Conversion

Q: Do souls in Purgatory have free will?

A: Yes...

God has the ability to change the will so that a person can only choose good. In other words, He can certainly remove the ability to choose evil. This does not mean removing all free will. One might, for example, be able to choose among different good options, but not any evil ones. This would still be free will; it would simply be a different kind of free will than we experience in this life--a freedom to choose only among different goods.

On the other hand, God might not change the will's fundamental capacity to choose either good or evil. Instead, He might place us in a condition where--although we could still theoretically choose both—we in fact never end up choosing evil. Why might this happen? It may be that since the souls in purgatory know they are saved, the reality of the future beatific vision they will enjoy will be so compelling that they never choose evil. In either case, the blessed in heaven would be impeccable--that is, not able to sin--either because of a change in the nature of the will or a change in the circumstances in which the will operates (or both).

Q: Because of his excommunication, is Bishop Vigano no longer able to receive Holy Communion?

A: Canon law mandates, “ Those who are excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion” (CIC 915).

Q: I'm a lifelong, married Catholic, disabled and bedridden since 2012. In addition to donating to my local parish and Diocese, I donated to Catholic Charities and several other Catholic organizations. After the McCarrick scandal (he was the first bishop of our Diocese) and numerous other scandals involving Catholic Charities regarding child trafficking, I stopped supporting the local Diocese and Catholic Charities. Instead, I donate money to other Catholic organizations such as EWTN, Divine Mercy Institute in Stockbridge, MA, The Sunday Mass, our local Catholic food bank, Catholic prison ministries, Cancelled Priests, etc. My question is this: are these alternative donations sufficient to fulfill the requirement to support the Diocese? Given the lack of leadership by the US Bishops during Covid when they closed the churches and failed to feed their flocks, their failure to speak out on abortion, the failure to speak out about the LGBQT issue, etc. I can't, in good faith, support them. I pray for them, however I can no longer support them financially. This issue has been troubling me, and I'd appreciate your feedback. Thank You.

A: The Church’s Code of Canon Law teaches: “The Christian faithful are obliged to assist with the needs of the Church so that the Church has what is necessary for divine worship, for apostolic works and works of charity and for the decent sustenance of ministers. They are also obliged to promote social justice and … to assist the poor from their own resources” (Canon 222).

Although a contribution of 10 percent stands as the traditional ideal, the law does not specify an amount to be given to the local parish church. Indeed, a comment on the law observes: “The obligation is according to each person’s possibilities since no one is held to the impossible, and family obligations are to be taken into account.… Family resources must be safeguarded.”

Because we must support the poor and contribute to causes that strive for social justice, concerned Catholics might want to divide their charitable resources among a number of causes.

Parish needs will always have a prior claim on the generosity of God’s People, but special diocesan collections (or other — even civic — efforts) that aid the poor and seek to make God’s kingdom a visible reality in our time might be considered as well. If you can find a charity that appeals to you, then donate to it and feel great that they are applying the money the way you would want them to. You are not obliged to support bishops who have proven to be untrustworthy

Alexa Dark, Shane Schaetzel, Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching  

Past Answers