Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

Permutation #5471

A reader writes:

Hi Jimmy I could not find this exact permutation on your blog, although I’m sure it has come up. I hope you can take a moment to help me out.

No prob! Let’s work our way through it . . .

Sally and Bill, both catholics get married according to form in a church with a priest. This marriage ends in divorce.

Without anything else affecting the situation, the Church will presume that Sally is married to Bill. Obtaining a civil divorce does nothing to affect the status of their marriage before God. As far as the Church is concerned, Sally and Bill are hitched unless and until they obtain an annulment.

Sally then marries Tom, not a catholic, in a civil wedding outside the church. This also ends in divorce.

Okay, this marriage will be invalid since (a) Sally is presumed to be married to Bill and (b) Sally–the Catholic party to this marriage–failed to observe the Catholic form of marriage (without a dispensation) this time. Thus the impediments of ligamen (prior bond) and the impediment of defect of form will both block the new marriage from coming into existence.

Sally then marries Joe, a catholic, in a civil ceremony outside the church.

This also will be invalid since (a) Sally is still presumed to be married to Bill (from the first marriage) and (b) Sally and Joe both failed to observe the Catholic form of marriage (without a dispensation). As a result, ligamen and defect of form once again block the marriage from coming into existence.

Am I correct in thinking this last marriage of Sally’s is both illicit and invalid?

Yes.

My absence at this last wedding has caused a great deal of grief and I am having difficulty explaining to Sally and Joe why there is a problem with this wedding between two very loving people who are clearly devoted to each other.

You’ll want to explain it to them in as gentle and loving a way as possible, of course, but the basic fact of the matter is that Sally is presumably married to Bill and thus not free to marry Joe. Further, Sally and Joe failed to fulfill their responsibility as Catholics to observe the Catholic form of marriage or to obtain a dispensation from this requirement (something analogous to getting married without a wedding license, which is enough to invalidate a marriage in different states).

For you to have shown up at the wedding would have sent the message to Sally and Joe that what they were doing was okay, when it is not (Jesus was very firm on this point; see Mark 10). It thus would have been an offense against the truth for you to show up at the wedding.

That being said, you can offer to do everything you can to assist them if they wish to see about rectifying their marital situation. The first step in this process would be to begin pursuing an annulment on Sally’s prior marriages.

HERE’S THE BEST BOOK THERE IS ON THAT SUBJECT, TO HELP THEM OUT.

Attending Non-Catholic Services In A Mixed Marriage

A reader writes:

What is the official Church teaching and/or guidance on attending both Mass and
a church service at another Christian denomination on Sundays?  Here is some
more specific background information.  My family (wife + kids) and I are
currently members of a Protestant church.  I have been reading up on
the Catholic faith for a number of years now and I’m considering pursuing it
further and possibly joining the Catholic Church.  However, my wife does not
share this desire. 

I was wondering if I could attend both on Sundays if I
became Catholic.  I’m assuming that on days when our Protestant church serves
communion that I would need to refrain.  I have not really brought up the issue
of the kids with my wife either, but one step at a time.

Thank you for writing! I pray that God will smooth your journey as you work your way through these issues.

You are correct that, as a Catholic, you could not receive communion in your current church since Protestant churches (unfortunately) did not retain a sacramental priesthood and therefore, apart from very exceptional circumstances, do not have the Real Presence when they celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Canon law does not allow Catholics to receive communion in these circumstances (CIC 846 §2).

Present canon law does not, however, prohibit Catholics from attending non-Catholic services. Therefore, you would be able to continue to attend Protestant services with your wife and family as long as doing so does not pose a problem for your Catholic faith.

You would have the obligations other Catholics do, such as the duty to attend Mass. In some mixed-marriage families this is solved by attending Mass on Saturday evening and then going to Protestant services on Sunday morning, or the reverse, or by going to both services on Sundays (e.g., a morning service at once church and an evening service at the other). In some cases, both spouses go to both services.

Hope this helps, and God bless you!

Eggs & Lemon Juice?

A piece back I mentioned The Fat Flush Diet, which is so female-oriented that the author doesn’t even bother writing the book for both sexes. The author, a dietician named Anna Louise Gittleman, writes only for women.

