Questions about the faith, answered

The Church teaches that we can come to know God’s existence with certainty by the natural light of human reason, by reflecting on the world He made and on the human person (Catechism 36). Everything around us is changing and dependent, and could have been otherwise. Things like that point beyond themselves to a cause that simply is: a source of all being that depends on nothing else. The beauty and order of the universe, our hunger for truth and goodness, and the voice of conscience all point the same way (Catechism 31–34).

These “ways” to God are not lab proofs like those in chemistry. They are converging arguments that make faith reasonable. But God does not want to be only the conclusion of an argument. He wants to be known and loved, so He has revealed Himself, above all in Jesus Christ (Catechism 50–51).

“Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.” (Romans 1:20)

Read more: Romans 1:19–20; Wisdom 13:1–9; Psalm 19:1; Catechism 31–36, 50

Nobody did, and that is the point. Everything we see begins to exist and depends on something else, so it needs a cause. But God did not begin. He is not one more thing inside the universe. He is Being itself, the uncaused source of everything that is. When Moses asked His name, God answered, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14; Catechism 212–213).

A chain of causes that depend on other causes cannot go back forever with nothing at the start. Something has to exist on its own, without needing a cause. That is what Christians mean by God: “from everlasting to everlasting thou art God” (Psalm 90:2). Asking who made God is like asking who painted the painter’s first color. The question doesn’t apply to the One who has no beginning.

Read more: Exodus 3:13–15; Psalm 90:2; Revelation 22:13; Catechism 31–35, 212–213

Not because He was lonely or needed anything. God, who is perfect love within the Trinity, created “in a plan of sheer goodness,” to share His own blessed life with us (Catechism 1). The world exists to show His goodness and glory, and as St. Irenaeus put it, “the glory of God is man fully alive” (Catechism 293–294).

The old Baltimore Catechism summed it up simply: God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next. Of all visible creatures, only the human person can know and love the Creator (Catechism 356–358). That is why St. Augustine prayed, “our heart is restless until it rests in you” (Confessions 1.1; Catechism 30).

Read more: Genesis 1:26–31; Isaiah 43:7; Ephesians 1:3–6; Catechism 1, 27, 293–295, 356–358

This is one of the hardest and most honest questions anyone can ask, and the Church does not answer it with a slogan. The Catechism admits that no quick answer will do. The answer is the whole of the Christian faith: creation, the gift of freedom, the Fall, and above all the Cross and Resurrection (Catechism 309).

God made a world that is still “in a state of journeying” toward its ultimate perfection, and He made angels and humans truly free, because love has to be freely given. Moral evil comes from creatures misusing that freedom, not from God (Catechism 302, 310–311). And God, who never wills evil, is powerful enough to bring good out of it. Joseph told the brothers who sold him into slavery, “you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20). The greatest evil ever done, the murder of the innocent Son of God, became the salvation of the world (Catechism 312).

God did not stay far from our suffering. In Jesus He entered into it, and He promises a day when “he will wipe away every tear” (Revelation 21:4). If you are suffering right now, you are not alone. Bring it to Him, and to a priest or a trusted friend.

Read more: Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28; Revelation 21:3–4; Catechism 309–314, 324

No. The Church teaches that faith and reason come from the same God, so real science and true faith can never truly contradict each other (Catechism 159). Science asks how the physical world works. Faith asks why there is anything at all, and what our lives are for. St. John Paul II compared faith and reason to “two wings” that lift the human spirit toward truth (Fides et Ratio, opening line).

The Church has a long history of supporting science. Catholic universities grew out of the medieval Church. Fr. Georges Lemaître, a Belgian priest, first proposed the theory now called the Big Bang, and Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian priest and later abbot, laid the foundations of modern genetics. The Vatican runs its own astronomical observatory to this day.

When the two seem to clash, it usually means one side has stepped outside its field, or we have misread Scripture, which was not written to be a science textbook (Catechism 283–284, 337).

Read more: Psalm 19:1; Catechism 159, 283–284; St. John Paul II, Fides et Ratio (1998)

Yes, within limits that protect what faith teaches. The Church has no quarrel with real scientific study of how living things developed over time. In 1950 Pope Pius XII taught that Catholics may study the evolution of the human body, provided they hold that each human soul is created directly by God (Humani Generis 36; Catechism 366). In 1996 St. John Paul II noted that new knowledge had led to recognizing the theory of evolution as “more than a hypothesis,” while rejecting theories that treat the human spirit as a mere product of matter (Message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, October 22, 1996, nos. 4–5).

What Catholics cannot accept is evolutionism, the philosophical claim that everything is the product of blind chance with no Creator and no purpose. Science describes processes. It cannot explain why anything exists at all, or why the universe is orderly enough to be studied (Catechism 284–286).

Genesis is true, but it teaches in its own way. It tells us that God made everything good, that humans bear His image, and that sin entered through a real choice of our first parents at the beginning of history. It is not a lab report on how (Catechism 337, 362, 390).

Read more: Genesis 1–2; Psalm 104:24; Catechism 159, 283–286, 337, 362–366, 390; Pius XII, Humani Generis (1950)

Original sin is the wound that all of us inherit from the first sin of our first parents (Genesis 3). It is not a personal sin that we committed. It is a sin “contracted” and not “committed,” “a state and not an act” (Catechism 404). We are born without the holiness and friendship with God that He intended for humanity, and with a nature inclined toward sin (Romans 5:12, 19).

