Based on questions submitted by Level 9 teens earlier this year (2022), the Level 9 Catechists carried out research on Catholic resources and have compiled these answers. The sources of the answers are also linked below. The questions to be answered are:
- Which answers struck me the most?
- Which do I agree or disagree with?
- What other questions do I have?
I saw a search on Google and it asked why do Catholics believe in purgatory...i’m not sure what that is but :)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as a “purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven,” which is experienced by those “who died in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified” (CCC 1030).
Even if we died in a state of grace, meaning that our souls do not carry mortal sins (sins committed consciously and deliberately), it does not necessarily mean that we are ready for heaven. Purgatory is a state where souls undergo final purification. It is necessary because, as Scripture teaches, nothing unclean will enter the presence of God in heaven (Rev. 21:27). Even though we may have repented for our sins before death and they have been forgiven, we may still have many impurities stained on us.
Even though the Church does not have information on how purgatory is conducted nor how long it takes, we believe that it is a state of purification for souls to enter heaven and that through prayer, we are able to help these souls.
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1030.htm
Is it bad to marry a separate religion?
With regards to the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony (Marriage), it elevates when both spouses are Catholic, and signifies Christ’s union with his church. It is difficult if only one party is a believer; and conflicts may arise due to differences in values, beliefs, and obligations. In addition, mixed-faith marriages may also lead to confusion, weak faith, and even lost faith on the part of the children.
While the Church does not forbid interfaith marriage, it does seek to protect the faith and the spiritual good of the Catholic party. The code of Canon Law states that a marriage between two persons, one of whom has been baptised in the Catholic Church or received into it…and the other of whom is not baptised, is invalid. (Code of Canon Law 1086).
That being said, the Church does grant permissions and exemptions for Catholics to marry non-Catholics. Read more here.
https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann998-1165_en.html
Why do Catholics believe in God for many years?
Catholics believe in God (knowingly and unknowingly) because they desire Him. They seek Him. Ever wondered what it means to desire something that you can’t seem to find? Or someone? We all desire for something always, whether be it for truth, the good, or justice. And we search the world looking for it. Sometimes we find it, sometimes we don’t. And even if we do find something, it seems it’s never enough, and we keep searching more.
And then we start searching for our answers beyond this world. We start desiring for things beyond this world. Or rather, in something that transcends this world. And just like how we know we are desiring justice, good and truth in this world, therefore in desiring the things that transcends this world, in some way, we already know what we desire.
And for Catholics, we don’t just know what it is we desire beyond this world. We know who . We know who the good is, who the truth is, & who justice is. That is God himself.
Why can’t boys be nuns?
Ans: Who says boys can’t be nuns? They can! It just that they are not called nuns, but monks. And monks stay in a monastery, not a convent.
https://www.catholic.com/tract/what-the-early-church-believed-monks-and-nuns
Judas betrayal is prophesised way before his birth. So God created him to become a traitor and this fulfill the prophecy. If it was God’s decisions n that he becomes a traitor, is it right for us to condemn him for it?
Actually, what was prophesised was the betrayal of the Messiah. What was not prophesised was that it had to be Judas. That said, we have no right to condemn him. In fact, the Church does not actually condemn Judas. Simply because, Jesus has given the command of loving him. “Love one another as I have loved you.” (Jn 3:34)
We do not really know the heart of a person unless he chose to tell us. Likewise for Judas. We don’t know his heart, and are therefore do not have a right to condemn him. However, what we do condemn is his actions. The act of betraying Jesus himself. Does God plan a traitor? No. His plan is actually that all will be saved. But does he, in His Wisdom, knows that someone will betray Him? Yes. That’s why it was prophesized.
Prophecy is not a foretelling of future events. It’s a warning. So it is not definite that since it was prophesized, it will happen. Why the warning? Because it is a call to the people for repentance. It is actually a call of love.
If one remembers the story of Jonah and the prophecy he made against Nineveh, that is one such example where what was prophesized did not happen. Why? Because the people repented, and God relented. (Jonah 3:4-10)
So for Judas, does the betrayal actually need to happen? No. Remember that this prophecy, like all others is just a warning. But it did happen. Judas did betray Jesus. He did not repent, despite the warnings Jesus gave especially at the Last Supper. Yes. Remember when Jesus said: “The one who dipped his hand into the dish with me will betray me”? (Mt 26:23) That was a warning to Judas, a call of love, a call to repentance. But Judas response was: “Is it I, Lord?” in verse 25. That is outright denial. In other words, Judas knew Jesus was referring to him, and chose to reject Jesus’ call. Keep in mind that at this point, Judas had already paid 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and scribes. Which is why in that same verse, it says “Judas, who betrayed him …”. It’s past tense. Because even though the act of betrayal had not yet happened, the intent and preparation has already been concretised. So for this action of his betrayal, we condemn. We do not however, condemn Judas himself.
