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The Busted Halo^® Question Box

Ask our spiritual experts virtually anything!

This is the place where you can ask all of those burning questions that you wouldn't dare ask in person. We will post questions here (using your byline only with permission); we guarantee an answer to everyone. Have your own question? Then pitch it to us!

	May 18th, 2008 Why should I go to confession? Doesn’t God already know that I’m sorry for my sins? Certainly God knows when we are sorry for our sins. And since God's only relationship with us is one of unconditional love, whenever we turn to God with a sincere sorrow for sin and a ...
	May 18th, 2008 If you took money 30 years ago from someone should you pay it back even if you went to reconciliation for it years ago? I'm sure that God forgave you when you celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation many years ago. However, the fact that the act of taking money from another still bothers you after all these years indicates ...
	May 18th, 2008 “I have read that St. Joseph is referred to as the dispenser of the treasures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Can you please explain this?” There are many prayers to St. Joseph referring to him as "the dispenser of the treasures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus" but I've been unable to trace the origins of this phrase. Devotion to the ...
	May 18th, 2008 Why do people bury statues of St. Joseph in their backyard? I'm uncomfortable with the customs of some Catholics that seem idolatrous or superstitious: for example, burying a statue of St. Joseph in the backyard to get a good price for your house. You expressed your discomfort regarding practices or customs of some Catholics that seem idolatrous or superstitious: for example, burying a statue of St. Joseph in the backyard to get a good price for your house. ...
	May 18th, 2008 Why do we have to pray to the saints? Are they not human like any other? How sure are we that they are in heaven? Yes, the saints are human just like ourselves. They are in no way gods or super-humans. In the early church, the word "saint" was used to describe anyone who was a member of the community ...
	May 18th, 2008 Should we use every means medically possible to keep an ill person alive? What is the Catholic teaching on this question? I reviewed some of the general principles that Catholics apply to the question of using medical technology to sustain or prolong a person's life. Such questions are in the realm of the discipline of bioethics, ...
	May 18th, 2008 Should Catholics who vote for pro-choice politicians receive communion? This is a question that many Catholics are asking after hearing the recent statement of Bishop Sheridan of Colorado Springs that he would refuse to give commununion to a political candidate whose views are not ...
	May 18th, 2008 Can I use birth control for medical reasons and not to prevent pregnancy? I am a thirty-something woman who is single and chaste. I do however, suffer from uncomfortable menstrual periods and was prescribed birth control by my gynecologist...since I am not married and engaged in any sexual activity, there is no chance of my contraceptive blocking life...does the Church have an official position on the use of birth control for medical reasons NOT involving actual conception of life? The short answer to your question is: you are taking the medication prescribed by your doctor in order to regulate your menstrual cycle and ease your discomfort. The medication is achieving this effect. Neither you ...
	May 18th, 2008 Can you give us the lowdown on abortion. Why is it wrong? Is it always wrong? What about women’s rights and rape cases? Catholic teaching holds that abortion is always immoral. This is a strongly held position and dates back to the earliest days of the Church. For example, the Didache, the earliest known book of basic instructions ...
	May 18th, 2008 What are the steps to convert to Catholicism from Anglicanism and how long does the process take? The Episcopal Church belongs to the Anglican Communion, a world-wide family of Churches. The Catholic Church and the Episcopal Church both follow the Bible and the traditional Christian creeds, celebrate the seven sacraments, and have ...
	May 18th, 2008 What is the difference in belief between Roman Catholics and Espicopalians? I was once told, “All the ceremony and half the guilt” but there must be more to it than that. Indeed, there is more to it than that, though your pithy line has some validity to it as far as it goes. A large part of the Episcopal Church (its styles vary from the simple ...
	May 18th, 2008 I am wondering about Jewish people, my son is marrying a Jewish girl soon, If Jews don’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God In the second person of the trinity, How will they get to Heaven, since I was taught that one must believe In Jesus as the mediator between God and us will you please tell me? There is a lot of discussion and debate in the church today about the question you raise. On September 1, 2002, a Christian Scholars Group published the following consensus statement: "For centuries, Christians claimed that ...
	May 18th, 2008 I have a sister who recently converted to Mormonism. I have heard several differnt things about it and most things are not good. What is the church’s official stance on the matter and how do I approach the matter? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) is not considered an orthodox Christian church by the Catholic church or by other mainline Protestant churches. This is largely due to it's addition of ...
	May 18th, 2008 What exactly is the difference between Catholic and Lutheran belief in communion? They sound pretty alike to me. You are correct in sensing that there is more unity than difference in the way Catholics and Lutherans understand and celebrate communion. In fact, since the second Vatican Council there has been a "coming together" ...
	May 18th, 2008 Can a Protestant spouse be buried with their Catholic spouse in a Catholic cemetery? I've found nothing in the Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church indicating that Protestant spouses cannot be buried with their Catholic spouse in a Catholic cemetery. The only hitch would be if burial ...

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