What is Hell?

Hell is the complete and utter rejection of love. Some say that is impossible but imagine a person who is completely selfish. That person does only what is self-serving, not self-giving. Hell is saying, “I want whatever I want for me and me alone. I don’t care about anyone else!” This is not the way of love.

God gave us life so that we may love. God is love and God invites us to share in his love. That love is shown by the selfless gift of ourselves to others for their benefit. When we reject love through mortal sin, we are rejecting God and others. “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.” (CCC, para. 1857)

If we die in a state of mortal sin, then we have chosen of our own free will to reject God, and we will be eternally separated from God. That separation is the chief punishment of hell.

Read more about hell in the Catechism, paragraphs 1033-1037.

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Why does the Bible contradict itself?

The Catechism states: “The inspired books teach the truth. ‘Since therefore all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures.” (para. 107) It also sates: “In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to man in a human way. To interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm, and to what God wanted to reveal to us by their words.” (para. 109)

When dealing with contradictions it is important to look at what is being written and why. What appear to be contradictions may be different versions from different points of views with different emphases for different audiences. The introductions to the books and the footnotes in a Catholic Bible can help sort out what is intended by the human authors and the divine author. Read more about Sacred Scripture in the Catechism in paragraphs 101-141.

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What was Vatican II and why is it important?

Every now and then, all the bishops of the world get together with the pope, which is called an ecumenical council, and talk about issues that are important for the faith, for the Church, and for the world. The last time this happened was in 1962-1965, at the event called Vatican II. It is called that because it was the second time a council met in the Vatican.

Pope St. John XXIII called the council, as St. John Paul II writes, “to guard and present better the precious deposit of Christian doctrine in order to make it more accessible to the Christian faithful and to all people of good will.” (Fidei depositum)

To that end, Vatican II issued sixteen documents on all sorts of topics, including worship, Revelation, the Church, the world, and more. The Catechism is a direct result of Vatican II and quotes it extensively. Vatican II taught the truth in a new way: “For this deposit of faith, or truths which are contained in our time-honored teaching is one thing; the manner in which these truths are set forth (with their meaning preserved intact) is something else.”

Read more about Vatican II in the Apostolic Constitution, “On the Publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church” at the front of the Catechism.

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Why should I believe what the Church teaches?

Why do you believe anything that anybody teaches? First, and foremost, you trust the people who teach you. You trusted your parents before you even knew you were trusting them. You trust your teachers. You trust your coaches. And rightfully so. They are put in authority over you to guide you to know the truth.

Secondly, you trust what has been taught to you because it is true! Two plus two does equal four! And it always will! Force equals mass times acceleration! Mathematic and scientific truths are easy to verify.

But there are other truths that are even more important. Your parents love you. God loves us. The Church teaches God’s love for us.

So, if the Church is established by Jesus to bring us to Heaven, and the pope and the bishops “are authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach the faith to the people entrusted to them, the faith to be believed and put into practice,” (CCC, 2034) as it says in the Catechism, and we believe this, then we should believe what the Church teaches.

Read more about the Church as Mother and Teacher in the Catechism, paragraphs, 2030-2051.

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Why do I have to be a Catholic?

Being Catholic is a gift, not a requirement. Jesus gave us the Catholic Church, so that we may achieve salvation. The Catholic Church is THE sacrament of God by which we receive the sacraments, which are also gifts from God. The Catholic Church teaches us the ways of God so that we may live lives of happiness and holiness. The Catholic Church is a family of believers who share a communal faith in God.

As parents, we are responsible for raising our children to become saints. Thus, we raise them in the faith of the Catholic Church as we are called to when they were baptized. This is God’s great gift to us and our great gift to our children. However, we understand that this gift is not always appreciated or accepted.

One way we can show how being Catholic is a gift is by living our faith as a gift. Are we truly happy we are Catholic? We need to thank God for his gift. Read more about the Catholic Church in the Catechism, paragraphs 811-870.

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Why does the Church allow annulments and not divorces?

The key to understanding annulment and divorce is marriage itself. The Catechism states, “The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.” (para. 1601)

Marriage requires consent and understanding of the nature of Matrimony. If consent or understanding of the nature of marriage is not present WHEN the vows are given, there is no sacramental marriage. Annulment is a declaration that what was considered to be a sacramental marriage is not. Thus, an annulment allows the couple to sacramentally marry another.

But divorce has nothing to do with the sacrament of Matrimony. Divorce is a legal, civil declaration that the marriage is dissolved. What was once a legal marriage is no longer a partnership. A legal marriage requires an agreement to be together. If the couple no longer want to be together, the state says, okay, you no longer have to.

