Looking at the crime of abortion specifically, one meaningful phrase in the relevant canon is that the penalty applies to those “who actually procure an abortion.” We can read “actually procure” as meaning: “directly and intentionally bringing about an abortion in a specific instance.”

While the church expects confessions to be heard in a designated confessional under ordinary circumstances, there are times when it would be permissible to celebrate the sacrament someplace else.

I don’t think it would be wrong to see this episode as one more illustration of Jesus’ humanity — i.e., Jesus was hungry and then disappointed at the lack of figs.

The first few weeks of Ordinary Time occur during the winter, until it is interrupted by Lent and the Easter season. After the Easter season closes with Pentecost, Ordinary Time resumes and carries on through late spring until early winter with the beginning of Advent.

The church teaches that deliberately and purposefully seeking to separate the procreative and unitive aspects of the marital act is intrinsically wrong.

There are ways to work out complicated irregular marriages so that a person can regain a full sacramental life in the church, but every situation is unique and comes with its own set of concerns and nuances.

Catholics should not practice or receive reiki, because it would be inappropriate, if not spiritually dangerous, for a Catholic to seek out purely supernatural healing apart from Christian prayer or the sacraments.

These days, it can be expensive to run a Catholic school, but at the same time Catholic education should be accessible to those who are striving to raise their children in the faith.

Catholics are called to vote according to their well-formed conscience so as to support the dignity of human life in all areas.

The holy days of obligation you are actually bound to observe as a Catholic depend on what your local bishops’ conference (the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in the United States) has decided to do.