The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-08-09
Are Catholics allowed to have their
bodies cremated?


ways been condemned by the Catholic
Church. 1t has not been permitted in
the past, nor is it permitted today.
The principal reason which the Catho-
JIG Church has in this prohibition is
that it has always been looked upon
as a distinctive sign of paganism.
The pagans denied the immortality
that at death the body should be
destroyed. The Catholic Church, on
the other hand, teaches that the soul
lives forever, that the body is the
dwelling place of the soul, and that
since the body of a Christian has
been to a certain extent sanctified by
the reception of the Sacramento, it is
wrong to follow pagan custom in dis
posing Of that body.
Is there any official reason why a
Catholic cannot be President of the
United States?
There is no official reason whatso-
ever. It seems difficult, however, for
a Catholic to overcome prejudice, so
strong in this country, sufficiently to
give MIN the required number OF
votes. Theodore Roosevelt once said
that he hoped to live to see the day
when America would have a Catholic
President.
How can such a paper as the Men
ace be published in America?
Because the postal authorities of
our country are perfectly Indifferent
in the whole matter Their attention
has often been called to this and
other papers, but absolutely nothing
has been done in the matter. 1t
would be but simple problem for the
government to solve, but for some
mysterious reason the authorities al
low these vile sheets to continue their
evil work.
is it against the ruling of the catho-
lie Church for a Catholic to 90 to
another church with his friend? If
so, why?
The law of God forbids to take part
in any form of worship that we be-
2ieve to be false; attending services
in non-CathOlic churches entails such
cooperation in false Worship there
fore, Catholics are forbidden to at
tend services in Protestant churches.
We believe that God established one
true church and one true form of
worship. This is a matter of faith
and conscience with us. We do not
pretend to force this conviction on
Others, although we pray that God
may grant all the gift of true faith l.;
but such is our faith, and we are not
permitted to trifle with faith The
world respects a man of principle,
and your friend will not feel insulted
II you take the trouble to explain your
belief in the matter.
In case of Catholic being engaged
20 a Protestant, can the Protestant
be taken to the priest the Catholic
would like to have instruct him, or
must he be taken to the priest in her
own parish? In the case Of the Prot
estant having a priest friend, could
he not take instructions from him
Your friend may take instructions
from any priest of his own choice or
OF your selection. One has practically
the same freedom in this matter that
he has in the matter of confession.
You will, of course, be married in the
presence of your own parish priest
and hence it is well that the prosDec-
tive convert should be acquainted
with your pastor before the morning
OF the wedding ceremony. There is
no reason why your friend should not
De known to your pastor and at the
same time take the required instruc-
TONS from another priest of his own
selection. You should remember. for
your part, that you may not in good
conscience become engaged to a non.
catholic until the question of relig-
ION, affecting marriage, has been thor,
oughly thrashed out and completely
agreed upon.
Why cannot Catholic become a
Protestant?
In a certain sense, a Catholic NAV
become a Protestant. He may aban.
don the Catholic Church and attach
himself to one of the many Protestant
denominations. He may even lose the
Catholic faith entirely and affiliate
himself with one of the sects. But
true faith is gift of God, and like
all of Gods graces is not lost except
through sin, and a man is respon
slble for his sin. Il man has haC
true Catholic faith, he will be judged
as a Catholic; in the sight of God, he
remains Catholic, and as a Catholic
he will stand at the bar of Gods judg
ment. That is what we mean when
we say that a Catholic cannot become
Protestant. Those who claim that
it does not matter what man believes
will not be able to understand and
appreciate this teaching; but it is g
self-evident axiom to those who be-
lieve that God taught one faith and
established one Church.
Why is one contrition called per
feet and another imperfect?
For the sake of comparison There
are various motives for being sorry
for our sins; those motives differ in
perfection, and so we style one per
and tho otbn,. tri