I have not seen such a list, but you ask a very good question. In the penitential rite at the start of Mass, one of the options is the “I confess” prayer, which expresses sorrow “for what I have done and for what I have failed to do.” Jesus affirms most of the Ten Commandments in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but when he describes the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31–46), he focuses exclusively on sins of omission (failing to feed the hungry, give the thirsty something to drink, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit those in prison). 

You can easily imagine that those condemned here asked: “Who knew they counted? Those things are no big deal! Besides, no matter what I do, there will still be people needing all those things.” Devout Christians who have enslaved other human beings have sometimes said: “It’s no big deal. That’s simply the way the world is.” 

How to identify sins of omission? When you tell yourself and others, “It’s no big deal,” are you being reasonable or simply trying to excuse yourself? Every sin can be described by someone committing it as “no big deal.” 

Sins of omission are usually a violation of justice, a failure to respect some group of people as individuals created in God’s image. Some Christians, unfortunately, see sin as exclusively individual and never as social. Thus, murder is wrong, but racism is simply a personal preference. Catholic social teaching, which firmly rejects that assertion, acknowledges there can be “structures of sin” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1869). Pope John Paul II addressed such sins in his 1987 encyclical On Social Concern (36–37) and elsewhere. 

People who are scrupulous tend to accuse themselves of sin constantly. By doing so, however, they fail to take sin seriously. My responsibility toward others reflects my possibilities: I cannot erase world hunger by myself, but that does not excuse me from doing what I can. 

Social sin often hides under the cover of smugness, a claim of “Let’s be realistic.” Recognizing that tendency may be the first step toward identifying a sin of omission. 

Was That Sin Forgiven? 

Sometimes I feel that I have not been forgiven for my past sins. What can I do about that? 

If you have been honest in confession, not hiding a grave sin, you have indeed been forgiven. Satan is often called “the father of lies” because of his ability to discourage us from thinking that genuine repentance is possible. In the musical Les Misérables, Javert (a police inspector) tells Jean Valjean (a former thief), “Men like you can never change.” A decision to repent requires many future and smaller decisions. 

Is God’s forgiveness truly in doubt here? Or is it a failure to forgive oneself? If God can forgive us, who are we to refuse that forgiveness? In all honesty, before God each of us is a forgiven sinner. 

Confession Right Away? 

Can a person who has had an abortion go to confession right away? 

Yes, that is permitted. It is, however, not very likely because it usually takes some time to admit what someone has done or has encouraged someone else to do. Post-abortion ministries such as Project Rachel can identify confessors who have been specially trained to deal with women who have had abortions, people who have performed them, and those who have encouraged or morally coerced them. 

Differences between the Gospels 

What are the differences between the Gospels of Luke and of Matthew? 

According to Robert Karris, OFM, in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Luke was probably written between AD 80 and 85, after the Gospel of Mark (written by AD 70). According to Benedict Viviano, OP, in the same volume, Matthew was probably written closer to the year 90. Luke and Matthew use the Gospel of Mark, but each also has unique material. 

Luke was written in Greek by a gentile convert to Christianity, perhaps for the community of faith in Syria. Matthew was definitely written by a Jewish Christian, perhaps first in Aramaic and later translated into Greek. 

Over the centuries, a few Christians have engaged in a forced harmonizing of the common details in Luke and Matthew. The Catholic Church does not accept that approach. In the Gospel of Luke, Mary and Joseph came to Bethlehem for Jesus’ birth. In Matthew, however, they could have lived there before his birth. A fundamentalist reading of these two Gospels must discard one of those possibilities. We, however, need to accept both Gospels as inspired by God—as the Church does. 

Matthew includes a genealogy going back to Abraham, the Magi, and the flight into Egypt. It also has a longer version of the beatitudes and the Our Father. Luke has a genealogy going back to Adam and includes Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, the story about Zaccheus, and the story of two men praying in the temple. 

Short Questions & Answers 

Can only a priest cast out demons? 

Before 1970, there was a minor order of exorcist, received by seminarians. Now a priest must be designated by his bishop as an exorcist after an appropriate training. 

Is it OK to watch Mass on TV? I use a walker. 

Yes, if that is absolutely necessary. Many times, I have seen people using a walker at Sunday or weekday Mass. Most Catholic churches are more accessible to those with disabilities than they were 50 years ago. If transportation can be arranged and if a walker is the primary challenge, it is preferable to participate in person. However, the person who uses the walker needs to make the decision here. 

