Ask a Franciscan
Casual Sex on TV
Q: Many TV shows include sexual remarks or people sleeping with people to whom they are not married. I don’t watch much television, but I do enjoy several hospital-based programs that have good plots but frequently include these situations, which are becoming more and more common.
Is it a serious sin for me to watch such programs? Do I need to confess such viewing?
Red, White, and Green Martyrs?
In the book How the Irish Saved Civilization (Doubleday), Thomas Cahill talks about both green and white martyrdom. According to Cahill, Ireland was unique in that Christianity was introduced there without bloodshed (red martyrdom).
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Mothers and Holiness
Most new saints are either priests or women who belonged to religious communities. Which of the most recent saints is a wife and a mother?
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Did I Do the Right Thing?
I am developing a scruple over how an inheritance from my mother was divided. I hope that I did not do anything wrong. Please help me put my mind at rest.
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Did John the Baptist Doubt Jesus?
After John described Jesus as the “Lamb of God” (Jn 1:36), Andrew and another disciple left John to follow Jesus. Was John the Baptist having doubts about who Jesus was?
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Were All the Apostles Single?
Were all the apostles single men when they began to follow Jesus? Is there anything in the Bible on this? Is that why the Catholic Church ordains only single men?
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Stages in the Canonization Process
What do the four stages in the canonization process (servant of God, venerable, blessed and saint) mean?
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