Catholic teaching is realistic but not gloomy. Human nature is wounded, not totally corrupted. We can still know truth and choose good, but we struggle, and that struggle is called concupiscence (Catechism 405). Baptism washes away original sin and gives us God’s life, though the inclination to sin remains as a battle to fight with His grace (Catechism 1264). “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20).

Read more: Genesis 3; Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12–21; 1 Corinthians 15:21–22; Catechism 397–398, 402–406

Yes. The existence of angels is a truth of faith, clearly taught in Scripture and Tradition (Catechism 328). Angels are purely spiritual, personal, and immortal creatures with intelligence and will, created by God to glorify Him and to serve His plan of salvation (Catechism 329–331; Hebrews 1:14). Scripture is full of them: Gabriel at the Annunciation (Luke 1:26), the angels at Bethlehem and the empty tomb, and Raphael in the Book of Tobit.

Jesus said of little children that “their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). The Church teaches that “beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life,” quoting St. Basil (Catechism 336). The Church celebrates the Guardian Angels on October 2.

One common mix-up: people do not become angels when they die. Angels and humans are different kinds of creatures. The saints in heaven remain fully human.

Read more: Psalm 91:11–12; Matthew 18:10; Luke 1:26–38; Hebrews 1:14; Tobit 12:15; Catechism 328–336

Yes. The Church teaches that Satan is a fallen angel, created good by God but who freely and permanently rejected Him (Catechism 391–393). Jesus spoke of him as a real person, “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44), and was tempted by him in the desert (Matthew 4:1–11). St. Peter warns, “your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8).

But the devil is a creature, not God’s equal. His power is real but limited, and it cannot stop God’s plan (Catechism 395). “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Christians do not need to live in fear. We resist him with prayer, the sacraments, and Scripture, and we stay away from the occult, such as fortune-telling, Ouija boards, and spells (Catechism 2116–2117). Christ has already won.

Read more: Matthew 4:1–11; John 8:44; Ephesians 6:10–18; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8–9; 1 John 3:8; Revelation 12:7–12; Catechism 391–395, 2116–2117

The Church speaks carefully here. With the Jewish people, Christians share a unique bond. They were the first to hear God’s word, and “the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29; Catechism 839). Jesus, Mary, and the apostles were all Jews, and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God Jesus called Father.

Of Muslims, the Second Vatican Council said that they “profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God” (Catechism 841; Lumen Gentium 16). At the same time there are real and important differences. Christians believe God has revealed Himself fully in Jesus Christ, His divine Son, and as a Trinity of Persons. Jews and Muslims do not accept that.

So Catholics respect what is true and holy in these faiths, seek friendship and dialogue, and also joyfully share the good news of Jesus Christ (Catechism 843, 849–851).

Read more: Genesis 12:1–3; John 4:22; Acts 17:22–31; Romans 9:4–5; Romans 11:28–29; Catechism 839–843; Nostra Aetate 3–4

Yes. Almost all historians who study the period, including many who are not believers, agree that Jesus of Nazareth was a real Jewish teacher who was crucified under Pontius Pilate. Besides the four Gospels and St. Paul’s letters, which were written within living memory of Jesus, non-Christian writers mention Him too.

The Roman historian Tacitus writes that “Christus” was executed by Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius (Annals 15.44). The Jewish historian Josephus refers to Jesus, and to James as “the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ” (Antiquities 18 and 20). Pliny the Younger describes early Christians gathering to sing hymns “to Christ as to a god” (Letters 10.96).

The real question is not whether Jesus lived, but who He is.

Read more: Luke 1:1–4; 1 Corinthians 15:3–8; Catechism 423

The Church “unhesitatingly asserts” the historical character of the four Gospels (Dei Verbum 19). Luke begins by telling us he carefully investigated eyewitness accounts (Luke 1:1–4). John insists, “He who saw it has borne witness” (John 19:35), and Peter writes, “we did not follow cleverly devised myths” (2 Peter 1:16).

The Gospels were written within living memory of Jesus, roughly a few decades after the Resurrection. Paul’s letters are even earlier. The New Testament is preserved in thousands of ancient manuscripts, far more than any other ancient text. The small differences between the Gospels are what you would expect from independent witnesses, not from a story made up together.

The Catechism describes three stages: what Jesus actually did and taught, the apostles’ preaching of it, and the inspired writing of the Gospels (Catechism 126).

Read more: Luke 1:1–4; John 19:35; John 20:30–31; 2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1–3; Catechism 124–127; Dei Verbum 18–19

Catholics believe Jesus is the eternal Son of God made man: true God and true man, one divine Person with two natures (Catechism 464–469). John’s Gospel opens, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” and “the Word became flesh” (John 1:1, 14).

Jesus said and did things no mere teacher could. He forgave sins in His own name (Mark 2:5–7). He took the divine name for Himself: “before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). He accepted Thomas’ worship, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). A man who claims all that is either deceived, deceiving, or telling the truth. “Just a good teacher” is the one option His own words leave out.

Read more: John 1:1–14; John 8:58; John 20:28; Philippians 2:5–11; Colossians 2:9; Catechism 454, 464–469

Yes, Jesus is truly man as well as truly God. He has a real human body, a human soul, a human mind, and a human will (Catechism 470–475). He was born, grew “in wisdom and in stature” (Luke 2:52), got tired (John 4:6), wept at His friend’s grave (John 11:35), and is “one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning” (Hebrews 4:15).