Although you cannot know with the same certainty you have in a base-10 system that 2 + 2 = 4, you can ask yourself: “Are God’s ways and values becoming more and more normal for me?” Also, “To what am I entitled and why?” 

Jesus’ teaching about the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31–46) features two sets of people who have very different senses of “normal” in responding to people in need. Those who refuse to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, and perform similar acts of compassion probably felt that they were simply “being realistic.” Hence, they are quite surprised when they are not welcomed into heaven. Is it indeed possible to be more realistic than God is? No. Is there such a thing as a serious sin of omission? Yes. 

In Jesus’ story about a rich man and the poor Lazarus (Lk 16:19–31), the rich man thinks there must be a mistake because he is in torment while Lazarus is next to Abraham. Still used to giving orders, he tells Abraham to send Lazarus to bring him some water. “No can do,” says Abraham in effect. “Time has run out for you.” 

It’s tempting to believe that heaven follows the same rules as life on earth: Who counts and who does not? Jesus’ teaching rejects that idea. 

In both Gospel stories, there is a hint of the “prosperity Gospel,” a GPS-like device that allows people to chart their way into heaven. Jesus suggests a very different standard: Do you recognize each person as someone created and loved by God—and then act accordingly? 

People cannot “earn” their way into heaven, which is simply the culmination of accepting God’s ways as normal. 

Cursed by Our Mother 

My mother, who has dementia, sometimes curses my sister and me. We try to take very good care of her. How can we deal with these disturbing incidents? Her doctor may be able to prescribe medication that addresses these disturbing events. When they happen, I suggest that you remember happier days with her. Unfortunately, that mother is physically but not psychologically the one now cursing you. 

Your mother’s curses ultimately have only as much power as you give them. 

Dealing with Suicide 

My husband died by suicide. How can I know if he is in heaven? 

My condolences on your loss. It will never go away, but you can learn to live a good life in your radically, painfully changed situation. See the first Q and A on this page about heaven. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of suffering, hardship, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide” (2282b). It goes on to say: “We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunities for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives” (2283). 

If you search on the Internet “Rolheiser and suicide”, you will get several links, including “Losing a Loved One to Suicide,” an article by Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, who has been writing about suicide for decades. He makes four main points about suicide: 1) It is a disease, perhaps the most misunderstood of all diseases; 2) We should not worry unduly about the eternal salvation of a suicide victim; 3) We should not torture ourselves with guilt and second-guessing when we lose a loved one to suicide; and 4) When we lose loved ones to suicide, one of our tasks is to work at redeeming their memory by putting their lives back into perspective so that the manner of their death doesn’t forever taint their memory. The entire article explains these four statements above. 

He has also written several books on this subject, including Bruised and Wounded: Struggling to Understand Suicide. 

May the Lord be your strength and your guide. 

Why Doesn’t God Help? 

I am wondering what the Church and Scriptures say about God and accidents/natural disasters. In those situations, there is no abuse of human freedom, but bad things sometimes just happen. Why doesn’t God help? You hear about kids and people devastated by earthquakes or tsunamis, suffering agonizing death, or having to live with lifelong trauma. Why should they feel safe in this world if God allows catastrophes to innocent people? I lost my mother in such a circumstance. I understand how humans’ free will—and the abuse of it—can cause harm, but I don’t understand why the world imposes pain and sorrow on people who did nothing to deserve it. 

I am very sorry for your loss. 

Does God live in time the way that humans do (past/present/future)? Your question (a very common and important one) suggests a yes response. I say no because that would impose a human limitation on God. 

God does not directly decide when and where there will be a flood, an earthquake, or other natural disaster. Still less does God decide who will survive those events and who will not. 

Yes, God made the world, but it operates according to its own laws. Natural disasters, unfortunately, result from those laws. Humans can protect themselves by prudent actions such as observing fire safety, not building houses in certain areas, etc., but even those actions cannot always protect people from natural disasters. 

People who interpret natural disasters as a reason not to believe in God are not thereby protecting themselves or their loved ones from such tragedies. The best response to a natural disaster is to live prudently and offer as much compassionate aid as a person can. 

Victoria Moorwood reported in USA Today that in a January 29 interview with Fox News, Vance said: “There’s this old school—and I think it’s a very Christian concept, by the way—that you love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then, after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world. 

