Question Corner: What is church teaching on openness to kids in marriages between older adults? September 4, 2025By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Marriage & Family Life, Question Corner In order to marry in the Catholic Church, a couple does need to be at least open to life in principle — but it is not a requirement that children necessarily be foreseen as a realistic possibility in the intended union.
Question Corner: Does the church ever use the word ‘divorce’ or does it only talk about ‘annulment?’ August 27, 2025By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Question Corner Sometimes people have the mistaken idea that “annulments” are some kind of Catholic-approved divorce, but this is not at all accurate.
Question Corner: Why don’t bishops excommunicate politicians who support abortion? August 20, 2025By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Question Corner While the act of directly causing an abortion is a canonical crime that is punished with an automatic excommunication, (see Canon 1397, 2) this only applies in scenarios where a particular individual actually brought about an abortion personally — and not in situations where a person promoted abortion in a more abstract way.
Question Corner: Is it simony that my parish wants to charge a fee for having a funeral livestreamed? August 13, 2025By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Question Corner The church does have material needs that arise in the course of her spiritual mission. And so it is not simony to accept or request donations on the occasion of the celebration of the sacraments, as long as it is understood that such a donation is truly a free-will offering and not a condition for the sacrament’s administration.
Question Corner: How accurate is the portrayal of Judas in ‘The Chosen?’ August 6, 2025By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Question Corner We know that God is infinitely loving and merciful, so I believe that Jesus would have readily and joyfully forgiven Judas if he had only turned back to God and sought reconciliation.
Why would God allow Satan to torture Job? July 31, 2025By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Feature, Question Corner Why would God allow Satan to torture and torment Job when he knew Job was a wonderful man and if God is, indeed, omniscient? (New Jersey)
Question Corner: Does reception of the Eucharist replace confession? July 23, 2025By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Eucharist, Question Corner Confession is a different sacrament with its own distinct focus, and it would seem to be pastoral common sense that those seeking specifically the forgiveness of any kind of sin would most fruitfully do so in the sacrament that was “custom built” for that purpose.
Question Corner: Can we bring the Precious Blood to the sick? July 16, 2025By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Eucharist, Question Corner The church does in fact allow Holy Communion under the form of wine to be taken to the sick in some cases.
Question Corner: Do I need to attend my territorial parish? June 19, 2025By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Question Corner, Uncategorized While Catholics are free to attend Mass and otherwise be involved in the life of whatever parish they choose, in most cases, a Catholic’s official parish membership is determined by where they live.
Question Corner: Is the parish administrator the same thing as a pastor? June 12, 2025By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Question Corner “Parish administrator” is distinct from the office of pastor, but this distinction probably will not make much of a practical difference in your day-to-day experience of parish life.
Question Corner: Are Jewish marriages valid to the Catholic Church? June 4, 2025By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Question Corner Although we might tend to use different vocabulary in pastoral contexts, as Catholics we believe that marriage is at its core an exchange of consent, which is indeed a “contract” in the broad sense of the term.
Question Corner: When is it appropriate to say the St. Michael Prayer following the Mass? May 29, 2025By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Question Corner Though the St. Michael prayer is no longer mandated in our post-Vatican II Mass, it can still be a beautiful and spiritually beneficial custom to pray it after the final blessing as a community.