His human knowledge was real and could grow, as any human’s does (Catechism 472). But because He is the divine Son, His human mind also knew the Father intimately and could read hearts (Catechism 473). When He said that no one knows the day or hour of the end, not even the Son (Mark 13:32), the Church explains that this was something He had not been sent to reveal (Catechism 474; Acts 1:7).

Read more: Luke 2:40–52; John 4:6; John 11:35; Philippians 2:7; Hebrews 2:17; Hebrews 4:15; Catechism 470–474

Yes. Both Matthew and Luke teach that Mary conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, without a human father (Matthew 1:18–25; Luke 1:26–38). When Mary asked, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” the angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:34–35). Matthew sees it as fulfilling Isaiah 7:14 (Matthew 1:22–23).

The Church has professed this from the beginning. It is in the Apostles’ Creed, and St. Ignatius of Antioch affirmed it around AD 110 (Catechism 496–498). It is a sign that Jesus’ origin is from God. He is not a man who became divine, but the eternal Son who became man, the beginning of a new creation (Catechism 503–505). For the God who made the universe, this is not too hard (Luke 1:37).

Read more: Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18–25; Luke 1:26–38; Galatians 4:4; Catechism 484–486, 496–498, 503–505

Yes. On Easter Sunday the risen Jesus, “beginning with Moses and all the prophets,” explained to two disciples “the things concerning himself” in all the Scriptures (Luke 24:27). Isaiah 53 describes a servant “wounded for our transgressions” who bears the sins of many. Micah 5:2 names Bethlehem as the ruler’s birthplace (Matthew 2:5–6). Zechariah 9:9 foresees a king coming humbly on a donkey (Matthew 21:5). Psalm 22, which Jesus prayed on the Cross (Mark 15:34), speaks of mocking, pierced hands and feet (in many translations), and casting lots for clothing (John 19:24).

Beyond individual predictions, the whole Old Testament points to Christ through “types”: the Passover lamb, the manna, the Temple, and the covenant. As St. Augustine said, the New Testament lies hidden in the Old, and the Old is made clear in the New (Catechism 128–130).

Read more: Psalm 22; Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 52:13–53:12; Micah 5:2; Zechariah 9:9; Luke 24:25–27, 44–47; Catechism 128–130, 601

Because of love, and because of our sin. “God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus came “to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Sin is a real break with God that we cannot repair on our own. On the Cross, the Son offered His perfect love and obedience in our place, healing what our disobedience broke (Catechism 601, 614–615).

This is not a picture of an angry Father punishing an unwilling Son. The Father “did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all” (Romans 8:32), and the Son freely gave Himself: “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18; Catechism 604–609). The Cross shows how serious sin is, and how much greater God’s love is. “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

Read more: Isaiah 53:4–6; Mark 10:45; John 10:17–18; John 15:13; Romans 5:6–11; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24; Catechism 601–609, 613–615

Here “hell” means the realm of the dead, called Sheol in Hebrew and Hades in Greek, not the hell of the damned (Catechism 633). After His death, Jesus truly experienced death as all humans do, and in His soul He went to the dead. He went not to suffer but as Savior, to bring the good news to the just who had died before Him, such as Abraham, Moses, and David, and to open heaven to them (Catechism 632–635).

St. Peter writes that Christ “went and preached to the spirits in prison” and that “the gospel was preached even to the dead” (1 Peter 3:19; 4:6). An ancient Holy Saturday homily, still read by the Church, imagines Christ taking Adam by the hand and saying, “Awake, O sleeper.” No corner of death is beyond His reach.

Read more: Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:24–31; Ephesians 4:8–10; 1 Peter 3:18–20; 1 Peter 4:6; Catechism 632–635

The Church teaches that the Resurrection is a real, historical event with evidence behind it, and also a mystery that goes beyond history (Catechism 639, 647). St. Paul is blunt about how much depends on it: “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14).

Consider the evidence. The tomb was found empty, and women, whose testimony counted for little in that culture, were the first witnesses (Catechism 640–641). Around AD 56 Paul passed on a list he had himself received much earlier, of people who had seen the risen Jesus, “most of whom are still alive” (1 Corinthians 15:3–6; Catechism 639). Frightened disciples who had run away became bold witnesses (Catechism 642–643), and according to early tradition many of them died as martyrs rather than deny what they had seen.

The Resurrection means death does not get the last word, for Jesus or for those who belong to Him.

Read more: Matthew 28; Luke 24; John 20–21; 1 Corinthians 15:3–20; Catechism 639–644, 651–655

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). The apostles preached that “there is salvation in no one else” (Acts 4:12). Catholics believe that Jesus is not one wise teacher among many. He is the one Savior of the whole human race.

That does not mean everyone who has never really heard of Jesus is lost. Everyone who is saved is saved through Christ, even if they do not yet know His name. The Church teaches that the Holy Spirit offers every person a way, known to God, to share in Christ’s saving death and resurrection (Catechism 1260; see 847–848). The Church also respects whatever is true and holy in other religions, as a preparation for the Gospel (Catechism 843).

This is exactly why Christians share the Gospel: everyone deserves to know the One who is the Way. See also “Is the Catholic Church the one true Church?”

Read more: John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Acts 17:22–31; Romans 2:14–16; 1 Timothy 2:3–6; Catechism 843–848, 1260

Jesus gave Simon a new name, Cephas in Aramaic, Petros in Greek, meaning “rock” (John 1:42). Then He said: “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 16:18–19).

