Radical Honesty
Pat McCloskey, OFM
September 18, 2025
Francis was as much subject to self-doubt as any of us. His motives were purified in prayer; his ego became right-sized there.
Posts from:
Pat McCloskey, OFM
Pat McCloskey, OFM, is the Franciscan advisor for St. Anthony Messenger and the writer of its "Ask a Franciscan" column.
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 no longer go to Mass. How could a merciful God condemn them to hell forever?
The obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation is serious but must be understood in relation to other serious obligations. Caring for a terminally ill spouse or child is a greater obligation than attending Sunday Mass.
Build Peace in the Spirit of Francis
Pat McCloskey, OFM
September 11, 2025
Peace is a gift from God. Human actions that cooperate with God’s grace activate peace in the world.
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.
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 the Franciscans than to the Roman Catholic Church in which I was baptized and yet is plagued by many terrible scandals.
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?