The diet is incredibly regimented. There’s no way a typical guy doing his own cooking would be willing to undertake a diet so elaborate.

But that’s not to say that one couldn’t incorporate elements of it.

In fact, I’ve been doing so, myself.

There are several quirky aspects to this diet, but I’ve tried a few of them and . . . they’ve been working. Here’s what Gittleman has to say about a couple of the unique elements on this diet:

I learned first hand that one of the best kept secrets to weight loss and lasting weight control is keeping the liver, the key organ for fat metabolism, in tip-top shape. For example, bile , which is synthesized and secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder, helps the liver break down fats. . . .

So I researched all the "liver loving" foods and nutrients that would enable the body to produce quality bile and aid in thinning it out. Since one of the primary ingredients of bile is lecithin–a highly effective emulsifier with a detergent-liek ability to break up fats–I decided to experiment with adding lecithin-rich eggs to my daily diet. Soon, the addition of fresh lemon juice and water–a well-known bile thinner–followed suit twice a day. Not only did my own cholesterol come down (a good 20 points to be exact), but so did my weight.

Just to make sure I was onto something, I enrolled thirty of my [weight loss] clients in a six-week dietary exploration and instructed them to add at least two eggs daily to their current diet regimens and to add lemon juice and water twice a day–without changing anything else in terms of diet or exercise. Without exception, they all lost weight, especially around the waistline. In fact, one woman lost 21 pounds over the six-week period (p. 4).

In Atkins’ books, he also talks about the importance of the liver in weight loss, but he doesn’t target it as much as Gittleman does. The fact he stressed its importance, though, was enough for me to try to give some of Gittleman’s liver-oriented weight loss techniques a try.

I haven’t done precisely what she recommends above, though. Instead of cooking eggs every day in order to get their lecithin, I simply eat a few spoonfuls of granulated lethicin (in his book on nutrition, Atkins especially recommends the granulated form of lecithin).

Similarly, instead of mixing fresh lemon juice and water, I buy reconstituted lemon juice in those plastic bulbs (I can’t find it in bottles in the stores locally) and then just squirt it directly into my mouth.

Theoretically, I’m getting the same nurtients that Gittleman recommends to improve bile secretion and operation, but without as much daily hassle.

Lemon juice also is supposedly able to help fight blood sugar rises by slowing down the absorption of carbohydrates, so whenever I’m about to eat something with carbs in it (e.g., low carb pasta), that’s when I’ll drink the lemon juice.

As I said, it’s kinda quirky, and I don’t know if Gittleman has the science behind it right, but my weight loss has been increased since I added Gittleman’s techniques of this type.

Take it (or don’t) for what it’s worth.

GET THE BOOK.

Eggs & Lemon Juice?

A piece back I mentioned The Fat Flush Diet, which is so female-oriented that the author doesn’t even bother writing the book for both sexes. The author, a dietician named Anna Louise Gittleman, writes only for women.

The diet is incredibly regimented. There’s no way a typical guy doing his own cooking would be willing to undertake a diet so elaborate.

But that’s not to say that one couldn’t incorporate elements of it.

In fact, I’ve been doing so, myself.

There are several quirky aspects to this diet, but I’ve tried a few of them and . . . they’ve been working. Here’s what Gittleman has to say about a couple of the unique elements on this diet:

I learned first hand that one of the best kept secrets to weight loss and lasting weight control is keeping the liver, the key organ for fat metabolism, in tip-top shape. For example, bile , which is synthesized and secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder, helps the liver break down fats. . . .

So I researched all the "liver loving" foods and nutrients that would enable the body to produce quality bile and aid in thinning it out. Since one of the primary ingredients of bile is lecithin–a highly effective emulsifier with a detergent-liek ability to break up fats–I decided to experiment with adding lecithin-rich eggs to my daily diet. Soon, the addition of fresh lemon juice and water–a well-known bile thinner–followed suit twice a day. Not only did my own cholesterol come down (a good 20 points to be exact), but so did my weight.

