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Dear catholic.com visitors: This website from Catholic Answers, with all its many resources, is the world's largest source of explanations for Catholic beliefs and practices. A fully independent, lay-run, 501(c)(3) ministry that receives no funding from the institutional Church, we rely entirely on the generosity of everyday people like you to keep this website going with trustworthy , fresh, and relevant content. If everyone visiting this month gave just $1, catholic.com would be fully funded for an entire year. Do you find catholic.com helpful? Please make a gift today. SPECIAL PROMOTION FOR NEW MONTHLY DONATIONS! Thank you and God bless.

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Open Forum

Jimmy Akin

Callers choose the topics during Open Forum, peppering our guests with questions on every aspect of Catholic life and faith, the moral life, and even philosophical topics that touch on general religious belief. 

Questions Covered:

  • 03:30 - How do Catholics approach praying to the saints that avoids deifying them? 
  • 08:21 - What is the difference between Christian perfection and holiness or sanctification? 
  • 15:08 - How can we enjoy the good things of this earth while still being detached from the world? 
  • 18:25 - Does the Church have any teaching on family structure, specifically mothers being in the home or fathers being the provider? 
  • 21:27 - How does a Catholic respond when people tell them that holidays are pagan? 
  • 30:05 - I feel that parts of Sirach 3 about honoring your parents for the remission of sins and Tobit 12:9 contradict the Church’s teaching on grace. Is this the case? 
  • 37:15 - Why did it take until the 1800s to confirm the dogma of the Immaculate Conception? 
  • 42:08 - Is it possible to fast from multiple things during Lent on different days of the weeks? Is this against Church teaching on fasting during Lent? 
  • 46:25 - 1 Thessalonians seems to be referring to the Rapture of all Christian people. Is this different from the second coming? 
  • 48:40 - I think I am a Catholic and it’s Jimmy’s fault. I am feeling very lonely and struggling to share with people what I have found to be the truth. Did you ever feel that way when you converted? 
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