Answers to recent questions

Here are some interesting questions and comments that bloggers have posted recently:

"One thing I have to say is I know the Catholic faith says that animals don't have souls. I really have a hard time believing that as I feel as animals are living creatures and they too should have souls." Actually, Catholic theologians have disagreed about whether animals have souls. One of the greatest theologians that the Church has ever seen, St. Thomas Aquinas, believed that animals have souls because animals have life. To him, soul meant "life". And, there are some theologians who believe that there are animals in Heaven. It's an interesting question...

"There are so many miracle occuring in Medjugorje, why doesn't the church recognize that place as it has with Fatima and Lourdes?" As far as I know, it has been under investigation by the Church for some time now. I can't exactly say why it hasn't been approved (as an Apparition) because I don't know what the investigation has produced. But, I can say this: the Church is so thorough and strict with Her investigations of apparitions that we can truly trust that She will reveal to us the truth about different sites.

"I just don't see Jesus doing that giving people to torturers unless some major sin has been commited. For little things I honestly believe He will excuse it." Yes, I am with you on that. But, please keep in mind that it's all about the Grace of Christ as far as being admitted to the Kingdom of Heaven. We need to be in a state of Grace in order to enter the Kingdom. Venial sin does not take us out of the state of Grace, but mortal sin does. If we die in a state of mortal sin, we have no Grace within us as we go before the Judgement Seat of God, and thus cannot enter the Kingdom.

"Protestants don't believe in Purgatory do they believe that unless you have saintly traits you automatically go to Hell?" Well, there are almost 30,000 different Protestant denominations, so there are almost 30,000 different theologies concerning your question. In general terms, Protestantism doesn't accept the Church's teachings on Purgatory, saints, or Hell. It proposes "salvation by faith alone", "salvation by Scripture alone", and "predestination" (God predestines some to Heaven and some to Hell). By and large, it rejects 'saintly traits' as a way for someone to be saved.

"I also heard that the water represents the humanity of Christ and the wine, the divinity of Christ. Is that true?" Yes, that is one understanding. The prayer that the priest says while pouring the wine and water into the chalice reflects that: "By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity".