Ask a Franciscan

What is the basis of the Church’s authority to grant indulgences? Our Lord did not mention indulgences specifically to my knowledge.

Years ago in parochial school, I recall that we were told that the Douay-Rheims version was the only one that we were allowed to read. The teacher even said that reading any “Protestant” Bible, especially the King James Version, was ...

I don’t understand why someone who has celiac disease and is, therefore, allergic to gluten needs a low-gluten host. The bread at Mass changes substantially into the Body of Christ.

Speakers whom I greatly respect have said that Catholics should not do yoga or Pilates™. Does the Catholic Church allow this?

Even though I have long known that there are Franciscan sisters, brothers, and priests, a friend recently told me about a group that is completely new to me: the Secular Franciscan Order.

Why does the Roman Catholic Church call itself that? Jesus stood against everything that the Roman Empire represented—the power, the might and the violence. Rome figured mightily in his death on the cross.