Q&A

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When my wife and I were married in the Church, I was a baptized Catholic and she was a non-practicing Jehovah’s Witness. At that time she was not baptized, but has since been baptized in the Catholic Church. Is our marriage a sacramental marriage?

Is it possible for a homosexual couple to live together chastely?

Can boyfriends and girlfriends "sleep over"?

Is "no kissing before marriage" a good rule?

Is there a patron saint for homosexuals?

Is intimacy okay if we truly love each other? Wouldn't God understand?

Can homologous artificial insemination be permitted as a licit treatment for male infertility?

Is a Catholic allowed to marry a non-Christian? I know Scripture states not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers.

If a baptized Catholic marries a non-baptized person, is that a valid marriage? Are there any special requirements?

What's the Catholic understanding of virtue?

Why is it that every time I’m in my religion class, the teachers try to drill in our heads that sex before marriage is so wrong? If you really love someone, wouldn’t you want to do everything together? Why is this such a bad thing?

Is masturbation a grave sin?

If sex is good for us, why is the Church so hostile to it?

How do I start a chastity group?

I have a married friend who flirts. She sees nothing wrong with it, and says it doesn’t lead to anything. I believe it’s a sin. Is it?

Is there such a thing as "secondary virginity"?

Should I moderate my purity to fit in with the crowd?

Is chastity necessary for widows and widowers?

Is there a difference between celibacy and virginity?

Is "no kissing before marriage" a good rule?

I was told by a priest that sexual intercourse between unmarried persons is acceptable so long as it reflects a relationship of love. Lots of perople seem to believe this, but is it true?

Is it sinful for spouses to send sexually explicit messages to each other via smartphone and email? My wife did send a sexually explicit picture to me but we have deleted all traces of it.

I believe seminarians who are in their philosophical studies are allowed to have girlfriends. How about when they’re in theological studies? My boyfriend is a novice in a religious order. Is our relationship forbidden or just discouraged?

Staying single for a profession

Can an unmarried couple sleep together without 'sleeping together'?

Is marriage doomed by cohabitation?

I’ve been told that a woman who was married, had children, and then got an annulment became a nun later in life. Is this possible?

Can you become engaged while waiting for an annulment?

If two people live together before marriage and do not go to confession before their wedding in a Catholic Church, is their marriage valid in the eyes of the Church?

I was told by a priest that sexual intercourse between unmarried persons is acceptable so long as it reflects a relationship of love. Lots of people seem to believe this, but is it true?

What is the Catholic Church’s teaching on hermaphrodites, people born with both male and female sex organs? Can they get married?

Can two celibate women get a civil marriage because of financial reasons and still receive the sacraments? Also, would the Church start granting annulments to same sex couples if one of them reverted and wanted to marry someone of the opposite sex?

Is feeling pressure to marry a reason considered for annulment?

If a person gets an annulment so that he can get married again, how is this not going against Jesus’ words that the two become one that no man can put asunder?

Can you help with my struggle regarding Christian marriage?

Our sister’s marriage recently was declared null. How should we react to that news?

Two friends (baptized Protestants previously married to other Protestants) are marrying each other. They have applied for annulments of the earlier marriages. If annulment petitions are granted, do they need to have their marriage blessed in the Church?

I was married in the Church, divorced, and then remarried. I received word that my annulment request was denied. My deacon told me that if I believe in good conscience that my first marriage was not valid, I can return to the Eucharist. Is this true?

My mother was divorced and has been thinking about starting the annulment process. Would my siblings and I be considered illegitimate, since the marriage was annulled it is considered to never have existed, thus making us born out of wedlock?

I am a sponsor for a candidate for confirmation with RCIA. My candidate has a former husband who is a Protestant and is refusing to go through the annulment process. Does this mean that she cannot obtain an annulment?

Why is contraception any more "unnatural" than pacemakers or appendectomies? If it's okay to intervene in a bodily system or have something removed, why can't you hava vasectomy of tubal ligation?

