Jimmy Akin

A reader writes:

A national Catholic paper recently referred to the Church’s teaching on "brain death." I haven’t seen this in the Catechism. What is the Church’s teaching on "brain death"?

I haven’t seen the paper you refer to (so I deleted the name of it), but it would be misleading to state in a blunt fashion that the Church has a "teaching" on the concept of brain death. This term is not used in magisterial documents, and the key document that delves into this area contain important qualifications that make it possible to say that there is a "teaching" here only in the most tenuous sense.

The situation is analagous to the question of evolution. The Church doesn’t have a "teaching" on evolution per se. Evolution is a scientific hypothesis, and the Church is not in the business of teaching scientific hypotheses. What the Church does teach on is Scripture and the deposit of faith, and in the 1950s Pope Pius XII issued a preliminary finding that certain versions of biological evolution do not appear to conflict with what is found in the sources of revelation. A Catholic is thus morally permitted to believe in those forms of evolution.

Whether any of them are true or not, though, is a matter of science, not of faith, and thus the Church does not teach evolution. It teaches only that certain forms of evolution would not contradict the sources of faith and that a Catholic may accept these forms of evolutionary belief if he feels that the evidence warrantes them.

A similar situation pertains to the subject of "brain death." The Church does not teach, as some individuals hold, that an individual is dead when he is "brain dead." Instead, in the year 2000 Pope John Paul II issued a preliminary finding that certain versions of "brain death" criteria do not appear to conflict with what is found in the sources of faith regarding the human person and that a Catholic is thus morally permitted to act on those versions of brain death criteria.

Here’s what the pope said:

Continue reading “Brain Death?”

A reader writes:

I have a friend who has come back to the Church!  He has been going to Mass and Confession now for over a year.  He was married in a civil ceremony about eight years ago.  She is not Catholic but is Christian.  His Mother who is Catholic has said he should not being going to Communion until he is married in the Church.  Is this true?  He has nothing against getting married in the Church but I think it bothers him about not being able to go to Communion until this happens.

It’s wonderful to hear that your friend has come back to the Church, and I’ll do my best to help provide an answer here. Unfortunately, there are a few missing facts that I’d need to know the answer to in order to give an individually-tailored answer. Specifically:

1. Had your friend formally defected from the Catholic Church at the time of his civil ceremony (e.g., had he formally joined another church with the intention of no longer being Catholic).
2. If he had not formally defected then did he have a dispensation from the Catholic form of marriage?
3. Is he presently having conjugal relations with his spouse?

The easiest way to give the answer in light of the missing facts is in the form of a decision tree:

IF he had formally defected OR had a dispensation from form THEN based on the fact pattern you have laid out his marriage is presumed valid and he can participate in the sacraments of the Church, including confession and Communion. He also does not need to get married in the Church.

IF he did not formally defect OR have a dispensation from form THEN his marriage is presently invalid. (See next two points.)

IF his marriage is presently invalid AND he is having conjugal relations with his spouse THEN he is committing grave sin (having sexual relations with someone he is not validly married to) and cannot participate in the sacraments, including confession and Communion. He needs to get married in the Church in order for his conjugal relations to cease being sinful. At that point he can participate in the sacraments, including confession and Communion.

IF his marriage is presently invalid BUT he is not having conjugal relations with his spouse THEN he is not committing grave sin and so can participate in the sacraments, including confession and Communion. He does, though, need to get married in the Church before he can resume conjugal relations without sinning.

I hope this helps. It’s not phrase in the pastoral manner that I would like, but given the missing facts I thought it best to write as clearly as possible to avoid confusion. Documentation of any of the above answers can be provided from the Code of Canon Law if needed.

One pastoral note: I suggest that you DO NOT ask him about the third missing fact. That’s between him, his spouse, and his confessor.

In the meantime, we should rejoice that your friend has come back to the Church. He should be assured of God’s love for him and his spouse and that it sounds as if his marital situation can easily be regularized (if needed). It generally does not take very long to rectify situations such as this.

Back before I was Catholic, I was in such a situation myself (as the non-Catholic spouse) and so I have a special empathy for the situation.

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