But Jesus said, “What God has joined together, no human must separate.” (Mt. 19:6) So the difference is that divorce separates what God has joined together, while annulment acknowledges that there was never a sacramental union in the first place. Read more about the sacrament of Matrimony in the Catechism, paragraphs 1601-1666.

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What does the Church teach about homosexuality?

In today’s society, sexual identity, whether it be homosexuality or heterosexuality, is presented as a matter of personal identity, as the core of who a person is. But we are more than a disposition or a sexual attraction. The Church teaches that who we are, our fundamental identity, is based on our relationship with God; we are children of God.

As children of God we are all called to holiness. Concerning our sexuality, that means we are called to chastity, respect for the gift of sexuality that God gave us. Our sexuality is oriented towards the procreation of new life and to the unitive element of love between the husband and wife. This is called complementarity. The gift of one’s sexuality is given to one’s opposite-gendered spouse and vice versa.

The Church does not condemn or judge those who have homosexual tendencies. She realizes that this may be a trial and prays that they respond to the call to chastity. However, unjust discrimination towards those with homosexual tendencies is immoral and unjust. Acts of sexual expression outside the union of marriage between husband and wife are against natural law. This includes homosexual acts as well as heterosexual acts.

The Church treats all with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Read more about the Church’s teaching on chastity and homosexuality in the Catechism, paragraphs 2357-2359.

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Why does the Church teach things that aren’t in the Bible?

Not everything that Jesus said and did is contained in the Bible. John’s Gospel verifies this: “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain books that would be written.” (Jn. 21:25) That means there are teachings that Jesus gave to his apostles that were not originally written down. We call these teachings Sacred Tradition or Apostolic Tradition.

The Catechism teaches us that the Gospel was handed on in two ways, Scripture—the written message of salvation, and Tradition—the oral, or spoken, message of salvation. “As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, ‘does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.’” (para. 82)

For example, the teachings about Mary as the Immaculate Conception and her Assumption come to us from Sacred Tradition, even though their foundations can be found in Scripture. Read more about Sacred Tradition in the Catechism, paragraphs 75-83.

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Why should we listen to the pope? He’s just a man.

The question about listening to and obeying the pope’s teaching can be divided into two parts: infallible teachings and everything else. The previous "Ask Mr. Mueting" deals with papal infallibility, so we need to look at everything else.

The pope is the supreme teacher of the Church. If the pope is confirming the faith and morals of the Church as has been handed down from Jesus to Peter and the apostles to the pope and the bishops today, he is teaching God’s Revelation. His words “must be adhered to with the obedience of faith” as the Catechism writes. (para. 891)

However, the pope also speaks and writes on other matters that are not directly found in Revelation. Even then, the pope, when he proposes “in the exercise of the ordinary Magisterium a teaching that leads to better understanding of Revelation in matters of faith and morals” (para. 892) is due religious assent. That means the pope’s teaching should be accepted and followed.

The pope is a man, but he is also the pope, a man with the responsibility of guiding the Church and the world to come closer to God. Of course, we should listen to him! Read more about the teaching office of the pope in the Catechism, para. 888-892.

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What is papal infallibility?

Let’s start with what papal infallibility is NOT. It is not the belief that whatever the pope says is never incorrect. If the pope says Argentina is going to win the World Cup, that is not infallible. It also does not mean that everything the pope says is a matter of the faith and morals of Church teaching and thus has to be believed.

Papal infallibility is based on the teaching that the Catholic Church can never be wrong on matters of faith or morals. That means that the Church can never promote a teaching of faith or morals that is in error. So papal infallibility means that the pope, when he is exercising his role “as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful – who confirms his brethren in the faith he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals” (para. 891) is teaching the truth of the Church.

Previous popes have made use of this in an extraordinary way twice, in declaring Mary the Immaculate Conception and that she was assumed body and soul into heaven. Pope St. John Paul II has made use of infallibility in an ordinary way a number of times, in declaring that the Church cannot ordain women as priests, and that acts such as “homicide, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, and voluntary suicide” (Veritats splendor, par. 80) are intrinsically evil. Read more about papal infallibility in the Catechism, paragraphs 888-892

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How was the universe created?

If this is a question to set up a Bible vs. evolution conflict, or a faith vs. science conflict, it won’t work. There is no conflict between the Bible and evolution or faith and science. Truth cannot contradict truth because biblical truth, scientific truth, and the truths of faith are all from God, the source of all truth though they may be expressed in different ways.