“A lot of the far left has completely inverted that. They seem to hate the citizens of their own country and care more about people outside their own borders.” 

In his letter to the US bishops, Pope Francis wrote, “Jesus Christ, loving everyone with a universal love, educates us in the permanent recognition of the dignity of every human being, without exception.” He later noted that he had been following closely “the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations.” 

Referencing his 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti (On Fraternity and Social Friendship), Pope Francis continued, “The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the good Samaritan (cf. Lk 10:25–37), that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.” The text of the pope’s letter can be found in the 2025 papal letters section at Vatican.va. 

Yes, there is a hierarchy of love, but it begins not with loving your family but first with loving God—and by extension—all those people made in the divine image and likeness. I’m afraid that Vance’s understanding of ordo amoris would nullify not only the good Samaritan parable but also Jesus’ story about those who are condemned for not feeding the hungry (Mt 25:42–46) and the rich man’s indifference to the sufferings of Lazarus (Lk 16:20–25). It would also justify the Pharisee’s contempt for the tax collector praying at the back of the Temple (Lk 18:9–14). 

Augustine’s City of God sharply contrasts God’s values (completely normal in heaven) with the values unfortunately commonly accepted then and now in the earthly city. Would Augustine recognize Vance’s interpretation of ordo amoris? I strongly doubt it. They could perhaps discuss it at the eternal banquet. 

How Did the Rosary Develop? 

I have read different explanations about the origin of the rosary. What’s yours? 

The Hebrew Bible has 150 psalms. Some Christians began to pray 150 Our Fathers, later switching to 150 Hail Marys, organized into the joyful, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries. In 2002, St. John Paul II added the luminous mysteries (Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan, the wedding feast of Cana, proclamation of the kingdom of God, the Transfiguration, and the institution of the Eucharist). Because the rosary is a form of private prayer (no matter how many people join in at the same time), such adaptation is perfectly legitimate. 

Which Direction Should a Church Face? 

Why do Catholics no longer face east when celebrating the Eucharist? Who authorized that change and why? 

Unfortunately, people sometimes oversimplify history. In fact, not all Catholic churches have ever been built on an east/west axis. Rome’s Vatican basilica, built in the fourth century by Emperor Constantine and then torn down and rebuilt under several popes in the 15th and 16th centuries, is on a slight southwest/northeast axis. 

At a morning canonization, Mass is celebrated in St. Peter’s Square. The extraordinary ministers of the holy Communion, bishops, and cardinals sit on the altar’s left side with their backs to the rising sun. Diplomats or other official guests sit on the right side, facing the rising sun. I have been on the left side at such a Mass. 

Also, Rome’s Christian catacombs of Priscilla, Domitilla and Marcellinus, and Peter all include frescoes depicting the celebration of the Eucharist. In them a presider and other ministers face viewers and presumably other Christians present at the same celebration. 

The Missal of the Council of Trent allowed Masses ad orientem (to the east) or else facing the people. After Vatican II, many altars attached to a wall were moved forward, or a freestanding altar was placed between the back wall and the people, enabling the presider to face the congregation, which had been impossible in most churches. An Internet search for “Mass ad orientem” and “history” yields a lengthy and interesting article on this subject. 

The practice in some Roman Catholic churches to face ad orientem is not the ancient and universal custom that many of its promoters think it is. 

Muslim mosques have a niche (mihrab) indicating the direction of Mecca’s Kaaba (their holiest shrine), and that is the direction that Muslims face when praying. 

Will God Wipe Out the Human Family? 

The way things are going today, I have to ask: Will God destroy the human family? 

No, but we may wipe ourselves out. After Noah and the ark survived the flood, Noah offered a sacrifice to God. Genesis 8:21b tells us that the Lord said in his heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of human beings, since the desires of the human heart are evil from youth; nor will I ever again strike down every living being, as I have done.” 

Being of mostly Irish descent, I will answer your question with another one: Why did God allow Cain to murder his brother, Abel? Isn’t the answer to both that God gave human beings freedom, a key part of being created “in the image and likeness of God”? 

Doesn’t your question suggest that God lives in time exactly as we do (past/present/future: chronological time)? Such time is a human invention that we cannot simply project onto God, thereby limiting God. 