If God advocates forgiveness, then why do so many people in the Bible get killed before they get a chance to repent?
Why are some people more deserving of forgiveness than others?
(The Jews in the Old Testament vs the couple in Acts 5)
The correct answer to this question is I really do not know. The text in the Bible especially in Acts 5 does not account much of the context. However, to compare it to the Old Testament is subjective, since similar judgements by God has also been shown.
Take for example Joshua 7, in the case of A-Chan. Both are events of greed and possession, and both take place during significant beginnings of Israel and the Church. Do note the differences in the consequences though. While Ananias and his wife fell down at Peter’s feet and died because of their sin, A-Chan was stoned together with his family.
Perhaps what is striking of these 2 accounts is the severity of their sins. You see, not only were Ananias and Sapphira lying to Peter, who is representing as Head of the Church, they were also lying to the Holy Spirit, in other words, God. Same for A-Chan, though he didn’t specifically lie to Joshua, who is representing as the Head of Israel at this time. The fact that Joshua had to find him personally already speaks for the fact that A-Chan has refused to repent of his sin. In the end, he was forced by Joshua to confess. That’s not true repentance. Do you now see how much more severe than other sin this is now?
Not only were they lying to God’s annointed, they were lying to God himself. The Church is a representative of God on earth. So when one lies to the Head of the Church, one lies to God.
https://www.catholic365.com/article/6995/day-62-ananias-and-sapphira-and-the-shadow-ofpeter.html
What is the difference between Christians and Catholics?
There are actually no differences between Christians and Catholics in faith. There are however, differences in the way Catholics and Christian practise the faith. Here are the main differences:
- Praying to Mary and the saints
- The Mass & the Sacraments
- The role of the Bible & Tradition
- The Papacy (Pope)
Praying to Mary and the Saints.
Protestants mainly see Mary in her role as the Mother of Jesus Christ, while Catholics see her role as way much more than that. They see her as their spiritual Mother, as one who is immaculately conceived, a perpetual virgin, assumed body and soul into Heaven, and crowned as Queen of Heaven. In other words, Catholic see in her a perfect role model in faith, a perfect intercessor, and also what is to come in the life after death. But more importantly is her role as the Mother of Christ, and therefore as the Mother of God, since Jesus is the 2nd person of the Godhead Trinity. Reason being that Jesus is of the direct line of King David on earth, and also the Son of God. So Mary, as his Mother, has special graces.
Just like how King David heeds his mother Rebekah even as king, so likewise Jesus listens to his mother. An example is the wedding of Cana where Mary told Jesus “They have no wine” and then Jesus answers:
“Woman, what concern is that to you and me? My time has not yet come.” Despite this response, Mary just tells the servants: “Do whatever he tells you.” And then Jesus listened, and demonstrated his first miracle recorded in the Bible As for Saints, Catholics pray for their guidance and help to be better imitators of faith in their daily lives.
Saints are not just any dead Catholic, but one approved by the Church after an investigation into their lives and their effects on others . Protestants however, see this as idolatrous. The important point to note here for praying to Mary and the Saints is that ultimately, the goal of the prayer is not them, but God. One might remember the intercessory prayers we pray at the end of each session to our Lord. The intercessories of Mary and the Saints work in a similar way, except that it’s more powerful because they, especially Mary, are with Him in Heaven.
Mass & Sacraments
Catholics believe the Mass is the most important of all because it is there that the worship of Christ is encountered in its highest form. Also, it is at the Mass that the Sacraments of the Church are dispensed to the laity. And the most important Sacrament, which is said to be the source and summit of the Christian life, is the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Catholic believe that the bread and wine offered at the Eucharist is, indeed, the body & blood of Christ.
Most Protestants, however, only see the Eucharist as just merely a symbol to remember Jesus’s sacrifice. Therefore for Protestant, their highest form of worship is the Bible or Praise & Worship.
Bible & Sacred Tradition
Catholic Bibles have 73 books while Protestant Bibles have 66. Protestants view the Bible through the lens of Sola Scriptura (Sole Scripture or Scripture alone) but Catholics do not. Protestant Martin Luther removed several books from the Old and New Testament. He also believed the Bible alone is God’s full revelation to mankind and the sole authority to guide the Church to the Christian life. This view caused the popular view that the Christian can interpret the Bible as according to his own meaning and understanding, without the help of an authoritative church.
Meanwhile, Catholics believed that the Christian should interpret the Bible as handed down from Tradition, from the Early Church Fathers, and from the Apostles themselves. As for Tradition, Catholics believe that the origins of the Church starts from Jesus’s words to Peter when Peter proclaimed Jesus as the “Messiah, Son of the living God.” He said to Peter: “you are Peter (or Cephas, meaning “rock”, and this rock I will build my church.”