However, this question can get us to the heart of the meaning of creation. Genesis tells us in Chapter 1, verse 1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The Catechism writes that “three things are affirmed in these first words of Scripture: the eternal God gave a beginning to all that exists outside of himself; he alone is Creator. The totality of what exists depend on the One who gives it being.” (para. 290)

What this means is that God is the source of all that exists, he alone created the universe, and our existence depends on him. Scripture does not give us a scientific account, but a religious account. And since God is love, the universe was created out of love. Read more about creation in the Catechism, paragraphs 279-314.

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What is the point of the parables of Jesus?

Parables are short tales that Jesus told as part of his teaching ministry. Their purpose was not just to tell a moral, but rather to invite the listener to enter the kingdom of God. The Catechism tells us: “The parables are like mirrors for man: will he be hard soil or good earth for the word? What use has he made of the talents he has received? Jesus and the presence of the kingdom in this world are secretly at the heart of the parables. One must enter the kingdom, that is, become a disciple of Christ, in order to ‘know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven’.” (para. 546)

The parables could be about prayer, or about the kingdom of God, or about how we should act toward one another, or about who Jesus is to us. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote that parables bridge new information with familiar information. Thus, a parable does double duty; it calls new ideas to listeners to reflect upon them, and it also calls them into entering a journey to go beyond their present knowledge to new knowledge.

The parables caused the Pharisees and Sadducees discomfort because they challenged their way of life and thinking. Even the apostles had problems understanding the parables, and to them Jesus explained some of their meanings. Some of the parables used imagery that the people could readily understand so they could understand Jesus’ teaching about the God’s kingdom. Read the parables in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

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Aren’t all religions basically the same?

This question reflects the relativism of our times. It also reflects the reality that Christianity is not one as Jesus desired. So, there are four issues that may be involved here: 1. Does it matter whether I am Catholic or not and if not, what’s the big deal? 2. How can Catholicism be true if every other Christian religion claims to be true as well? 3. Why does religion matter anyway? 4. Why is there religion in the first place? But let’s just focus on the question itself.

Different religions believe have different beliefs. Some believe that Jesus is God, some don’t. Some believe in a God, some don’t. Some believe that there are multiple gods, some don’t. So just with those three statements, there is a first answer to the question: No, all religions are not basically the same. Some religions’ beliefs absolutely contradict other religions’ beliefs.

Put simply, there are different religions because people have different experiences of God. Jews have an experience of God based on Moses; Christians on Jesus; Muslims on Mohammed; Mormons on Joseph Smith, Buddhists on Buddha, and so on.

However, all religions are based on the human desire to know God. The Catechism tells us: “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself.” (para. 27) The Church acknowledges all goodness and truth that is present in any religion as “a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life.” (para. 843) But the fullness of God’s Revelation and the fullness of truth and goodness comes to us through Jesus and his Church. Read more about our natural desire for God in the Catechism, para. 27-30; and how the Church relates to non-Christian religions in paragraphs 839-845.

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If I follow my conscience, why should I follow the Church?

This question goes to the independence that many adolescents desire. But am I my own measure of good and evil? If that were so, then anything I wanted to do would be good because I decided that it was good.

We don’t decide what is good and evil, we discover it. We all have the desire to do good. That is where conscience comes in. God gave us this law “to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil” (par. 1776) inscribed on our hearts. The Catechism defines conscience as “a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed” (par. 1778).

So it is absolutely necessary to follow our consciences. But a conscience also needs to be formed properly with sound principles and guidelines: “Don’t do evil to achieve good;” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” and so forth. Where do these principles and guidelines come from? We can use reason, but Revelation also confirms what reason and truth tell us. That is where the Church comes in. The Church is the community formed by Christ to guide us to God. Therefore we need to listen to the Church in her wisdom. She guides us in making moral decisions that conform to what God wants of us. Read more about conscience in the Catechism, par. 1776-1802.

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Why do we have to confess our sins to a priest?

Is there anything more embarrassing than admitting to someone else your faults and failings, especially to an authority figure that is definitely not a personal friend? How much more so for an adolescent? It doesn’t seem fair or right! I can tell God my faults without having to tell somebody else! That way nobody has to know what I did. 


And yet, that is what we the Sacrament of Reconciliation requires. Why? In the early days of the Church, when someone committed a mortal sin like murder or adultery or denying the faith, one had to publicly confess it and then show public penance. Even the Emperor Theodosius did this before he was accepted back into the Church. When the Irish monks re-evangelized Europe they brought with them private confession, with private penance. No more admitting to everyone what had been done.

But the requirement of telling a representative of the Church, the priest, was still important. In giving the Apostles the Holy Spirit Jesus said: “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (Jn. 20:22). This presupposes that the sins are somehow communicated! We need to confess our sins for our own sake. We need to hear out loud the evil we have done and own up to it. Only when we repent can we be forgiven and reconciled with God. Read more about the acts of the penitent in the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the Catechism, par. 1450-1460.