A couple using contraception and a couple using NFP have the same goal; they only use different means. So why does the Catholic Church condemn the on and endorse the other?

Can deliberately sterile people marry?

Is it OK to use birth control to treat Menorrhagia?

My wife is being treated for cancer. Our Catholic doctor said that pregnancy isn't an option during treatment, so she advised me to use condoms and recommended that my wife have her ovaries removed to prevent possibility of pregnancy. Is this good advice?

I know married couples cannot use condoms to prevent pregnancy, but what if one of them is infertile, or the condom is used strictly to restrict the spread of venereal disease?

Is birth control OK in some economic circumstances?

Is it correct for a married couple to practice NFP as a means of birth control?

Can my friend be chemically castrated?

If a couple is on contraception on their wedding day and are using it for years, could that be grounds for an annulment?

A friend uses the “ensoulment” argument to defend early abortion. She said Aquinas taught an unborn baby doesn’t receive a soul until 40 days after conception and the Church still teaches this. Does the Church say when a person receives a soul?

Do advocates of embryonic stem cell research sometimes use deceptive language?

Why shouldn’t embryonic stem cells be used for research if the embryos are going to die anyway and they could lead to medical breakthroughs that would cure horrible diseases?

Why can’t embryos be killed to get their stem cells?

What requirements have to be met for stem cell research to be ethical?

Is the Church opposed to stem cell research?

Must I have a large family?

I’m confused by the term “indirect abortion”. Could you please tell me exactly what this means?

I heard that in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) Pope John Paul II condemned "direct abortion."? What is direct abortion?

I am a candidate and will be coming into the Church this Easter. My problem is that I have yet to make my first confession, and I am afraid of it because when I was 16, I had an abortion. I have regretted it every moment since. Will they still let me join

What does it mean to ‘accept’ persons with same-sex attraction?

Why are same-sex attractions considered “objectively disordered”? Isn’t that a harsh term?

If Jesus opposed homosexual activity, why didn’t he say something against it in the Gospels?

Is it wrong to change ones gender?

I am a homosexual who wishes to obey the Church’s teachings on homosexuality. I know that the Church teaches that sex outside of marriage is wrong. What if two homosexuals were married? Would sex between them be legitimate?

I have a gay brother who has fallen from the faith. He wants to get “married” and adopt children in the future. I’m certain that if I tell him I don’t support him, it will ruin our relationship and create problems within the family. What should I do?

Is it possible for people of the same sex to marry each other?

How do I deal with a son who just came out of the closet?

My brother is a homosexual; what kind of relationship should we have?

Is it possible for a homosexual couple to live together chastely?

Does the Bible say anything about pornography?

How can we respond to those who would say pornography helps them prepare for marriage?

How does pornography hurt people?

Why Is Pornography Wrong?

Where does one draw the line in art?

Is it wrong to read romance novels?

A friend of mine believes that God created everything—including things like diseases in order to punish us and things like pornography in order to test us. How do I respond?

I'd like to know the Catholic perspective on whether art with the portrayal of persons in the nude is moral. Such art is frequently found in Catholic churches, especially in Europe. If it is within the bounds of Catholic morality, how is it different from

Why is pornography a sin?

Is it OK to freeze eggs before cancer treatment that could kill them, then re-implant them after?

Why is surrogacy against the Catholic Church?

What does the Catholic Church say about surrogate motherhood for couples who cannot get pregnant?

Why is the Catholic Church against surrogacy?

What is the official position of the Catholic Church with regard to in vitro fertilization (IVF)?

Can homologous artificial insemination be permitted as a licit treatment for male infertility?

With all the recent talk about cloning, I’ve got to know: Would a human clone have a soul?

What does the Church teach on the issue of ensoulment and embryonic stem cell research?

Are parents allowed to select the sex of their children? My husband and I have two girls and would like to try for a boy to complete our family.

What is the Catholic Church’s view of single women who pursue motherhood through a sperm bank because they have no other option?

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