Catholic Answers Live

Questions Covered:  00:45 – How can Catholics ask Protestants to be in communion with the Pope, when there have been so many schisms?  06:15 – I don’t understand the teaching of no salvation outside the Catholic Church?  15:00 – How do I explain Papal Authority? When should we listen to the Pope?   23:20 – What do Catholics believe are necessary beliefs to be Christian?    29:56 – I struggle with the teaching of Mary’s Virginity based on Matthew 1:24-25?  37:26 – Is Catholic doctrine found in the Bible?  45:33 – I’m confused by the belief in Sacrament of the anointing of the sick? I’ve heard different perspectives on going to Heaven with last rites?  …

Questions Covered: 05:23 – Why do Catholics put so much emphasis on Mary?  12:36 – I struggle with the doctrine of The Real Presence.  20:06 – I don’t understand Mary’s perpetual Virginity after giving birth? Why is this important?  28:45 – Why doesn’t God just annihilate evil?  42:38 – How can the Creed change in the Western church from the original Eastern Church?   45:28 – Can you explain apostolic infallibility? 52:28 – Is there a doctrine on the Afterlife?  …

Questions Covered: 01:52 – Question: What exactly is Paul referring to in Galatians 3:1 when he says Christ was “publicly exhibited/portrayed as crucified”? Is it possible Paul knew of the Shroud of Turin? Or maybe he’s referring to very early iconography of the Crucifixion? 05:30 – In the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5, could it be logically deduced that Peter was exercising the ability to retain sins? 10:28 – If Jesus was born in 3 or 4 BC, and lived to be 33, would it be more accurate to say the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension took place in AD 29 or 30, as opposed to the commonly cited AD 33? 16:25 – Since Mary was preserved from original sin, did she experience sickness? 19:59 – If St. Joseph had children other than Jesus (as some traditions hold) why wouldn’t they be the legal heirs to David’s throne? 23:36 – What is your take on Revelation 6:10? 33:16 – How authoritative are the Pontifical Biblical Commission’s early decrees on traditional authorship (for example in 1914 the PBC declared Paul wrote Hebrews)? Now the PBC is not part of the magisterium, but at the time of these declarations it was. It seems like almost no Catholic scholar nowadays thinks Paul wrote Hebrews, but I don’t understand why the PBC’s earlier declarations are no longer authoritative. (Including supporting Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, supporting Matthean priority, etc) 37:31 – I was talking to a fallen away Catholic. How do you respond when they say Adam had a first wife named Lilith and Eve was his second wife? 40:20 – I understand if a couple divorces legally they’re still married in the eyes of the church. If one wanted to get remarried, they would have to get an annulment from the church, but suppose that marriage produced children. What does the annulment mean for the children of that marriage as far as the church is concerned?? Or another way of putting it: if my parents got annulment from the church, does the church still recognize me as a baptized Catholic? or do I suddenly become a bastard child (for lack of a better term)?? 45:08 – How should we understand Jesus “fulfilling the law”, specifically considering the abandonment of many of the laws of the old covenant? 49:16 – Prior to the fall — Did “Adam and Eve” have Preternatural Gifts if they existed under the Federal Headship Model or the Polygenism Model?  If they did what would have been the morality of Human Beings, with Preternatural Gifts, mating with human like beings without preternatural gifts. …

Questions Covered: 02:01 – At what point do you think pursuing the rights in the second amendment becomes sinful? 08:10 – Are there dinosaurs in the Bible? 12:41 – How does the incarnation not defy divine simplicity? 16:09 – If faith is a grace from God, why does not everyone be given all the grace they need? In the parable of the sower, why isn’t everyone made into good soil, is it simply due to free will that even given all the grace in the world some people for whatever reason would still say no? Thank you for your time, Mr. Akin. 20:05 – With what level of certainty can we say where someone is in the afterlife apart from extraordinary means like canonization. Secondly what are good ways to communicate this appropriate level of certainty to those grieving the loss of someone they love. 29:05 – I travel quite a bit. Missing mass and days of obligation happen unfortunately. Should I seek a dispensation from my pastor? What should my approach be? 34:17 – I understand that the “Law of the Conservation of Mass,” applies to chemical reactions. However, when considering the bodily assumption of our Blessed Mother, and the ascension of Jesus into heaven, how is the Law of the Conservation of Mass applied? I understand that heaven isn’t “somewhere else,” but “somehow else.” Then how is Mass conserved between our physical realm to the spiritual realm where our Lord and Lady exist? 40:25 – How does one justify or condemn the use of nuclear weapons? More specifically how do you weigh the deaths of Japanese children against the potential deaths of American soldiers? (From a Catholic perspective) 48:30 – Would Jesus’ family be considered poor compared to the average family in Nazareth? If so, would that have something to do with not being able to find room at the inn in Bethlehem? 53:03 – I don’t know if this counts as normal or weird, but I’ve started to get into linguistics and I was wondering how we should think of the Tower of Babel story? Thanks! …