Just to make sure I was onto something, I enrolled thirty of my [weight loss] clients in a six-week dietary exploration and instructed them to add at least two eggs daily to their current diet regimens and to add lemon juice and water twice a day–without changing anything else in terms of diet or exercise. Without exception, they all lost weight, especially around the waistline. In fact, one woman lost 21 pounds over the six-week period (p. 4).

In Atkins’ books, he also talks about the importance of the liver in weight loss, but he doesn’t target it as much as Gittleman does. The fact he stressed its importance, though, was enough for me to try to give some of Gittleman’s liver-oriented weight loss techniques a try.

I haven’t done precisely what she recommends above, though. Instead of cooking eggs every day in order to get their lecithin, I simply eat a few spoonfuls of granulated lethicin (in his book on nutrition, Atkins especially recommends the granulated form of lecithin).

Similarly, instead of mixing fresh lemon juice and water, I buy reconstituted lemon juice in those plastic bulbs (I can’t find it in bottles in the stores locally) and then just squirt it directly into my mouth.

Theoretically, I’m getting the same nurtients that Gittleman recommends to improve bile secretion and operation, but without as much daily hassle.

Lemon juice also is supposedly able to help fight blood sugar rises by slowing down the absorption of carbohydrates, so whenever I’m about to eat something with carbs in it (e.g., low carb pasta), that’s when I’ll drink the lemon juice.

As I said, it’s kinda quirky, and I don’t know if Gittleman has the science behind it right, but my weight loss has been increased since I added Gittleman’s techniques of this type.

Take it (or don’t) for what it’s worth.

GET THE BOOK.

Small Miracles

Three months ago a Virginian woman named Susan Torres was rushed to the hospital.

It turned out that she had advanced melanoma. At the hospital she was declared brain dead with no hope of recovery.

She was 16 weeks pregnant at the time.

A pro-lifer with a pro-life family, her cause became a race against time to keep her alive long enough that the child she was carrying could be brought safely into the world.

Millions prayed.

I saw one report indicating that B16 himself was praying on a regular basis for baby Torres and her mother.

Their prayers were answered.

GET THE (JOYOUS AND SAD) STORY.
(CHT to the reader who e-mailed!)

Hitler's Mufti

Rabbi David G. Dalin writes:

Many readers of the New York Times no doubt believe that Pope Pius XII was “Hitler’s Pope.” John Cornwell’s bestselling book told them that, and it’s been reaffirmed by Garry Wills, Daniel Goldhagen and other writers since. It’s been said so often in fact that most well-read liberals know it for a certainty. The only trouble is: it isn’t true.

Not only does it contradict the words of Holocaust survivors, the founders of Israel, and the contemporary record of the New York Times, but even John Cornwell, the originator of the phrase “Hitler’s pope,” has recanted it saying that he was wrong to have ascribed evil motives to Pius and now found it “impossible to judge” the wartime pope.

But there’s something else that has been ignored nearly all together. Precisely at the moment when Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church in Rome (and throughout Europe) was saving thousands of Jewish lives, Hitler had a cleric broadcasting from Berlin who called for the extermination of the Jews.

He was Hajj Amin al-Husseini, the viciously anti-Semitic grand mufti of Jerusalem, who resided in Berlin as a welcome guest and ally of the Nazis throughout the years of the Holocaust.

GET THE STORY.
(CHT to Thomas Woods for e-mailing!)

Hitler’s Mufti

Rabbi David G. Dalin writes:

Many readers of the New York Times no doubt believe that Pope Pius XII was “Hitler’s Pope.” John Cornwell’s bestselling book told them that, and it’s been reaffirmed by Garry Wills, Daniel Goldhagen and other writers since. It’s been said so often in fact that most well-read liberals know it for a certainty. The only trouble is: it isn’t true.

Not only does it contradict the words of Holocaust survivors, the founders of Israel, and the contemporary record of the New York Times, but even John Cornwell, the originator of the phrase “Hitler’s pope,” has recanted it saying that he was wrong to have ascribed evil motives to Pius and now found it “impossible to judge” the wartime pope.

But there’s something else that has been ignored nearly all together. Precisely at the moment when Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church in Rome (and throughout Europe) was saving thousands of Jewish lives, Hitler had a cleric broadcasting from Berlin who called for the extermination of the Jews.

