As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, quoting St. Augustine from the 5th century, Mary “remained a virgin in conceiving her Son, a virgin in giving birth to him, a virgin in carrying him, a virgin in nursing him at her breast, always a virgin” (No. 510).

In the column to which the reader refers, I was asked whether a divorced person, never remarried, may serve as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion in the Catholic Church. 

No, a penitent cannot confess and receive absolution by telephone. 

The church’s Code of Canon Law requires that each Catholic parish establish a finance council “to help the pastor in the administration of the goods of the parish” (Canon 537). 

As for praying to deceased loved ones, we may not be certain whether they have yet merited heaven. If they are still in purgatory, we can surely pray for them — but can they pray for us? And here, theologians have differed.

You have identified an issue that is clearly problematic and has been the source of discussion among theologians for centuries.

Q. Can a divorced person serve as a eucharistic minister, or do you need to get your marriage annulled first? I have no intention of remarrying, nor am I living with a partner or having a sexual relationship with anyone. What is the Catholic Church’s rule on this? (Trinidad and Tobago)

It is the belief of the church, in what is known as the doctrine of apostolic succession, that bishops and priests today are linked in an unbroken line to those same original apostles.

Should I tell my daughter not to receive Communion since she has not been to confession and has been consciously neglecting her Sunday obligation?

I am puzzled at the young parents in our parish who allow their children to cry loudly in church for extended periods of time.