Questions & Answers

Question: What does the church say regarding creationism being taught in a science classroom?
Answer: The Magisterium (teaching authority) of the Church has not come out with an “official” pronouncement that would answer your question definitively. However, the Church has much to teach about the theory of evolution, science and faith. In fact, if you look in Archives #1 and #2 of the Q&A section of this web site, you will see 2-4 questions dealing with this subject. Another resource would be the document “Fides et Ratio” (Faith & Reason) written by the late Pope John Paul II. I highly recommend it.

Question: If you want to pray that someone who is not Catholic will convert to Catholicism, which saint would be the one ask for their intercession?
Answer: Thank you for this great question. First of all, allow me to commend you for your loving concern for your friend. Let me also commend you for realizing the importance of prayer in this case. None of us can convert anyone. Only God, through the grace of Jesus Christ moves hearts. So in this case, as in all cases, prayer is the most important thing we can do and it must be the foundation of anything else that we do.
The overall answer is that any Saint’s intercession would be powerful in this case. But my personal suggestion (and others may have differing opinions on this), is that you should invoke the special intercession of St. Augustine. He was a Saint who lived a very immoral life before his conversion, but afterward became a great defended of the Church. His intercession would be very powerful in this case. You can read more about his life at: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=418.

Question: If a person is sexually assaulted, though it is not their fault (even if they think it is) how are they suppose to pull through it spiritually and how can they look to God for help?
Answer: Let me address two very important maters before I get to your specific question: 1) If someone has been sexually assaulted it is NEVER your fault. It is a sin against you, plain and simple. 2) If you feel that a sexual assault has been perpetrated against you, then you should report it to the authorities. No one will blame you. You will be able to get some help and you may just be preventing someone else from being assaulted as you were.
In answering your specific question I guess I would remind you that you are God’s precious child and that nothing could ever take that away from you. In His eyes you are lovely, beautiful, pure, innocent and loved with an unconditional love. I would suggest that praying for the grace to know this Truth about yourself would be a good place to begin spiritual healing. “Moving on” from a horrible experience like this might not be the hardest thing to do compared to loving yourself and allowing God’s love to wash you clean from fear and bad memories.
Sexual assault is an attack upon one’s dignity as a human person. The fullest expression of our human dignity is found in Jesus Christ and His example of sacrificial love, the exact opposite of what you have experienced. Go before Him in the Blessed Sacrament often and allow Him to restore your feelings of dignity and worth through contact with His loving Presence. You don’t have to say anything or do anything, just go and sit with Him awhile and allow Him to hold you and comfort you for as long as you need it. You will be in my prayers during this Lenten Season.

Question: Why is religion such a big issue? Why is it such a big controversy in the world? If people just stuck to there own basic beliefs wouldn’t they be happier? Why is it considered an honor to die for your religion?
Answer: Thank you for your insightful questions. I can sense your passion and sincerity in them. Allow me to begin with this: I think all of this “religion” stuff is such a big deal because religion seeks to answer the biggest and most common questions that each human has faced since the dawn of civilization: Who am I? How was I created? What is my purpose? What is the meaning of life? Where am I heading? Is there life after death?
I think because these questions are so deep and so basic and so universal, that anything that tries to answer them is a “big deal”. However, at the heart of all your questions lies the biggest question of them all: What is Truth? And I don’t mean an opinion about Truth, but what is Truth itself?
Religious belief gets controversial because people are raised to believe in different things. Compounded with today’s cultural emphasis on relativism, tolerance and political-correctness, it has become even harder to find the answers to these “big” questions. We often get so confused because we are told that one religion can’t be right and one wrong, so we end up saying that all are fine and all are Truth, but yet when faced with the reality of people flying airplanes into buildings for their religious beliefs, we see how that cannot be Truth. I would say that the terrorists who “stuck to their basic beliefs” in order that they would become martyrs and enter heaven for killing “heathens” did not make us happier or the world a better place. Would you?
It is not so much an honor to die for your religion, as much as an honor to lay your life down for Truth. Jesus said that He is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” and that no one could enter heaven except through Him. When we lay down our lives for love of Him or others, then we imitate His own sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice that opened the way for us to gain entrance into heaven. At this climactic moment, we see the convergence of Truth and Love—the true cornerstone of authentic religion.
If you are struggling to day with the idea of Truth, or God, all you need to do is to daily ask God to reveal Himself to you. In time, your eyes will be opened to His love and to the universal Truth that comes to us through His Son Jesus.

Question: Marriage and Oral Sex
Answer: I began to answer this “question” when I realized that the answer is actual quite complicated. However, in trying to find a simpler way to explain the heart and mind of the Church on this issue, I found a wonderful paper online that was written by a seminarian at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans last year that basically covers all the Church teaching on the issue, and answers the question as I would have. Since he did a better job of it, and includes all the appropriate footnotes and bibliography, I’m going to encourage you to go read it for yourself at: http://www.nds.edu/well-Palermo.htm.