Persons conducting a communion service in the absence of a priest need to be trained for their ministry. Does a religious brother need to undergo training too? Is he allowed to preach? Gerti Hoff
Archive | Shackleton RSS feed for this section
Birth control and the conscience
Fr Sean Wales CSsR (Hope&Joy article, February 15) states that “the family that goes the contraceptive route is mistaken in the eyes of the Church but they are acting in good conscience, in good faith, and do not sin”. This statement encourages Catholics to ignore Humanae vitae, and also to utilise, inter alia, abortificient birth [...]
What to do when the Precious Blood is spilt
At a Mass at which Communion was given under both kinds, a fair amount of the Precious Blood was spilt on the floor. An extraordinary minister of Communion wiped it up with a cloth. After Mass I asked what she had done with the cloth soaked in the blood of Christ. She said she had [...]
Where can one find the Tridentine Mass?
Since the Vatican instruction Summorum pontificium permitting the Tridentine Mass, what is the position of the Southern African bishops? Where can one find parishes that celebrate this extraordinary form of the Mass? John E Cunha
Is baptism by immersion Catholic?
A friend who watched a televised Mass on German television noticed that the sacrament of baptism was celebrated by total immersion. Is this a general practice? I have not come across this system and know of no Catholic churches with a pool of some sort to accommodate immersion. Paul Schwieger
May we dip the sacred host in wine?
In my home parish, when receiving Communion we are allowed to dip the sacred host into the chalice (with the permission of the local bishop). I was embarrassed at Christmas Eve Mass in Pretoria when an extraordinary minister of Communion withdrew the chalice from me and said: “That is not allowed.”. I replied that it [...]
Is Lefebvrist Eucharist valid?
What is the Church’s official position on the Society of St Pius X (SSPX), and are the sacraments (in particular the holy Eucharist) of the SSPX valid? John E Cunha
Unfulfilled Mass obligations
A Mass intention has been requested for a particular day. Suddenly, the priest is absent on that day and a Communion service is held instead. What happens to the Mass stipend? Gerti Hoff
Do we have to believe in Marian apparitions?
Do Jesus, Mary and saints really appear to people? My parish priest says he does not believe so. I am upset that the pope has failed to consecrate Russia to Our Lady, as she requested at Fatima.
What happened to Limbo?
Ever since the 1940s I have been made to believe that unbaptised babies, who have not attained the power of reason (such as a very early spontaneous miscarriage), can never reach the Beatific Vision. In the last few years I am made to believe by the hierarchy that they indeed can attain the Beatific Vision. [...]
About The Author
Advisory editor of The Southern Cross