The keys recall Isaiah 22:22, where the king’s chief steward receives the keys of the house and governs in the king’s name, an office passed on to successors. Jesus also prays that Peter’s faith will not fail and tells him to “strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:32), and after the Resurrection He three times charges him to feed and tend His lambs and sheep: “Feed my lambs,” “Tend my sheep,” “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15–17).

Catholics believe this shepherding role continues in the Bishop of Rome, the pope, who is the successor of Peter (Catechism 552–553, 881–882). Christ is always the Church’s foundation. Peter is the rock that Christ Himself chose to build on.

Read more: Isaiah 22:20–22; Matthew 16:13–19; Luke 22:31–32; John 1:42; John 21:15–17; Catechism 552–553, 880–882

No. Papal infallibility is much narrower than many people think. It does not mean the pope is sinless, and it does not cover his personal opinions, interviews, or decisions about practical matters. Popes go to Confession like everyone else.

Infallibility means the Holy Spirit protects the Church from teaching error when the pope, as shepherd of all the faithful, definitively proclaims a doctrine of faith or morals (speaking ex cathedra), or when the bishops in union with him teach definitively, as at an ecumenical council (Catechism 889–891). It follows from Christ’s promise that the Spirit would guide His Church “into all the truth” (John 16:13).

Solemn papal definitions are actually rare. Two clear examples are the Immaculate Conception (1854) and the Assumption of Mary (1950).

Read more: Matthew 16:18; Luke 22:32; John 14:26; John 16:13; 1 Timothy 3:15; Catechism 888–892

Apostolic succession means that the bishops of the Catholic Church are the successors of the apostles, in an unbroken line handed on through the laying on of hands (Catechism 77, 861–862). We see it begin in Scripture itself. The apostles choose Matthias to take Judas’ “office” (Acts 1:20–26), Paul tells Timothy to entrust what he received to faithful men “who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2), and Titus is told to appoint elders in every town (Titus 1:5).

The earliest Christian writers point to it as a sign of the true Church. Around AD 96, St. Clement of Rome wrote that the apostles appointed successors and arranged for others to follow them. Around 180, St. Irenaeus listed the bishops of Rome back to Peter and Paul to show that the apostles’ teaching had been faithfully passed down (Against Heresies 3.3).

Read more: Acts 1:15–26; Acts 14:23; 2 Timothy 2:2; Titus 1:5; Catechism 77, 857–862

Because Christ gave His Church a structure from the beginning. He chose the Twelve, with Peter at their head (Mark 3:14–16), and sent them with His authority (Matthew 10:40; John 20:21). The apostles in turn appointed leaders. They chose deacons (Acts 6:1–6), appointed elders in every church (Acts 14:23), and wrote about the qualities of bishops and deacons (Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1–13). By about AD 110, St. Ignatius of Antioch describes each local church gathered around its bishop, with priests and deacons (Catechism 1554).

In the Church, authority is meant to be service. Jesus said, “whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (Mark 10:43), and bishops are to govern as servants (Catechism 874–879, 894–896). Since Pope St. Gregory the Great (590–604), popes have used the title “Servant of the servants of God” (Servus servorum Dei). Every baptized person, ordained or not, shares in Christ’s mission, and the laity are called to holiness and to bring Christ into the world (Catechism 897–913).

Read more: Mark 3:13–19; Mark 10:42–45; Acts 6:1–6; Acts 14:23; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–9; Catechism 874–879, 894–896, 1554

Jesus founded one Church (Matthew 16:18) and prayed that His followers would “all be one” (John 17:21). Catholics believe that this one Church of Christ “subsists in” the Catholic Church, which has kept the fullness of the means of salvation handed down from the apostles (Catechism 816, 830; Lumen Gentium 8).

That does not mean other Christians are outsiders to God. Baptized Christians who are not Catholic are truly our brothers and sisters in Christ, in real though imperfect communion with the Catholic Church. Much that is holy and true is found in their communities, and the Holy Spirit works through them (Catechism 817–819, 838). People born into those communities are not blamed for the divisions of the past (Catechism 818).

The old saying “outside the Church there is no salvation” means that all salvation comes from Christ through His Church. It does not mean that God condemns people who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ or His Church but sincerely seek God and follow their conscience (Catechism 846–848). The same passage adds that those could not be saved who, “knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it” (Catechism 846). God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). We leave judgment to Him, and we share the fullness of the faith with joy.

Read more: Matthew 16:18; John 10:16; John 17:20–23; Ephesians 4:4–6; 1 Timothy 2:4; Catechism 816–819, 838, 846–848

The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) was a gathering of the world’s bishops, opened by St. John XXIII and closed by St. Paul VI. It was the twenty-first ecumenical council. It produced sixteen documents, including major teachings on the Church (Lumen Gentium), divine revelation (Dei Verbum), the liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium), and the Church in the modern world (Gaudium et Spes).

The Council did not change the Church’s doctrines. It sought to present the same faith in a fresh way for the modern world. It allowed much wider use of local languages at Mass while keeping Latin (Sacrosanctum Concilium 36, 54), stressed the “universal call to holiness” for every Christian (Lumen Gentium 40), encouraged Bible reading, and called for dialogue with other Christians and other religions. Popes since then have urged that it be read in continuity with the Church’s whole Tradition.

Read more: Acts 15:6–29; Matthew 5:48; Catechism 884, 1203–1206, 2013–2014; Lumen Gentium 39–42

No. The Church was already almost 300 years old when Constantine became emperor, and it had grown under waves of persecution. Around AD 110, St. Ignatius of Antioch was already writing of “the Catholic Church” and describing bishops, priests, deacons, and the Eucharist (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8). By the 100s and 200s Christians were baptizing, celebrating Sunday Eucharist, and honoring the martyrs.