Catholics also believe that Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, will guide the Church into all truth. Catholics see the truth as first being orally communicated, then recorded down. Which is why Tradition, which are first handed down orally in the Church and have their source in Jesus, are seen as just as important as the Bible
The Papacy
All Christians believe that St Peter is the Chief Apostle during the time of Jesus. The difference in belief is that Catholics believe in the succession of St Peter after his death via St Linus (Check out the portrait on the right side of our AVA room for the succession of the Papacy from St Peter). Protestants however, believed that there was no apostolic succession and that it ended with Peter
https://www.catholica.com/difference-between-catholic-and-christian/#Mary
Why is abortion a sin?
If a woman does not feel confident enough to be a mother and abort her child, why is she a ‘bad person’?
Extracted from https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/abortion-and-the-catholic-church-9580
At the heart of the abortion debate are twin questions:
The first of these is purely scientific: Are the unborn living persons, or are they not? Science has definitively settled this question, and even pro-abortionists have been forced to admit that the preborn are living beings.
The second question is philosophical and moral: May these living beings be killed, and, if so, under what circumstances?
Although Catholic teaching on abortion has shifted through the centuries, the current position is clear: abortion is murder. This position has been fixed since 1869, when Pope Pius IX reinstituted the doctrine that the soul enters the body at the moment of conception; from that moment on, the fetus is therefore a person.
Quote by Mother Teresa “"Every abortion kills two - the child and the conscience of the mother. The latter will never forget she, herself, has killed her own child.”
Extracted from https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/abortion/respect-for-unborn-human-life
• Since the 1800s, scientists have increasingly understood that the union of sperm and egg at conception produces a new living being that is distinct from both mother and father. This means that modern science confirms that the life of each individual of the human species begins with the earliest embryo.
• Given the scientific fact that a human life begins at conception, the only moral norm needed to understand the Church's opposition to abortion is the principle that each and every human life has inherent dignity, and thus must be treated with the respect due to a human person. This is the foundation for the Church's social doctrine, including its teachings on war, the use of capital punishment, euthanasia, health care, poverty and immigration.
• Abortion is therefore seen as attacking a being with a human destiny, being prepared by God to receive an immortal soul (cf. Jeremiah 1:5: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you").
Why do you only focus on kids?
What if people want to have intercourse yet don’t want to have children?
Is it wrong to not want children?
Why do couples have to have children if they want to have sex?
What if they are not in a secure place financially?
Why can’t they be together without having kids?
Q: I heard that a couple has to want to have kids in order to get married in the Catholic Church. My fiancé and I don’t, why won’t the Church let us marry each other?
Now, if either of you (yes, even just one of you!) enters the marriage consciously intending to never have children, then we have an issue. That would, in fact, make the marriage “invalid” (e.g. no Sacrament would take place). But why?! Why is the Church so hung up on people having children? Now, I know that this may sound weird, but the Church actually believes that being open to children is an essential part of what marriage is. It isn’t an “add on”, it is part of the essence. Basically, if a couple makes a positive act of the will to never have children, they are making a positive act of the will not to have a marriage.
Read the full response here:
https://bulldogcatholic.org/2016/01/15/married-without-children/
Q: I feel drawn to marriage, but I don’t want children. What should I do? What options are there for me?
Marriage is a vocation that enables a man and woman to establish a family. One of its very purposes is for the procreation of children. While a husband and wife do not have to be physically capable of having children to validly marry, they must be open to the possibility of having children. If you are entirely opposed to having children, then it is very likely that you do not have a vocation to marriage.
Read the full response here: https://www.catholic.com/qa/may-i-marry-and-not-have-children
Why married couples must be open to children (by Fr Mike Schmitz)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBOmV5wFpCQ
Bottom line is, sacramental marriage is a gift of self towards another, totally, fruitfully, fully, and faithfully. Without an openness to life and the procreation of children, this gift of self is not complete, and therefore it cannot be a sacrament of God. Openness to procreation is an essential part of God’s plan for romantic intimacy, regardless of what “expectations” the world may have for marriage.
Response to National Day Rally 2022 (Repeal of s377A Penal Code)
With regards to the repeal of S377A, we do not seek to criminalise the LGBTQ, for they too are children of God and loved by Him.
However, we seek protection of the family and marriage according to natural law; and our rights to teach and practise them unhindered. We must not allow reverse discrimination to take place against those who believe in marriage as defined between a man and a woman.
To ensure that this protection is not challenged easily, it is thus necessary that it be enshrined and defined in our Constitution before S377A is removed.
Otherwise, we will be taking a slippery road of no return, weakening the fabric of a strong society which is founded on the bedrock of holistic families and marriages.
We take comfort that this safeguard will be looked at seriously in Parliament as assured by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
The Archbishop’s Communications Office, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore
21 Aug 2022
Source https://www.catholic.sg/ndr2022-response/
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