Questions Covered:  02:15 – How can I respond to my Orthodox friends who struggle with depicting God the Father in Catholic artwork?  12:00 – How can I respond to questions that Mary Magdalene was an apostle and even wrote a book of the Bible?  19:50 – How does your Catholic faith help during holidays or moments of loneliness during the year?  28:45 – Can you explain why Jesus in the New Testament said things directly when teaching to fulfill the scripture of the Old Testament?  43:06 – I live with a brother who claims to be Pro-life, but doesn’t fully agree with teachings on contraceptives. How can I best explain this to him?  48:51 – Is it okay for a non-Catholic to use Holy Water or have a bottle at home?  50:04 – Is it true that the Pope is infallible when canonizing Saints?  …

Questions Covered:  06:31 – How should Daniel’s final vision be interpreted in the book of Daniel?   13:24 – Is it okay to wait for someone to ask for forgiveness before giving it?  18:06 – What is grace?  28:53 – I read from St. Bernard that Christ has three natures instead of two. Does this align with Catholic teaching?   33:37 – Can horror books and movies be considered demonic?   51:30 – How can I respond to my Orthodox friends who struggle with depicting God the Father in Catholic artwork?  …

Questions Covered: 03:30 – How do I respond to the claim that 1 John 2:18-21 proves that if the faithful leave Christianity, they were never a part of the faith in the first place? 17:10 – Why is there not a list of dogmas? 29:23 – I’ve committed the same mortal sin so much that my confessor questioned my sincerity. Now I just received a blessing. What should I do? 42:40 – Tertullian mentions the word ‘symbol’ when discussing the Eucharist. What would be the Catholic response to this? 51:25 – Regarding your Mary book. Mary and Joseph couldn’t have been religiously married because it would have had to be consummate. What are your thoughts on this? …

Questions Covered:  08:20 – Why can’t a non-Catholic receive communion in a Catholic church? 16:21 – My husband is Muslim but can get around the idea of Jesus as God. How do I explain it to him? 24:55 – I’m on my way to becoming Catholic. How can I better defend a faith that I’m not yet a part of? 31:39 – How can I bring up the topic of Religion/ Catholicism to my friends? 33:57 – How does a Catholic respond to antisemitism? 48:18 – Can you give a general defense of the faith against Mormonism? …

Questions covered: 04:37 – How should I talk with my non-Catholic friends and family as I think about converting myself? 14:28 – The Eucharist seems like magic to me. 21:05 – Some people I know are not Catholic because of the very existence of Satan and the fact that God allowed man to fall. 35:40 – I am a Protestant becoming Catholic, but I do not know how to rebut Sola Fide arguments. 45:02 – I get hung up on intercessory prayers and praying to the saints in general 51:20 – I am Catholic, but I disagree with a lot of orthodox teachings. …

Questions Covered: 08:17 – My friend is not Catholic because popes have been wicked or corrupt. 14:16 – I am not a Catholic but want to learn more. How do I go about doing this? 19:34 – Where can I find Mary’s perpetual virginity in the Bible? I am a lapsed Catholic. 34:50 – Does Joseph have a body and soul in Heaven? 37:40 – I’m not sure if I’m Catholic; if I have a godfather, does that mean that I am? 43:04 – To play Devil’s advocate, could all the secular accounts of Jesus be mentions of Christian texts and not Christ himself? …

Questions Covered: 02:53 – Why can anybody baptize but only priests can consecrate the Eucharist? 07:57 – What is a good answer to: why is there a physical dimension to the catholic faith, like blessing ourselves and kneeling? 13:30 – Why do we refer to Christ as the Son of Man? 19:07 – What does it mean to love God if he neither gains or loses anything? 22:22 – Did Jesus have brothers and sisters? 30:26 – What do you say to the claim that God is not all powerful because he can make a rock so big that he can’t lift it? 36:14 – Why do we venerate the relics of the saints when we have the eucharist? 46:35 – Why can’t we take the eucharist home with us? 51:47 – Why didn’t Jesus want the demons to reveal who he was when he was exorcizing them? …

Questions Covered: 11:51 – Why do Catholics pray for the intercession of Saints? When did that start? 18:45 – Why do Catholics hold tradition equal to the bible? 23:42 – Why does the Church not have greater clarity on the language of devotion that might be stumbling blocks for Protestants? 34:28 – Why do Catholics believe in transubstantiation instead of consubstantiation? 42:12 – Could baptism of desire be effective for someone who had an invalid baptism? 45:05 – How do we prove that Once Saved Always Saved isn’t biblical? 52:09 – What can humans do that angels can’t do? …

Questions covered: 33:00 – How do I keep myself from burning out from Exodus90? 37:48 – How are the Exodus readings and reflections similar or different from previous years? I have the book; will it be the same as the app’s readings and reflections? 46:13 Is there a version of Exodus90 for women? …

Questions covered: 21:23 – What other Christians besides Catholics, if any, profess the Nicene Creed and why? 35:10 – Where does the Catholic teaching of the Assumption come from? 42:00 – Please explain the differences and history of the Nicene Creed, the Apostles’ Creed, and Athanasian Creed. 49:15 – Is there any debate on the translation from the original Greek text of the Nicene Creed? 51:20 – Is it okay for me to add words to the Nicene Creed in private? …