Catholic Replies
Q. In a recent column, you quoted paragraph 437 of the Catechism as saying that “God called Joseph ‘to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit’.” The Catechism is wrong, for in Matt. 1:20 it says, “take Mary your wife.” The wording “as your wife” insinuates that Mary wasn’t married. I have over the years corrected Christians and Catholics, and even a priest, on this matter. Why does the word “as” appear in the Catechism when it is not in the New American Bible, the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, or the Douay-Rheims Bible? — D.P., New Jersey.
A. We don’t know, but we thank you for pointing out this discrepancy. Further proof that Mary was already married when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her was that Joseph had later decided to “divorce her quietly.” How can you divorce someone unless you are married to them? Furthermore, Matthew says that “Mary was betrothed to Joseph” (1:18), and we know that betrothal, according to Jewish law, was the ceremony that united a couple in marriage.
Q. Can you give me some information about the Apostolic Blessing? What is it and what are the exact words? — A.M., Massachusetts.
A. Once the Sacrament of Penance has been given to a dying person, says the Pastoral Care of the Sick (n. 201), “the priest may give the Apostolic Pardon for the dying, using one of the following:
“Through the holy mysteries of our redemption, may almighty God release you from all punishments in this life and in the life to come. May He open to you the gates of paradise and welcome you to everlasting joy. Amen.”
“By the authority which the Apostolic See has given me, I grant you a full pardon and the remission of all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
Here are the conditions that are spelled out in the Handbook of Indulgences (n. 28):
“Priests who minister the sacraments to the Christian faithful who are in a life-and-death situation should not neglect to impart to them the Apostolic Blessing, with its attached indulgence. But if a priest cannot be present, Holy Mother Church lovingly grants such persons who are rightly disposed a plenary indulgence to be obtained in articulo mortis, at the approach of death, provided they regularly prayed in some way during their lifetime. The use of a crucifix or a cross is recommended in obtaining this plenary indulgence.
“In such a situation, the three usual conditions required in order to gain a plenary indulgence [freedom from all attachment to sin, performance of an indulgenced work, sacramental Confession and Eucharistic Communion] are substituted for by the condition ‘provided they regularly prayed in some way’.”
Q. I know some people that you would consider good persons on the whole, yet they display “Pride” signs on their lawns and take their children to “Drag Queen” shows. Are they ignorant of what this movement is all about? — T.L.H., via e-mail.
A. Possibly, if they see only left-wing TV and print media. But wouldn’t you think that even the brainwashed would have some qualms about exposing children to the obscene gyrations of men dressed up as women? Have they not heard the cries at their parades, “We’re here, we’re queer. We’re coming for your children”? Then again, when they see the president of the United States throwing a party on the White House lawn for these morally challenged individuals, they must fear that objecting to this blatant immorality would make them a target of these extremists and of the government that supports them.
Another factor is the creeping acceptance and normalization of depravity. Ten years ago, most people were opposed to same-sex “marriage,” but the numbers have shrunk dramatically since the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision in 2015 that legalized what no previous civilization had ever even dreamed of approving. Or consider the change in Hallmark movies, once a reliable promoter of traditional family values, as they introduce newer films that gradually portray same-sex situations as normal and acceptable.
How many of these movies do people have to watch before they become desensitized to scenes that once would have revolted them? It reminds us of Alexander Pope’s famous quote: “Vice is a monster of so frightful mien / As to be hated needs but to be seen; / Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, / We first endure, then pity, then embrace.”
Historians of the future are going to look back on this century with astonishment that people could believe so many things that are so obviously false. For example, that men can become women and women can become men. Or that the genital mutilation of children could be called “gender-affirming care.” Or that the most bizarre sexual behavior — behavior that all religions and all civilizations from the beginning of time considered to be wrong and sinful — could be celebrated with “pride” parades and “pride” months.
The choice of the word “pride” is actually quite appropriate since pride is the deadliest of the seven deadly sins. It was the sin of Adam and Eve who, at the tempting of Satan, chose to disobey God and become “like gods who know what is good and what is bad” (Gen. 3:5). And so there are people today acting “like gods” by proudly disobeying God’s plan for marriage and sexuality and forcing others to accept this false agenda.
A movement that started out seeking only “tolerance” for its lifestyle now demands conformity or you will be mocked, persecuted, fired from a job, or even killed, as were three adults and three children at a Christian school in Tennessee by a transgender fanatic. Many people do not agree with the LGBTQ agenda, but they are afraid to speak out because of the consequences. When this sinful agenda is being promoted by the president of the United States and other political figures, as well as by the media, big corporations, colleges and universities, Hollywood and TV entertainers, and major sports leagues, it takes a lot of courage to defend the truth.
If you try to defend God’s plan, you will be told that same-sex activity is just people showing their love for each other. But isn’t real love supposed to be kind and considerate and solicitous of the well-being of another person? How is it loving to use another person for one’s own pleasure? We are supposed to help others get to Heaven, not encourage them to engage in behavior that separates them from God and puts them on the road to Hell.
We are fed the lie that if we don’t allow children to take puberty blockers or to undergo sexual mutilation, they will commit suicide.
“Would you rather have a dead daughter or a live son?” parents are asked by ethically challenged doctors who stand to make a lot of money by performing these surgeries. The truth is that suicide, along with feelings of loneliness and social isolation, are much greater problems in the years after these surgeries when young people come to the realization that they made a horrific, life-altering mistake. It is heartbreaking to read the testimonies of young men and women who profoundly regret the choice they made.
It is a fact, by the way, that more than 80 percent of sexually confused children are very comfortable with their biological sex by the time they reach age 18.
So, what can we do? Difficult though it may be, Jesus tells us to “love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). Thus, we pray constantly for those seeking to overturn God’s plan and we ask God for the courage to present His truth with love. We know that He will triumph in the end because “pride goes before disaster, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).
