Question Corner

I have a question about appeals to Rome of the declaration of nullity process. The metropolitan tribunal of my local archdiocese has completed their review of the case and stated that it has been proved that there is sufficient ground to find the marriage invalid (“decision in the affirmative”).

Although the General Instruction of the Roman Missal does go on to give some minor variations of this exchange, it never lists any other communicants’ responses besides “amen,” nor does it envision or provide for alternative responses as a possibility.

After his death on the cross, Jesus descended into the “hell” that was simply the netherworld in order to free the dead who had sought to love and honor God despite the original sin that bound them, in order that Jesus might bring them into the fullness of life

With respect to holy water in particular, St. Thomas Aquinas specifically identifies the “sprinkling of holy water” as a means for the remission of venial sin in question 87, article 3 of the “Third Part” of his work the “Summa Theologica.”

while a church building that could no longer be used for its original purpose might in some cases lawfully be sold and re-purposed as something like a museum or private residence, this relegation or re-purposing would not affect the status of the altar it once contained.

SSPX’s proposed episcopal ordinations are a problem because ordaining new bishops without the permission of the pope (technically called a “mandate”) is gravely injurious to Christian unity.