What Constantine did was help end the persecution. Emperor Galerius had already issued an edict of toleration in 311, and the Edict of Milan (313), agreed by Constantine and Licinius, granted full freedom of worship and returned confiscated Church property. He called the Council of Nicaea (325), but the bishops there decided the question about Christ’s divinity, and the council did not create the Bible or invent new doctrines. Christianity did not become the empire’s official religion until Emperor Theodosius in 380.

Read more: Acts 2:42; Acts 11:26; St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8; Catechism 750, 830

These charges became popular in the bitter polemics of the 1500s, and many Protestant Christians today reject them too. Scripture describes the spirit of antichrist as denying the Father and the Son and denying that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (1 John 2:22; 4:2–3). Every pope has publicly confessed the opposite: that Jesus is the eternal Son of God made flesh, as taught in the Creed.

The “Babylon” of Revelation 17 is “drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Revelation 17:6). Many scholars, Catholic and Protestant, see this as a picture of pagan imperial Rome, the power that had already put Peter and Paul to death under Nero and was persecuting Christians when John wrote. The Church in Rome was among the persecuted, not the persecutor. As for “666,” the Latin phrase sometimes used to make the numbers add up (Vicarius Filii Dei) is not one of the pope’s official titles. The official one is “Vicar of Jesus Christ.”

The Church does teach that before Christ returns there will be a final trial and deception, and she urges us to stay faithful and watchful (Catechism 675–677). Questions like this go best with patience and charity on both sides.

Read more: 1 John 2:18–22; 1 John 4:2–3; Revelation 17; Catechism 675–677

This question deserves honesty, not excuses. Catholics, including popes, bishops, and priests, have committed real and sometimes terrible sins. The Church teaches that she is “at once holy and always in need of purification,” and that all her members, including her ministers, must admit they are sinners (Catechism 827). In the year 2000, St. John Paul II publicly asked God’s forgiveness for sins committed by Christians through history, including violence used in the service of truth.

The sexual abuse of minors by clergy, and the failure of some bishops to act, is a grave evil and a betrayal of Christ. Jesus spoke His sternest words about those who harm little ones (Matthew 18:6). Since 2002, under the U.S. bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, dioceses report allegations to civil authorities, screen and train those who work with children, and offer help to survivors. If you have been harmed, please contact the police and your diocese’s victim assistance coordinator. You deserve to be heard and supported.

History also calls for care. The Crusades and the Inquisition are often exaggerated in popular retellings, and responsible historians study them in their real context. But sin among Christians does not cancel the truth of Christ. One of the Twelve betrayed Him. The Church is holy because Christ, her head, is holy and gives her the sacraments, the saints, and the Gospel (Catechism 823–827). The scandals call each of us to repentance and holiness.

Read more: Matthew 13:24–30; Matthew 18:6; 1 John 1:8–9; Ephesians 5:25–27; Catechism 823–827; Lumen Gentium 8

Much of what looks like “wealth” is churches, art, and historic buildings that are not for sale and are held in trust for everyone. Anyone can walk into St. Peter’s Basilica or a cathedral for free. Selling them would provide funds once, and they would be lost forever to the poor who also have a right to beauty. When a woman poured costly ointment on Jesus and some complained it should have been sold for the poor, Jesus defended her: “She has done a beautiful thing to me” (Mark 14:3–9).

At the same time, the Church is one of the largest providers of schools, hospitals, orphanages, and charitable care in the world, through parishes, religious orders, Catholic Charities, and Caritas. Love for the poor is not optional for Catholics (Catechism 2443–2449). Jesus warned against storing up treasure on earth (Matthew 6:19–21), and Church leaders are accountable when they fail in this. The question is a healthy challenge for all of us to live simply and give generously.

Read more: Matthew 6:19–21; Matthew 25:31–46; Mark 14:3–9; Acts 4:32–35; James 2:14–17; Catechism 2402–2406, 2443–2449

The sacraments are “efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us” (Catechism 1131). In other words, sacraments are visible signs that actually do what they signify, because Christ Himself acts in them (Catechism 1127–1128).

There are seven. The sacraments of initiation are Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist. The sacraments of healing are Penance (Confession) and Anointing of the Sick. The sacraments at the service of communion are Holy Orders and Matrimony (Catechism 1210–1211). Each is rooted in the life of Jesus: He commanded Baptism (Matthew 28:19), instituted the Eucharist (Luke 22:19), gave the power to forgive sins (John 20:23), the apostles laid on hands (Acts 8:17) and anointed the sick (Mark 6:13), and St. James tells the elders of the Church to anoint the sick (James 5:14).

Together, the sacraments touch every stage of life, from birth to death. They are how Jesus keeps His promise: “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20).

Read more: Matthew 28:19–20; Luke 22:19–20; John 20:21–23; Acts 8:14–17; Ephesians 5:31–32; James 5:14–15; Catechism 1113–1116, 1127–1131, 1210–1211

Baptism is God’s gift, not a reward we earn, so even a baby can receive it. Grace is free, and a child does not need to understand it first, just as a baby doesn’t earn being born into a family (Catechism 1250). At Pentecost Peter said, “the promise is to you and to your children” (Acts 2:39). Scripture records whole “households” being baptized (Acts 16:15, 33; 1 Corinthians 1:16), and St. Paul links Baptism with circumcision, which in Israel was given to eight-day-old infants (Colossians 2:11–12).

