Some Questions About Catholic Teachings and Practices

In this section, you'll find answers to several common questions about the Catholic Church's teachings and practices. Some of the answers might surprise you!

Naturally, you might, at first, not necessarily agree with the reasons the Catholic Church gives for its teachings, but reasonable people would agree that it's important to at least understand what those teachings are as the starting point for discussion and reflection.

Most of the answers here come directly from Catholic sources, such as the Catechism and other documents. Under each heading, we provide introductory information, just click the links to continue reading. (And please let us know if you have questions that aren't covered here.)

Why doesn't the Catholic Church permit non-Catholics to receive Holy Communion?

This question comes up a lot. Many non-Catholics, when attending Mass at a Catholic wedding, for example, find themselves being told, however gently, that they should not come forward to receive Holy Communion. “Why?” they ask, understandably. “Catholics are allowed to receive communion in our church, so why can't we receive communion here?” St. Paul speaks about this issue in 1 Corinthians 11:23-32. And The United States' Catholic Conference of Bishops provides a helpful explanation:

“We welcome our fellow Christians to this celebration of the Eucharist as our brothers and sisters. We pray that our common baptism and the action of the Holy Spirit in this Eucharist will draw us closer to one another and begin to dispel the sad divisions which separate us. We pray that these will lessen and finally disappear, in keeping with Christ's prayer for us ‘that they may all be one' (Jn 17:21).

“Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life, and worship, members of those churches with whom we are not yet fully united are ordinarily not admitted to Holy Communion. Eucharistic sharing in exceptional circumstances by other Christians requires permission according to the directives of the diocesan bishop and the provisions of canon law (canon 844 § 4). Members of the Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Polish National Catholic Church are urged to respect the discipline of their own Churches. According to Roman Catholic discipline, the Code of Canon Law does not object to the reception of communion by Christians of these Churches (canon 844 § 3). (continue reading this article here!)

What does the Catholic Church teach about the “rapture” and the end times?

One Catholic author explained how the rapture theory became popular, what the Bible says (or doesn't say) about it, and why the Catholic Church doesn't accept the concept of a rapture :

“The rapture idea gained popularity in America as part of a fundamentalist religious movement known as dispensationalism — a movement that includes folks such as LaHaye, Jenkins, Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell and others. To be more specific, they are pre-millennial, pre-tribulational dispensationalists. They believe (1) there will be a one-thousand-year reign of Christ on earth in the future; (2) “true believers” in Christ will be raptured, or taken up to heaven prior to a seven-year period of worldwide tribulation; and (3) history has been divided into seven different dispensations or eras. In each of these, God tests particular people, they fail, and then He judges them. . . . (continue reading this article)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks about the Church's teaching on what those who are alive then can expect to see happen during the “end times” in paragraphs 675 to 682:

675 “Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers.574 The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth575 will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.576

677 “The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection.579 The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven.580 God's triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.”

How come Catholics emphasize Mary and the saints so much?

Certainly, the Catholic Church is distinctive in its emphasis on the doctrine of the communion of saints. The Blessed Virgin Mary and all the blessed in heaven have an important role to play in the life of believers. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (957) explains:

“It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish the memory of those in heaven; we seek, rather, that by this devotion to the exercise of fraternal charity the union of the whole Church in the Spirit may be strengthened. Exactly as Christian communion among our fellow pilgrims brings us closer to Christ, so our communion with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head issues all grace, and the life of the People of God itself” (CCC 957).

This relates to Christ's teaching: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). The Catholic Church believes what the Bible teaches: that the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints, who are friends of God and with Him in glory in heaven. Catholic author Patrick Madrid described it this way:

“Because of Christ's victory over death, a victory in which all Christians share,(See 1 Cor. 15:25-26, 54-56; 2 Cor. 2:14; 2 Tim. 1:10.) natural death can't separate Christians from Christ or from each other. That's why Paul exulted, ‘What will separate us from the love of Christ? . . . I am convinced that neither death, nor life . . . will be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord' (Rom. 8:35- 39). Since death has no power to sever the bond of Christian unity, the relationship between Christians on earth and those in heaven remains intact. . . .” (continue reading here).

Why does the Catholic Church believe Christ is really present in the Eucharist?

The primary reason for the Catholic Church's teaching on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the testimony of Jesus Christ Himself:

“I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh. The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:48-56).

Biblical References

The Catholic Church teaches that the Holy Eucharist is the Body and Blood of the Lord, which He gave us at the Last Supper: “This is my body, which will be given up for you” (c.f. Matt. 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19) Continue reading here about the Church's teaching on the Eucharist.

Why did the priest scandals happen?

We all have heard stories about policemen, doctors, teachers, counselors, and priests that have betrayed a sacred trust. These individuals represent vocations we look to for guidance, hope, and help. We want to be able to trust them. But, when one of these people violates our trust, it seems much worse and even harder to comprehend, then when other people in society fail. Never-the-less, it doesn't mean that we should abandon all respect for law enforcement, health care, education, or the church because people who work in those professions and vocations fail to live as Christ calls them to live. After all, the vast majority of people in those vocations, serve in a heroic and exemplary manner.

In Matthew 13:24-30 Jesus Christ described His Church, the Kingdom of Heaven, as being a “field of wheat and weeds,” showing that there would be good and bad, saints and sinners, and everyone in between, in the Church until the day when He returned to judge the nations. This means that, sadly, there will be members of His Church — including priests and bishops — who are notorious sinners. We can see this sad reality even at the very beginning of the Church in the person of the Apostle Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Christ to His enemies (Matthew 26:16-23 ; Luke 22:47-49), and Simon Peter, who denied the Lord three times (Matthew 26:34, 75).

