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Call it tribalism, but I’ve always cast a skeptical eye on the Dominicans ever since I learned about their role in the Inquisition. Do you have any advice for thinking about historical misdeeds?
Q: I am a big supporter of Glenn Beck and all the work he is doing to save the country. On one of his programs, he was discussing social justice, which is Marxism, and how the government is trying to absorb the churches to run them as everything else—as the Communists do. He said there is a part of our Church that is tied into Marxism. What is it and how can we stop it?
Q: A few years ago, I overheard a Catholic woman ask her friend, “When did Jesus become a Catholic?” A few of us laughed but did try to explain that Jesus was the Christ. He was born Jewish and died Jewish.
One of my Jewish friends asked me, “When did Jesus become a Christian?” Soon after that, a relative asked me, “Well, when did he become a Catholic?” Please address these questions in your column.
Can the obligation to attend Mass on holy days be fulfilled before or after the actual day?
Why do people kiss the pope’s ring? This strikes me as a very odd custom and is certainly not based on the Bible. I have never found anyone who could give me a good explanation for this practice.
Q: All my life we have been told that when we die we will be with God for all eternity. I sometimes feel, however, that when you die that’s it—no heaven, God or anything. It’s frightening to think that what I have believed all these years might not be true.
A: God has not revoked the biblical promises about sharing divine life forever. There have always been people who did not accept them, but that does not make those people more trustworthy than people who believe in heaven.
Q: Are we still expected to fast one hour before receiving Holy Communion? I have seen a woman chewing gum as she comes into Mass and is still chewing it as she stands in line to receive Holy Communion. I was taught that this is not permitted.
A: You are correct that this is wrong. The current rule is that, except for medicine and accompanying liquids, we are to fast from solid food and any liquid other than water for one hour before receiving Holy Communion.