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them” (Mark 10:14). The Church has baptized infants since the earliest centuries (Catechism 1252). Parents and godparents promise to raise the child in the faith, and as the child grows, he or she is helped to make that faith their own (Catechism 1231, 1251, 1254–1255).

Read more: Mark 10:13–16; Acts 2:38–39; Acts 16:15, 33; Colossians 2:11–12; Catechism 1250–1255

Yes. When Jesus told Nicodemus, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5), Christians from the earliest centuries understood Him to be speaking of Baptism. Right after that conversation, John tells us that Jesus and His disciples went out and baptized (John 3:22). St. Paul calls Baptism “the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). So every baptized Catholic has been “born again,” or “born from above,” by water and the Spirit (Catechism 1213, 1215, 1262–1270).

But new birth is a beginning, not the end. Catholics are called to a living, personal relationship with Jesus and to daily conversion. Many Catholics have a powerful moment of turning to Christ later in life, and that is beautiful. It brings to life the grace they first received in Baptism.

Read more: Ezekiel 36:25–27; John 3:1–22; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3–4; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 3:21; Catechism 1213–1215, 1257, 1262–1265

Both are valid. The Church baptizes either by immersing a person in water three times or by pouring water over the head three times, while saying “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Catechism 1239–1240). Immersion shows dying and rising with Christ most vividly (Romans 6:3–4), and many Catholic churches have fonts for it.

Pouring is ancient too. The Didache, written around the end of the first century, says that if there is not enough water to baptize in, you should “pour out water thrice upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit” (Didache 7). In the New Testament, three thousand people were baptized in Jerusalem in a single day (Acts 2:41), and a jailer and his family were baptized at night, at once, before he brought Paul and Silas up into his house (Acts 16:33–34). The words and the water matter most, not the amount.

Read more: Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41; Acts 8:36–38; Acts 16:33; Romans 6:3–4; Catechism 1239–1240

This question touches deep grief, especially for parents who have lost a child through miscarriage or stillbirth. The Church entrusts these little ones to the mercy of God, “who desires that all men should be saved,” and to Jesus’ tenderness toward children: “Let the children come to me” (Mark 10:14). These “allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism” (Catechism 1261).

You may have heard of “limbo.” It was a theological theory, never a defined teaching of the Church, and it remains a possible opinion that Catholics are free to hold or not. In 2007 the International Theological Commission published a study giving serious reasons for hope that such infants are saved. God has tied salvation to Baptism, which is why parents should not delay it, but “he himself is not bound by his sacraments” (Catechism 1257).

If you are grieving a child, please talk to a priest. Church law allows a Catholic funeral for a child whose parents intended to have him or her baptized (Code of Canon Law, can. 1183 §2), and you can entrust your child to God with real hope.

Read more: Psalm 139:13–16; Mark 10:13–16; 1 Timothy 2:4; Catechism 1250, 1257, 1261, 1283

Confirmation completes the grace of Baptism by a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as at Pentecost (Catechism 1285, 1302). We see it in Acts. After Philip baptized people in Samaria, Peter and John came and “laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:14–17; see also Acts 19:5–6; Hebrews 6:2).

The bishop, or a priest he delegates, anoints the forehead with sacred chrism and says, “Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit” (Catechism 1300, 1312–1313). Confirmation roots us more deeply in Christ, increases the gifts of the Spirit, and strengthens us to witness to the faith in word and deed. Like Baptism, it marks the soul permanently and is received only once (Catechism 1303–1305). In the Eastern Churches it is given right after Baptism, even to infants. In the Latin Church it is usually received later in childhood or the teen years (Catechism 1290–1292).

Read more: Isaiah 11:1–3; Acts 2:1–4; Acts 8:14–17; Acts 19:5–6; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22; Hebrews 6:2; Catechism 1285, 1288–1292, 1299–1305, 1312–1314

Only God forgives sins, and that is exactly the point (Catechism 1441). On Easter night the risen Jesus breathed on His apostles and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:22–23). He chose to share His power to forgive with men He sent, and the apostles passed that ministry on (Catechism 1442, 1461). The priest acts in the person of Christ.

Catholics can and should tell God they are sorry at any time. But in Confession you also hear the words “I absolve you,” you are reconciled with the Church your sin has wounded, and you receive grace to start again (Catechism 1422, 1468–1469). Scripture also says “confess your sins to one another” (James 5:16).

What you say in Confession is protected by the absolute “sacramental seal.” A priest can never reveal it, under any circumstances (Catechism 1467).

Read more: John 20:21–23; 2 Corinthians 5:18–20; James 5:16; 1 John 1:9; Catechism 1422–1424, 1440–1445, 1461–1469

St. James writes: “Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man” (James 5:14–15). Jesus’ apostles “anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them” (Mark 6:13). The Church continues this as the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick (Catechism 1510–1513).

It is not only for the moment of death. Anyone in danger because of serious illness or old age can receive it, and it can be repeated, for example before a serious surgery (Catechism 1514–1515). It gives strength, peace, and courage, unites the sick person’s suffering to Christ’s, forgives sins if the person cannot confess, and sometimes brings bodily healing if God wills (Catechism 1520–1523). For the dying, the “last rites” also include Confession and Holy Communion given as Viaticum (from the Latin for provisions for a journey), Christ’s strength for the passage to the Father (Catechism 1524–1525). Don’t wait until the last minute to call a priest.