Although it is difficult to understand, all time is simultaneously present to God (also known as kairos time). Humans necessarily live in chronological time. Granted, Scripture often speaks as though God operates in chronological time—for example, God’s instruction to Adam not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gn 2:16–17). 

Some people use their freedom generously and benefit others. Other people, however, abuse their freedom terribly. That explains most of the news we receive via TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet. When we cooperate generously with God’s grace, we will always be stretched in the direction of what God considers normal. 

Is Group Prayer Better? 

I’m having a heavy heart about prayer. It seems God listens only if we have a large group praying for a particular intention. Does the prayer of one person matter? I know there’s strength in a group. Does Jesus listen only to group prayer? That can’t be true. 

Group prayer is recommended but is not required. Individual prayer is fine. 

Please remember, however, that we do not pray to change God’s mind. Let’s call Plan A what would happen if I/we do not pray for some person or intention. Let’s call Plan B what we would prefer to happen. We do not pray because we think that our Plan B is better than God’s Plan A. 

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he began, “Our Father.” We should always pray in that spirit—not as though we are giving God new information or stressing the urgency of something that God might have overlooked. 

Individually or as a group, we pray to open ourselves to God’s grace and to deal with whatever happens. That includes being ready to offer whatever assistance we can if our prayer seemingly goes unanswered. 

Helping an Addicted Person 

I want to help a coworker who is struggling with a gambling addiction. How can I help her? What are the Catholic Church’s views on gambling? 

Gamblers’ Anonymous (GamblersAnonymous.org) is a 12-step group whose members admit that gambling has made their lives unmanageable. Members gather for mutual support on their daily journey to recovery. An Internet search may reveal such a group close to where your coworker lives. The more humbly you suggest this group, the more likely your coworker will accept it. 

Facing an addiction is a one-time decision that must be supported by countless daily decisions. There are similar groups for other addictions, each of which can be addressed effectively only if the addicted person stops lying to herself or himself about the effects of that addiction and then takes steps toward long-term recovery. 

All gambling isn’t necessarily evil, especially if people impose on themselves limits regarding the time, money, and energy used for it. For some people, for example, bingo is more a social activity than a way to make money. For others, though, it might be an addiction. 

Must I Continue Chemotherapy? 

I have just completed my first round of chemotherapy and am not sure if I am willing to engage in a second round. Do I have a moral obligation to do that? Am I, in effect, committing suicide if I refuse to do so? 

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, or extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is a refusal of ‘over-zealous’ treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one’s inability to impede it is merely accepted. The decision should be made by the patient if he [or she] is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be respected” (2278). 

The text continues: “Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a patient cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to alleviate the sufferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity even if death is not willed as an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable. Palliative care is a special form of disinterested charity. As such it should be encouraged” (2279). 

Can Homosexuals Be Knights of Columbus Members? 

Is it morally acceptable for a homosexual to become a member of the Knights of Columbus? I do not feel homosexuality is morally acceptable in God’s eyes; too many things that are morally wrong are becoming socially acceptable. This world is backward, and we are blind to what is coming.

Doesn’t the term homosexual refer first to an orientation and only later to specific actions? The Catholic Church recognizes that genuine homosexuality is not truly a free choice. That does not, however, mean that engaging in homosexual acts is morally OK. There is free choice involved there. 

Thus, a celibate, homosexual person can be a Knight of Columbus, Communion distributor, or belong to any other organization linked to the Catholic Church. 

Yes, our world is in bad shape, but reducing its problems to homosexuality as an orientation is too simple to be true. 

The date of Easter has a long history. In A Concise Dictionary of Theology, Jesuit Fathers Gerald O’Collins and Edward Farrugia write, “Initially it [Easter] seems to have been celebrated every Sunday while Jewish Christians still kept the Jewish Passover” (2000 revised and expanded edition, Paulist Press). 

They continue: “This was bound to create friction, since the Christian message proclaimed that Israel’s deliverance from Egypt had been fulfilled and superseded by Christ’s resurrection (1 Cor 5:7). The practice of setting aside one special day each year to celebrate the resurrection led to controversy between Christians of Asia Minor, who kept the feast on whichever day the Jewish Passover (14 Nisan) fell and were called Quartodecimans (Latin for ‘followers of the 14th’), and other Christian communities that celebrated on the following Sunday. 

