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Q: Should Catholic parents force their children to be confirmed against their will?
A: No, they should not force their children to be confirmed. Although confirmation can be validly received by infants, as is done in Eastern Catholic churches, when the person to receive the sacrament is old enough to make his own decision, he should be allowed to decide for himself whether or not he will receive it. Canon law states:
Apart from the danger of death, to receive confirmation lawfully a person who has the use of reason must be suitably instructed, properly disposed, and able to renew the baptismal promises (CIC 889).
If a child is unwilling to receive confirmation, he is not properly disposed and cannot lawfully receive confirmation.
Q&A from Catholic Answers, "Quick 5" (San Diego: Catholic Answers, 2001)
Apart from the danger of death, to receive confirmation lawfully a person who has the use of reason must be suitably instructed, properly disposed, and able to renew the baptismal promises (CIC 889).
If a child is unwilling to receive confirmation, he is not properly disposed and cannot lawfully receive confirmation.
Q&A from Catholic Answers, "Quick 5" (San Diego: Catholic Answers, 2001)
Q: If God created everything, then didn't he create hell, too? If he created hell, then is hell good, since everything God created was good?
A: Hell is primarily an eternal state of separation between God and those creatures-angels and humans-who have permanently chosen to reject him. God created free will, which is good, but hell is the result of the abuse of free will. God did not create hell; he only allowed for its possibility. Thus it cannot be said that hell is good.
Q&A from Catholic Answers, "Quick 5" (San Diego: Catholic Answers, 2001)
Q&A from Catholic Answers, "Quick 5" (San Diego: Catholic Answers, 2001)
Q: Is the power of your prayers lost or diminished if your mind wanders while praying?
A: The more fully we give attention to prayer, the more we are praying. But it is good to remember that praying lies in the will. The will to pray is a prayer in itself. Certainly it is wrong to deliberately encourage distractions while at prayer. But unwanted distractions do not take away the value of prayer. Mother Teresa's sisters pray the rosary as they walk down busy city streets. They are certainly distracted by the need to navigate, but a part of them is still in prayer.
Q&A from Catholic Answers, "Quick 5" (San Diego: Catholic Answers, 2001)
Q&A from Catholic Answers, "Quick 5" (San Diego: Catholic Answers, 2001)
Q: Did Judas go to hell?
A: Jesus said, "Woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born" (Matt. 26:24). While this statement implies that Judas's final destination was hell, it cannot be known whether or not he repented of his sins before his death, and so it cannot be said with certainty that he is in hell.
Q&A from Catholic Answers, "Quick 5" (San Diego: Catholic Answers, 2001)
Q&A from Catholic Answers, "Quick 5" (San Diego: Catholic Answers, 2001)
Q: Can a soul be delivered from hell through our prayers?
A: Like heaven, hell is an eternal state, so prayers cannot help the souls there. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire." The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs. (CCC 1035)
Since souls in heaven also have no need for our prayers, only those in purgatory are helped by prayers for the dead.
Q&A from Catholic Answers, "Quick 5" (San Diego: Catholic Answers, 2001)
The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire." The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs. (CCC 1035)
Since souls in heaven also have no need for our prayers, only those in purgatory are helped by prayers for the dead.
Q&A from Catholic Answers, "Quick 5" (San Diego: Catholic Answers, 2001)