Ask a Franciscan

I don’t understand why the name of God was so important to the Israelites. I thought God’s name was simply “God.”

If a person commits adultery and then goes to confession, does that person have to ask forgiveness from his or her spouse?

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?

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 ...

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.

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 ...