Read more: Mark 6:12–13; Mark 16:18; James 5:14–16; Catechism 1499, 1510–1516, 1520–1525

God created marriage from the beginning: “a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Jesus restored it to its original permanence (Matthew 19:4–6) and performed His first miracle at a wedding (John 2:1–11; Catechism 1613). St. Paul says marriage is a “great mystery” that refers to Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:31–32). Christian marriage is a living sign of Christ’s faithful, self-giving love for His Bride (Catechism 1601–1617).

In the Latin Church, the bride and groom themselves are the ministers of the sacrament. They give it to each other through their free consent before God and the Church (Catechism 1623, 1626–1627). Catholics normally marry before a priest or deacon and witnesses, because marriage is not only private but a public, ecclesial reality, and the Church wants to protect and bless it (Catechism 1631). The sacrament gives couples grace to love each other as Christ loves, for life (Catechism 1638–1642).

Read more: Genesis 1:27–28; Genesis 2:18–24; Matthew 19:3–9; John 2:1–11; Ephesians 5:21–33; Catechism 1601–1605, 1612–1617, 1623–1631, 1638–1642

No. Jesus taught that marriage is permanent: “What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mark 10:9). The Church cannot dissolve a valid, consummated sacramental marriage. Only death ends it (Catechism 1640, 2382).

A divorce ends the civil, legal side of a marriage. A declaration of nullity, often called an annulment, is something different. After careful investigation, a Church tribunal finds that something essential was missing from the very start, such as true freedom, real consent, or the capacity to marry. That means a valid marriage bond never came into being, even though there was a real wedding (Catechism 1625–1629). It does not erase the relationship, and it does not make the children illegitimate (Code of Canon Law, canon 1137).

Divorced Catholics are not excommunicated, and they belong in the parish. The Church asks the community to surround them with care (Catechism 1651). If this touches your life, a parish priest can walk you through it gently.

Read more: Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:3–9; Mark 10:2–12; 1 Corinthians 7:10–11; Catechism 1625–1629, 1640, 1649–1651, 2382–2386

We are saved by God’s grace, which is a free gift we could never earn (Catechism 1996, 2010). “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Catholics do not believe anyone can earn heaven by piling up good deeds.

But grace really changes us, and saving faith is a living faith that loves. The next verse says we were created “for good works” (Ephesians 2:10). Paul speaks of “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6), and James says “a man is justified by works and not by faith alone,” because “faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:24, 26). Our good works are God’s grace bearing fruit in us, and even our merit is His gift (Catechism 2008–2011).

In 1999 the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation signed a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, confessing together: “By grace alone, in faith in Christ’s saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit” (Joint Declaration 15).

Read more: Ephesians 2:8–10; Galatians 5:6; Philippians 2:12–13; James 2:14–26; Catechism 1987–1992, 1996, 2007–2011

A Catholic can answer with joy: I have been saved (“in this hope we were saved,” Romans 8:24), I am being saved (1 Corinthians 1:18), and I hope to be saved (“he who endures to the end will be saved,” Matthew 10:22). Scripture uses all three.

We can have a confident, real hope, because God is faithful and wants us with Him (1 John 5:13). But Scripture also warns believers not to presume. Paul says to work out your salvation “with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12) and “let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). The Church teaches that we cannot rely on our feelings to prove we are saved. We trust in God’s mercy and keep walking with Him (Catechism 1821, 2005, 2091–2092).

When St. Joan of Arc was asked at her trial whether she knew she was in God’s grace, she answered: “If I am not, may it please God to put me in it; if I am, may it please God to keep me there” (Catechism 2005). That is Catholic assurance: humble, hopeful trust.

Read more: Matthew 10:22; Romans 8:24, 38–39; Romans 11:22; 1 Corinthians 9:27; 1 Corinthians 10:12; Philippians 2:12–13; 1 John 5:13; Catechism 1817–1821, 2005, 2090–2092

Scripture itself distinguishes them: “There is sin which is mortal” and “there is sin which is not mortal” (1 John 5:16–17). A mortal sin destroys the life of grace in the soul by a serious turning away from God. For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must all be met: grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent (Catechism 1855, 1857–1859).

A venial sin is a lesser offense, or a serious one done without full knowledge or consent. It wounds and weakens our love but does not cut us off from God (Catechism 1855, 1862–1863). Mortal sins must be confessed in the sacrament of Confession before receiving Communion. Venial sins can be forgiven in many ways, including sorrow, prayer, and the Eucharist, though confessing them is strongly encouraged (Catechism 1394, 1456–1458). Either way, God’s mercy is always waiting.

Read more: Matthew 5:21–22; Galatians 5:19–21; 1 John 1:8–9; 1 John 5:16–17; Catechism 1854–1864

Jesus said that “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness” (Mark 3:29; Matthew 12:31–32). The Church explains that this is not a particular word or thought. It is a deliberate, final refusal of God’s mercy. “There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit” (Catechism 1864).

In other words, the only sin God cannot forgive is the one we refuse to let Him forgive. If you are worried that you have committed it, that worry itself is a good sign. It shows you want God’s forgiveness, and He will never turn away a repentant heart (Psalm 51:17; John 6:37). Go to Confession and let Him lift the weight.