He was Hajj Amin al-Husseini, the viciously anti-Semitic grand mufti of Jerusalem, who resided in Berlin as a welcome guest and ally of the Nazis throughout the years of the Holocaust.

GET THE STORY.
(CHT to Thomas Woods for e-mailing!)

A Brilliant Idea That Isn't

Some folks at the U.N. have an idea that they seem to regard as brilliant. The idea is that the U.S., which built the Internet and grew it into the stunning, civilization-changing success that it is today, should cede control of the Internet to . . .  (are you read?) . . . (drumroll, please) . . . a U.N. committee.

This is indeed a brilliant idea.

Except for the fact that it isn’t.

Fortunately, the fact that it isn’t a brilliant idea has occurred to others. Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, for example.

"My probe of the U.N. as Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations revealed management that was at best, incompetent, and at worst corrupt," said Coleman. "The first priority for the United Nations must be fundamental reform of its management and operations rather than any expansion of its authority and responsibilities. The Internet has flourished under U.S. supervision, oversight, and private sector involvement. This growth did not happen because of increased government involvement, but rather, from the opening on the Internet to commerce and private sector innovation. Subjecting the Internet and its security to the politicized control of the UN bureaucracy would be a giant and foolhardy step backwards."

"Recently, I introduced UN reform legislation with the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations, Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN), known as the Coleman-Lugar UN Reform Bill, to help put an end to a culture of corruption that was exposed by the Oil for Food scandal, peacekeeping sexual abuse scandals, and other instances of organizational failures at U.N.," Coleman said. "Putting the U.N. in charge of one of the world’s most important technological wonders and economic engines is out of the question. This proposal would leave the United States with no more say over the future of the Internet than Cuba or China-countries that have little or no commitment to the free flow of information."

Yeah, that’s what we really need: Giving China U.N. Security Council-level veto power over decisions affecting the Internet. That’ll be really good for the free flow of information and ideas.

Perhaps if China and other countries are not satisfied with the U.S. controlling the Internet that it built and organized then maybe they should build their own Internet.

Heck, do a better job with a second Internet and I’m sure Americans will be trying to book time on it, instead.

That’s the nice thing about competition.

In the meantime,

GET THE STORY.

A Brilliant Idea That Isn’t

Some folks at the U.N. have an idea that they seem to regard as brilliant. The idea is that the U.S., which built the Internet and grew it into the stunning, civilization-changing success that it is today, should cede control of the Internet to . . .  (are you read?) . . . (drumroll, please) . . . a U.N. committee.

This is indeed a brilliant idea.

Except for the fact that it isn’t.

Fortunately, the fact that it isn’t a brilliant idea has occurred to others. Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, for example.

"My probe of the U.N. as Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations revealed management that was at best, incompetent, and at worst corrupt," said Coleman. "The first priority for the United Nations must be fundamental reform of its management and operations rather than any expansion of its authority and responsibilities. The Internet has flourished under U.S. supervision, oversight, and private sector involvement. This growth did not happen because of increased government involvement, but rather, from the opening on the Internet to commerce and private sector innovation. Subjecting the Internet and its security to the politicized control of the UN bureaucracy would be a giant and foolhardy step backwards."

"Recently, I introduced UN reform legislation with the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations, Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN), known as the Coleman-Lugar UN Reform Bill, to help put an end to a culture of corruption that was exposed by the Oil for Food scandal, peacekeeping sexual abuse scandals, and other instances of organizational failures at U.N.," Coleman said. "Putting the U.N. in charge of one of the world’s most important technological wonders and economic engines is out of the question. This proposal would leave the United States with no more say over the future of the Internet than Cuba or China-countries that have little or no commitment to the free flow of information."

Yeah, that’s what we really need: Giving China U.N. Security Council-level veto power over decisions affecting the Internet. That’ll be really good for the free flow of information and ideas.

Perhaps if China and other countries are not satisfied with the U.S. controlling the Internet that it built and organized then maybe they should build their own Internet.

Heck, do a better job with a second Internet and I’m sure Americans will be trying to book time on it, instead.

That’s the nice thing about competition.

In the meantime,

GET THE STORY.