Dear Chris,

You do not need to seek forgiveness if you don't yet understand why the Church's teachings are correct but one should never verbally or publicly support that which contradicts Church teaching in any way. Keep praying, searching, and wrestling with the Word of God. Trust in God and His infallible means of communicating His Truth.

One does not have to understand in order to assent. Mary said Yes to God without understanding how the angel's words to her could possibly come to be and she is called the model disciple.

Being a Catholic means accepting the link between God, Christ, and Church, the Church Jesus established and continues to offer the fullness of truth and grace for our salvation. It means being willing to keep God's commands infallibly communicated through Christ and through His Church.

Ultimately, it often comes down to:

• Who do I choose, God or self?

The world, the flesh, and the devil are rooting for us to choose self by de-linking the all-important God-Christ-Church chain of authority. This is our test.

Peace,

Paul

Chris —

Not understanding doctrine is one thing: you can read the Catechism and other things for understanding.

Not believing a doctrine is another thing. One can believe something without understanding,
but refusing to accept a central teaching of he faith means you are have left the faith.

16 He who hears you hears me. (Luke 10:16)

said Christ to His Apostles. We must submit to the teaching authority of the Church, as to Christ, when that teaching authority is teaching solemnly on matters of faith and morals.

As for the life issues, they are not just teachings of the Church; they involve fundamental elements of natural law, that every person knows in his conscience to be wrong.

We all know it is absolutely always and everywhere wrong to take innocent human life.

The embryo and the fetus are human lives and they are innocent. If you want successful stem cell research, by the way, use adult or cord stem cells — they are the only ones that have had success, and they are perfectly moral to use. Go to www.stemcellresearch.org for more information.

• StemCellResearch.org, the online resource of Do No Harm:
  The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics

The most important step is to ask God to show you His Will and give you grace to follow it.

Mary Ann