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Each weekday, you'll find a new question and answer. Check back for the new question and scroll down to see previous day's entries! Let us know what you think - - or question! -- by emailing us at tcanswer@osv.com.
Abortion and weddings
Q. If the Church is so anti-abortion, why isn't there some part of the rite of marriage in which the rejection of abortion is made clear? Shouldn't couples be asked to reject it?
-- Helen G., Hartford, Conn.
A. Here’s a reply from OSV columnist Msgr. M. Francis Mannion:
Actually, if one were to examine the rite of marriage, one would see a strong emphasis on children and the acceptance of them as a part of marriage. This acceptance of children is intrinsically anti-abortion.
One of the three questions asked of the couple as they prepare to exchange vows is, "Will you accept children lovingly from God and bring them up according to the law of Christ and His Church?" Since the texts of the rite provide a crucial basis for pre-marriage catechesis, I suggest that the one preparing the couple for marriage look at this question and the couple's attitude toward it intensely.
It should be made clear that answering "yes" to this question excludes the option of abortion in the marriage. Accepting "children lovingly from God" represents a very strong pro-life stance.
As a pastor preparing couples for marriage, I have found a thorough study of the rites of marriage, including a review of the body of Scripture readings used in weddings, provides a most useful and thought-provoking means of marriage catechesis.
Autism and Sacraments
Q. My 4-year-old daughter has been diagnosed with mild autism. I am concerned about her future and receiving the sacraments.
I fully understand and respect that she will probably never be able to receive the Eucharist since she has difficulty with food textures, but I am concerned as to what the future holds for her. When the time comes, will she be able to be buried from the Catholic Church even though she is not a fully initiated adult?
Lori Sciancalepore, via e-mail
A. Here’s a reply from TCA columnist Father Francis Hoffman, J.C.D.:
Generally speaking, autism is not a barrier to receiving the sacraments, and when the time comes (hopefully very far in the future), your daughter can be buried from the Catholic Church, even if she is not a fully initiated adult. Even unbaptized infants can receive a Church burial.
As for receiving holy Communion, your daughter would need to understand what she is doing and be able to distinguish the consecrated Eucharistic bread from ordinary bread. If she is incapable of ingesting the Host, out of reverence for the Sacred Species, it would be most prudent for her to not receive. But in such a case you should not worry, because Our Lord will bless her with special graces since He loves each one of us, and He is infinitely just and merciful.
How Many Precepts?
Q. I teach 11th-grade religious education. My question: How many precepts of the Church are there, and what are they?
I've found lists ranging between three and eight precepts. The Catechism doesn't mention marriage laws among them, and some lists include confirmation as a requirement. Why are there so many different versions?
Lynn Pakish, via e-mail
A. Here’s a reply from TCA columnist Father Ray Ryland, Ph.D., J.D:
Many catechisms and summations of doctrine drawn up by individuals do vary in their listing of the Church's precepts. The Church's official teaching is set forth in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (see Nos. 2042-2043). Each precept reflects provisions in the Code of Canon Law.
1. Attending Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, plus resting from labor and sanctifying the day commemorating Our Lord's resurrection (see Canons 1246-1248).
2. Going to confession at least once a year (Canon 989).
3. Receiving the Eucharist at least during the Easter season (Canon 920).
4. Observing the Church's laws of fasting and abstinence (Canons 1249-1251).
5. Contributing to the material needs of the Church (Canon 222).
Marriage Validity
Q. Is a marriage between a baptized (in a Catholic or Protestant church) man and woman married in a Protestant church considered a valid marriage by the Catholic Church when considering divorce and remarriage in the Catholic Church?
Tom, Sanford, Fla.
It depends. If both were non-Catholic baptized Christians and had no binding impediments to marriage, yes, their marriage would be considered valid. If one was Catholic and married in the Protestant church, that marriage would only be valid if he had the proper dispensation from canonical form to get married in a Protestant church.
In general, with respect to these cases, the Church holds that "marriage enjoys the favor of the law." In other words, unless it has been declared null by the competent ecclesiastical authority, we hold the marriage to be valid.
Why Four Gospels?
Q. Why must we have four Gospels in the New Testament? They all basically tell the same story.
Jeanne Hanson Bove, Rockford, Ill.
We have fragments of several dozen "gospels" written in early centuries, and there must have been many others which have been totally lost. Out of this vast literature the Holy Spirit led the Church to select and canonize only four as authentic. In that process of selection, the criterion was, Does this writing authentically reflect the Church's tradition?
But why four, rather than one? Perhaps this is the reason: Suppose the four greatest portrait artists in the world were gathered to paint Pope Benedict XVI's portrait. He would be recognizable in all of them, but each portrait would have unique features, unique insights into his countenance. This would give us a much deeper and richer image of him than if only one artist had painted his portrait.
This may be why the Holy Spirit has preserved for us in the Church not one but four portraits of our divine Savior. Apart from their similarities, each Gospel has unique insights and information. Taken together, they give us a more profound understanding of Our Lord than we could have gained from only one.
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