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Why does God kill people in the Bible?

This is an important question because it has to do with reading the Bible properly. For example, it says in Exodus that “the Lord slew every first-born in the land of Egypt” (Ex. 12:29) and again, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Put your sword on your hip, … and slay your own kinsmen, your friends and neighbors!” (Ex. 32:27) and in Joshua, the Israelites “observed the ban by putting to the sword all living creatures in the city [of Jericho]: men and women, young and old…” (Jos. 6:21). Isn’t that enough to show that God kills people and is a vicious God? 

The Bible IS the inspired Word of God, but it is written by the Israelites about the Israelites and their relationship with God as they understood it. So we need to read what happened within the context of their situation. In Egypt they were being persecuted as slaves and they were engaged in a war. When they were at the foot of Mt. Sinai they had just committed the sin of idolatry which divided them amongst themselves and against God. In Jericho, they were at war again. God was THEIR God against all the other gods, the Egyptians, the golden calf, and the Canaanites. They were struggling just to survive. This led to the interpretation that God killed on their behalf or ordered them to kill in order to live. God is against killing. Exodus also teaches, “Do not slay the innocent and the righteous” (Ex. 23:7). Read more about the fifth commandment in the Catechism, par. 2258-2267.

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What is the Magisterium?

Every organization has someone in authority, the person or persons in charge, who make the decisions, and who are responsible for handing on the teachings to the next generation. That, in essence, is what the Magisterium does. The Magisterium is the living teaching office of the Church and it consists of the pope and the bishops in communion with him. It is responsible for giving authentic interpretation of the Word of God. It is in service to the Word of God, whether it be in Scripture or Tradition. The Magisterium comes to us from Jesus who named Peter and the apostles as the leaders of his Church and so on to the pope and bishops today. This is called the apostolic succession. 

There are also different expressions of the Magisterium. The pope can exercise the supreme Magisterium when he proclaims an infallible dogma of the Church, or with the bishops in an Ecumenical Council. The ordinary Magisterium of the Church is expressed when “a teaching that leads to better understanding of Revelation in matters of faith and morals” is proposed by the bishops in communion with the pope, even though is not an infallible definition. Read more about the Magisterium in the Catechism, par. 85-100 and 888-892.

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Why can’t priests marry?

Priestly celibacy is a gift that allows priests to share themselves completely with their parishioners. A married couple promises to be in an exclusive relationship with each other, but a priest is called to be in relationship with all the children of God under his care. That is why he is called “Father”. They are his spiritual children. Priests freely embrace celibacy “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.” They consecrate themselves completely to the Lord and to “the affairs of the Lord.”

Priestly celibacy is not a condemnation of marriage. The Church celebrates marriage as well. But we look to Jesus as the perfect role model for living a life of service to the Church and her children. Having said all that, celibacy is a matter of discipline in the Roman Catholic Church, not a dogma. There are exceptions, as when a Lutheran minister or Episcopalian priest becomes Catholic, he is allowed to become ordained in the Catholic Church, even though he has a wife. However, once ordained he may not marry.

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Why should I belong to the Church? It wasn’t my choice.

There are two major points to this question. One, belonging to the Church is like belonging to any organization. Two, I have the right to choose what I want. 

So let’s address each point: The Church does have the elements of an organization. But it is more than that. It is the People of God, the Body of Christ, the Temple of the Holy Spirit. It is Mystery. The Church is a divine, as well as human, institution. God gives us the gift of Heaven and the Church is the best way to get there. We are welcomed into the Church through Baptism, usually in infancy.

That leads to the second point: Our parents decided for us what was best for us as children because they love us. And what is the greatest gift they can give to us? God’s love. They share with us their faith in God by having us baptized in the Church, the best place to learn about, love, and serve God. However, each of us has free will to accept or reject God and his Church.

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What is the meaning of life?

To ask the question is to imply an answer, that there is meaning in life. We are not random mutations that came into existence haphazardly in a random universe; we are children of God who have a special calling. We are called to become one with our Creator. And who is our Creator? Our Creator is God who we come to know by reason and through Revelation, in Tradition and Scripture; through the teachings of our parents and ministrations of our priests. Our Creator is a loving God. According to 1 John (4:16): “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.” So therefore we are called to love as God loves us. Finally, we are called to share with others our love and knowledge of God. We are called to serve, to share our faith, to work toward bringing about the Kingdom of God here on earth. 

The Baltimore Catechism had it right: “God made me to know him, to love him, and to serve him in this world and to be happy with him forever in the next.” That is the meaning of our lives. What joy we can have in doing God’s will, for it is what will truly give us blessedness and happiness.

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