“Such controversies continue. The Orthodox, even when they have accepted the Gregorian reform of the Julian calendar, still follow the Julian calendar for the date of Easter.” However, your question remains: How is the date of Easter now determined? When did that system begin? Easter among Western Christians is observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. 

At the First Council of Nicaea (325), the Church in Alexandria, Egypt, shared its designation of March 21 as the date of the spring equinox. Over several centuries, the present system was adopted in the Christian West. The Catholic Church adopted the revised Gregorian calendar in 1582. Most Protestant nations had done the same by 1845. All these calculations were made north of the equator; south of that line the seasons are reversed, placing Easter there in their season of autumn. 

In any case, our savior Jesus Christ embraces all peoples, times, and regions! 

Combining Parishes 

Many Catholic dioceses are in the process of readjusting parish groupings because of fewer priests and declining Mass attendance, allowing some churches to be used only for special occasions. My diocese presently has only four seminarians, and the number of priests over 80 continues to increase. These parish adjustments force many people to travel greater distances with fewer Mass times available at their destination. Where is all this going? 

Yes, many dioceses and archdioceses are in the process of creating “families of parishes” to meet the sacramental needs of their members. Whereas the Latin Church once permitted priests to celebrate three Masses only on All Souls’ Day and on Christmas, it has become increasingly common for many priests to celebrate three Masses on a Saturday afternoon, evening, or on Sunday. Also, those priests must drive the same distances that those attending weekend Masses do. 

I cannot foretell the future, but because the Eucharist remains the source and summit of the Christian life (Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 11),  I am confident that the Church will make some change that will keep the Mass central to Catholic worship and life. 

Is It OK to Keep Searching? 

Although I was baptized Catholic, I was never confirmed or made my first Communion because my parents did not accept all of Catholic teaching. I have now approached the Catholic faith as an adult and have a great respect for it. However, I cannot say that I believe everything a Catholic ought to believe. 

I am not as skeptical as I was years ago, but I would like to know if I am allowed to keep searching and make up my mind about the Church. My worry is that because I was baptized as a Catholic, I might not be allowed to keep searching and would have to force myself to believe and follow the Church, possibly sinning by doing so. I would prefer greater freedom about what to believe. 

Baptism represents the start of a person’s growth in faith. Some life experiences make it easier to believe, and other events may raise questions and provide obstacles that you must face. “Faith seeking understanding” is the classic definition of theology. 

Given your uneven exposure to the Catholic faith, you might assume that Catholics believe some things that, in fact, they do not. To resolve your relationship with the Catholic Church, you will need more information, but first and foremost you will need to experience Catholic worship regularly at Mass with other Catholics. That should help you answer some of your questions and reconsider what until now has been an obstacle to identifying yourself as a Roman Catholic. 

If you have any Catholic friends, you might ask if you can accompany them to Sunday Mass. That should help you realize that you could find a home there—or that your objections are too serious to permit that. 

On Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil (April 19 this year), most parishes will celebrate the Baptism of several adults or the reception into the Catholic Church of people baptized in other Christian communities. This follows months of instruction and discussion about what members of the Catholic Church believe, how they worship, and how they live out their Baptism. 

Are Ghosts Real? 

Some Christians believe that ghosts are real while others deny that. Has the Catholic Church taken a position on this? 

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretations of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers” (2116). 

Any messages received in dreams or ghostly appearances need to be interpreted within biblical teaching. 

No, you haven’t missed a specific passage on this subject. You are, however, correct in saying Jesus rejected the ideas that one human being can own another in the same way that someone can own land, a house, food, or clothing. 

The Bible was written for people and societies that assumed that slavery was inevitable, a fact of life usually caused by nonpayment of debt or defeat in war. Thus, the Hebrews were told to allow their slaves to rest on the Sabbath (Dt 5:14). For example, several New Testament passages assume that some Christians owned slaves: “Obey your human masters” (Eph 6:5a and Col 3:22); masters should be regarded “as worthy of full respect” (1 Tm 6:1); and slaves should accept the authority of their masters “with all reverence” (1 Pt 2:18). 

Christians were to remember that they and their slaves have the same “Master in heaven” (Eph 6:9). Baptism confers a radical equality (Gal 3:28). In God’s eyes, however, that equality existed even before someone was baptized. 

