second vatican council

What are the steps to convert to Catholicism from Anglicanism and how long does the process take?

What the Hell is Purgatory?

“None of us are perfect but all of us are on a journey toward God” is one of the ways we use to explain what the name Busted Halo® means. Given our name it is no surprise that people often ask us:

“Since I’m not perfect, how can I get into heaven?”

Heaven is defined by the Catholic Church as “a perfect life with the Holy Trinity” and “ultimate end and fulfillment of our deepest human longings.”

But most of us feel we fall short of deserving to be in full union with God. While all of us sin, though, most of us don’t sin in such a grave way that we cut ourselves off completely from God. And even if we do commit grave sins, many of us seek reconciliation with God throughout our lives.

So, if heaven is this state of perfection… and one dies while being far from perfect… how can one enter heaven? The answer, Father James Martin, SJ, tells us, is purgatory. So just what the hell is purgatory?…

In Memoriam: Dean Hoge

Last month, at age 71, the Catholic Church in the United States lost an important friend: sociologist Dean Hoge. Several years ago I had the privilege of working with Dean Hoge and two other scholars, Bill Dinges and Juan Gonzales, on a national study of Catholics in their 20’s and 30’s. The study was published in a book entitled Young Adult Catholics: Religion in the Culture of Choice.

Are Latin Masses valid?

To answer your question I have to provide a little history. Up until 1965, Mass was celebrated everywhere in the Catholic church in Latin according…