoxicated?
Q: In a case where either bride or groom was inebriated at the time they exchanged vows, would the validity of the marriage take effect when the offending party regained sobriety? Let’s say they...
View ArticleWhy Can’t These Priests Ever Celebrate a Valid Catholic Wedding?
Q1: Can a laicized Catholic priest ever validly marry a Catholic couple? —Courtney Q2: My best friend is going to marry a divorced Catholic man, and she asked me to be a bridesmaid… her pastor said...
View ArticleWhat Makes a Baptism Catholic?
Q1: What makes a Catholic baptism Catholic? I’m a lay Roman Catholic who just started working as a hospital chaplain, which means I may be called upon to administer emergency baptisms in some cases....
View ArticleDiscovering an Impediment Right Before the Wedding
Q: My sister has an upcoming marriage in our Catholic Church in the USA. She is divorced for about 8 years now from her civil marriage. She did not tell her priest she was civilly married because she...
View ArticleWhat Makes a Mass Invalid? (Part II)
Q: At Mass, one visiting priest, consistently and with full intention, refuses to elevate the Eucharist at the consecration, rather he offers it to the congregation. He says this is in line with the...
View Article