Read more: Psalm 51:17; Matthew 12:31–32; Mark 3:28–30; Luke 15:11–32; John 6:37; Catechism 1864, 982

Purgatory is not a second chance, and it is not a “halfway” place between heaven and hell. Everyone in purgatory is saved. It is the final purification of those who die in God’s friendship but are not yet completely purified, “so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (Catechism 1030–1031). It is God’s love finishing what it began.

Scripture says nothing unclean will enter heaven (Revelation 21:27). Paul describes a person whose work “is burned up” but who “will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15). In 2 Maccabees, Judas Maccabeus offers prayers and sacrifice for fallen soldiers “that they might be delivered from their sin” (2 Maccabees 12:45).

From the beginning the Church has honored the dead and offered prayers for them, above all at Mass (Catechism 1032), and early Christian inscriptions in the catacombs ask prayers for the departed. That is why we still pray, “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.”

Read more: Matthew 12:32; 1 Corinthians 3:11–15; Revelation 21:27; 2 Maccabees 12:43–46; Catechism 1030–1032

No one can buy forgiveness or heaven, and the Church condemns any attempt to sell grace. The abuses of indulgence preaching in the 1500s were real and shameful, and the Council of Trent moved to stamp them out. Today indulgences cannot be bought.

An indulgence does not forgive sin, and it is not permission to sin. It applies only to sins already forgiven, usually through Confession. Even after sin is forgiven, its effects can remain: a heart still attached to sin and a wound that needs healing. Scripture shows this with King David, who was forgiven but still suffered consequences (2 Samuel 12:13–14). The Church calls this “temporal punishment” (Catechism 1471–1473).

Using the authority to “bind and loose” that Christ gave her (Matthew 16:19), the Church opens the treasury of Christ’s merits and the prayers of the saints to help with that healing, for ourselves or for the souls in purgatory (Catechism 1471, 1478–1479). To gain one, a person does a good work the Church names, such as prayer, reading Scripture, or an act of charity. For a plenary (full) indulgence, the person also goes to Confession, receives Communion, prays for the pope’s intentions, and turns away from all attachment to sin. Love is the point, not a transaction.

Read more: 2 Samuel 12:13–14; Matthew 16:19; Colossians 1:24; Catechism 1471–1479

At death the soul separates from the body, and each person meets Christ. “It is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). The Church calls this the particular judgment. Each soul then enters heaven, either immediately or after purification in purgatory, or freely chooses separation from God in hell (Catechism 1021–1022).

Heaven is not clouds and harps. It is perfect life and love with the Holy Trinity, Mary, the angels, and all the saints, seeing God “face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12; Catechism 1023–1029). Jesus promised the repentant thief, “today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).

At the end of time Christ will return in glory, the dead will rise, and our bodies will be raised and reunited with our souls. Then the Last Judgment will reveal the whole truth of every life, and God will make “all things new” (Revelation 21:5; Catechism 997–1001, 1038–1041).

Read more: Luke 16:19–31; Luke 23:43; John 5:28–29; 1 Corinthians 15; 2 Corinthians 5:8–10; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 21–22; Catechism 997–1001, 1021–1029, 1038–1041

God does not want anyone to be lost. He is “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9), and “God predestines no one to go to hell” (Catechism 1037). Jesus, the most loving Person who ever lived, spoke about hell often, precisely because He loves us and doesn’t want us to go there (Matthew 25:41–46).

Love can never be forced. God made us free so that we could love Him, and that means we can also refuse Him. Hell is the state of “definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed” (Catechism 1033). It is what a person freely chooses by persisting in grave sin to the end and refusing God’s mercy. Its worst pain is being separated forever from the God we were made for (Catechism 1035).

This is not meant to frighten us into despair, but to wake us up. It is never too late while we live to turn to God, and His mercy is always greater than our sin. The Church prays that all may be saved (Catechism 1036–1037, 1058).

Read more: Ezekiel 33:11; Matthew 7:13–14; Matthew 25:31–46; John 3:16–18; 2 Peter 3:9; Catechism 1033–1037, 1058

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide right now, please reach out. In the United States you can call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, any time, or call 911. Your life is precious to God and to others.

The Church teaches that our lives are a gift from God, and that taking one’s own life is gravely contrary to that gift and to love of self, neighbor, and God (Catechism 2280–2281). But she also recognizes that grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or fear can diminish a person’s responsibility (Catechism 2282).

So the Church says plainly: “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 opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives” (Catechism 2283). Catholic funerals are offered for them. If you have lost someone this way, you can entrust them to God’s mercy with hope, and a priest would be glad to pray with you.

Read more: Psalm 34:18; Psalm 139:13–16; Romans 8:38–39; 2 Corinthians 1:3–4; Catechism 2280–2283

Catholics believe that Jesus will come again in glory, visibly, at the end of time, to raise the dead and judge the living and the dead, as we profess in the Creed (Catechism 668–682). We also believe what St. Paul writes: that at Christ’s coming, the faithful still alive will be “caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

What the Church does not teach is a separate, secret rapture of Christians before a period of tribulation, followed by a later Second Coming. That idea became popular in the 1800s and has spread through books and films. Scripture describes Christ’s return as one glorious event that every eye will see (Matthew 24:30–31; Acts 1:11; Revelation 1:7), and the Church teaches that she herself will pass through a final trial before it (Catechism 675–677).

Jesus said no one knows the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36). The Catholic response is not to calculate dates but to stay ready: to live in His grace, love our neighbor, and pray, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

Read more: Matthew 24:29–44; Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:51–52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; Revelation 1:7; Catechism 671–677, 681–682, 1001