Notice that even Christ's own hand-picked followers committed scandalous wickedness! Even so, this did not negate or disprove the truth that Christ transmitted to the world through His Apostles (Mark 16:15). As Christ promised, in spite of the weakness and sinfulness — indeed, the scandal — caused by priest and other Catholics, “the gates of hell will not prevail against” the Church. (Continue reading here for more on the priest scandals.)

Here are two good books on how to make sense out of the scandals in the Church:

Can I be “pro-choice” and Catholic?

Many women these days have been wounded by the sin of abortion. In order to be able to heal, emotionally and spiritually, from this terrible decision to extinguish the life of her unborn child through abortion, a woman must be willing to come to terms with what abortion really is, why it is so wrong, and what she must do in the aftermath to regain her right relationship with God.
First, consider the fact that abortion (no matter what empty euphemisms may be used by people in the modern media to sanitize and soften the reality of what happens in an abortion) is nothing less than the intentional killing of an unborn child. It is a form of legalized murder. Therefore, one cannot be simultaneously authentically Catholic and in favor of abortion. The two are incompatible.
The Catholic Church teaches that murder is always wrong. God Himself declared: “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). The Catechism explains:
Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life (CCC 2270). Read more here . . .

Here's an article that offers answers to common pro-choice arguments.

The U.S. Bishops have prepared this helpful booklet outlining common myths about abortion and its effects on the women who have them.
Click here to read about the conversion of Norma McCorvey, the woman who was “Jane Roe” in the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade.

These are just a few of the many web sites that offer excellent information and resources for women who have had abortions, or who are considering having an abortion:

I've had an abortion. Can I really be forgiven?

Yes, you can be forgiven. The Lord is waiting for you with open arms. The Bible reminds that, no matter how terrible our sins may be, God's grace is more powerful than our sins. He loves us more than we love ourselves, and He is always ready, willing, and able to receive us back into His loving arms, when we are ready and willing to turn to Him with a contrite heart. Consider these passages about God's love and forgiveness:

“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. ‘Come now, let us reason together,' says the LORD: ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land . . .'” (Isaiah 1:16-19).

“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger for ever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor requite us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear him” (Psalm 103:8-13).

How come I don't feel like I was being fed in the Catholic Church?

There are some former Catholics these days who expressed a sense of emptiness in their spiritual lives. They didn't feel close to the Lord, and they weren't sure if their local parish even knew them. For some, these feelings of emptiness and restlessness came after a period of time – often many years – during which their practice of the Catholic Faith was merely an empty ritual of an hour a week on Sunday at Mass.

People in this situation say that they drifted slowly but steadily away from prayer and reading of Scripture, from a conscious awareness of God in their lives, and into a bland, lukewarm attitude toward sin. This lukewarmness is often accompanied by a gradual dabbling in sins such as internet pornography, masturbation, lying, laziness, a lust for consumer products, and even drunkenness and drug abuse.

But sometimes, something comes along to shake up that person's spiritual complacency: a death in the family, a financial setback, losing a job, divorce, or some other serious crisis. And this is when many people begin to turn their minds and hearts back to God, wondering what they have been missing all that time. Sometimes, in their search for a renewed relationship with God, Catholics begin looking outside the Church. Maybe it's the exciting preaching at the local non-denominational “Bible church” that seems so electrifying compared with what may be the “dull” sermons at the local Catholic parish. Perhaps it's the inspiring music at that non-denomination Church, or the sense of community and belonging, or any number of other things that appeal to our human emotions. At this point, these Catholics start to complain that, “I wasn't being fed in the Catholic Church.” This could really just mean, “I wasn't being entertained in the Catholic Church,” or it could mean, “I didn't feel close to Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church, though I do now in the non-denomination church I have been attending recently.” In either case, the answer to this problem is found — as surprising as this may seem to some — inside the Catholic Church. For, aside from whether the music or preaching or programs for the kids are good or bad, there or not, the Catholic Church is where we can be really and truly fed with the Bread from Heaven: Christ Himself, in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus said:

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51).

The Writer to the Hebrews knew about this problem that some Christians faced, even in those early days of the Church. Sometimes, it seems, people are not serious about their faith in Christ and become “dull of hearing.”

“About this we have much to say which is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need some one to teach you again the first principles of God's word. You need milk, not solid food; for every one who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:11-14).

Once you have turned back to the Lord with all your heart, knowing that the process of moving out of that sense of restlessness and searching may take some time, it's important to know that if you want to be truly fed, with the Bread of Life in the Eucharist, with the Bread of Life in Scripture, and with the food of unity that comes through active participation in the mystical Body of Christ, your yearning for the Lord will be fulfilled. The Catholic Church contains all the things Christ wants to give us to help us to heaven. Ask Him for his help in remaining faithful and committed to Him in His Church, be patient, and He will grant you the desire of your heart!

Here is a prayer you can say to the Lord in times when you feel as if you aren't being fed:

“O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me forget myself entirely so to establish myself in you, unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to trouble my peace or make me leave you, O my unchanging God, but may each minute bring me more deeply into your mystery! Grant my soul peace. Make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling and the place of your rest. May I never abandon you there, but may I be there, whole and entire, completely vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring, and wholly given over to your creative action”.

Click here for a helpful book on this very issue: I'm Not Being Fed!