Ask a Franciscan
Excommunicated for an Abortion?
Pat McCloskey, OFM
September 17, 2025
Our diocese distributed a pamphlet on examining your conscience. It states that having an abortion or encouraging a woman to do so would mean automatic excommunication from the Catholic Church. If I do that, is this so?
Missing Mass on Sunday
Pat McCloskey, OFM
September 14, 2025
As an 80-year-old Catholic, I was taught that missing Mass through your own fault is a mortal sin that, if unconfessed and unabsolved, could send you to hell forever. I know friends and other Catholics who are good people but ...
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What about Limbo?
Pat McCloskey, OFM
September 10, 2025
Question about limbo: Are souls in a state of eternal happiness outside heaven or do they go to hell forever? I pray for my granddaughter’s soul.
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Franciscan or Roman Catholic?
Pat McCloskey, OFM
September 8, 2025
I like what I read in St. Anthony Messenger and enjoy other products from Franciscan Media. One question keeps coming back to me: Are you Franciscan or Roman Catholic? I ask this because these days I feel much closer to ...
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Was Saint Peter the Bishop of Rome?
Pat McCloskey, OFM
September 6, 2025
In his book The Future of the Catholic Church with Pope Francis, Garry Wills states that there is no evidence before AD 100 that there was any bishop in Rome. Is that true?
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What About Sins of Omission?
Pat McCloskey, OFM
June 24, 2025
I cannot find an examination of conscience for sins of omission. Does such a list exist?
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Assurance about Heaven
Pat McCloskey, OFM
May 23, 2025
How can I know if I will go to heaven?
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