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.

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 and torment Job when he knew Job was a wonderful man and if God is, indeed, omniscient? (New Jersey)

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.

The church does in fact allow Holy Communion under the form of wine to be taken to the sick in some cases.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

It seems unlikely that these men would have been willing to suffer so intensely and give up so much if they themselves did not sincerely believe in the truth of what they were professing. Reasoning it out, what would have been the Apostles’ motivation for making up a new religion if it meant that they had everything to lose but nothing in this world to gain?