St. Paul wrote to his convert Philemon that he should treat Onesimus—a runaway slave whom Paul baptized and who carried this letter back to Philemon—with dignity. Paul wrote this letter to urge Philemon, a Christian, to receive Onesimus back and now treat him as a brother in Christ. Baptism did not cancel the legal status of Onesimus as a slave, but it certainly did not justify applying the death penalty to runaway slaves—as Roman law then permitted. 

Over the years, some Christians regarded slavery as a consequence of sin and, thus, inevitable. Sometimes it was seen as temporary (until a debt could be paid off) but usually was permanent. Often it was justified on the claim that enslaved people were not truly human. 

William Wilberforce, a devout Anglican and member of Parliament, failed for 20 years to outlaw the international slave trade before he succeeded in 1807. The law, however, required the national government to compensate slave owners for their lost “property.” 

Not surprisingly, many 19th-century Christian slave owners in this country made it illegal to teach their slaves to read or even to be baptized. Too much familiarity with Scripture could be dangerous! 

John L. McKenzie concludes the entry about slavery in his Dictionary of the Bible with these words: “Historically, Christianity has been the only effective destroyer of slavery.” 

Finding Suitable Godparents 

Because of canon law, my son and daughter-in-law are having difficulty finding good godparents for their 4-month-old son. Can they enlist a proxy? Can they have their son baptized in the Episcopal Church? 

Although canon law does not explicitly state if a baptismal sponsor by proxy can be enlisted, it does not prohibit it either. However, the Canon Law Society of America states, “Although the canon [i.e., 872] says nothing about a sponsor’s presence through a proxy, this silence is not to be understood as barring the use of a proxy to stand in for an absent sponsor [at Baptism]” (A New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, page 1061).” By the way, having a male and a female sponsor is customary, but the Catholic Church requires only one sponsor who is Catholic (Code of Canon Law, 873). A second sponsor can be someone baptized in another Christian denomination. 

Is there perhaps some other issue at work here? Don’t your son and daughter-in-law know any Catholics who will accept the responsibility of helping them bring this boy up Catholic? 

What are their intentions for the religious education of this child? Where he is baptized should reflect those intentions. 

Why Is the Bible Biased Against Women? 

In 1 Corinthians 14:34–35, St. Paul writes: “Women should be silent in the churches, for they are not allowed to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home.” 

Also, in 1 Timothy 2:11–15, we read: “A woman must receive instruction silently and under complete control. I do no permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man. She must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. Further, Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed. But she will be saved through motherhood, provided women persevere in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.” 

Why do women have so small a role in God’s plan? Why is all the blame for Adam and Eve’s fall placed on Eve? Why are people baptized into Christ as “priest, prophet, and king?” Why not priestesses, prophetesses, and queens? After all, in the Old Testament, Deborah was one of the prophets! 

These passages clearly reflect the dominant patriarchal culture in which the New Testament arose. Not every aspect of that—or any—culture perfectly reflects God’s intention for the human family. For example, this column’s first question and answer address the issue of slavery among Jews and, later, Christians. Any Scripture passage needs to be read in context: The quotes above from Ephesians and Galatians are as much inspired as the ones from 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy. “Even the devil can quote Scripture,” wrote William Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice. In fact, in Matthew’s Gospel, the tempter accurately quotes Deuteronomy three times, only to have each interpretation later rejected by Jesus (4:1–11). 

The quotation above from 1 Timothy assumes that all women will marry and have children, that this will be their path to salvation. Jesus is the only path to salvation for all males and females. When a woman praised Mary for being Jesus’ mother, he responded that she was more blessed for hearing the word of God and following it (Lk 11:27), something that all Christian men and women can do. 

Some gentiles criticized early Christianity as a religion of women and slaves, society’s two most marginalized groups. Though Christians were sensitive to the accusation that they were socially disruptive (called by some people “enemies of the human race”), they preached a Gospel that was all-inclusive, even if some of its members were slow to admit that. 

Quick Q&As 

Is self-defense a sin? 

No, but it must be proportionate to the danger involved. For example, if an unarmed stranger knocks on your door at home, you would not be justified in automatically shooting him or her through the door. You might not even be justified in shooting that individual at all. A “stand-your-ground” law in your state presumes that you have assessed the danger reasonably and have acted accordingly. 

Why can’t baptized Catholics be baptized again in another Christian Church? 

Baptism is an unrepeatable sacrament even if a person no longer affiliates with the same Christian community as when she or he was baptized.