Episode Details

Fr. Gerald Murray is the Pastor of Holy Family Church in the Archdiocese of New York. He received his Doctorate in Canon Law from the Gregorian University in Rome in 1998, and he is one of the most well-respected Canon Lawyers in the church today. He also served in the U.S. Naval Reserve Chaplain Corps from 1994 to 2005.     In Today's Show

• For someone relatively new to Catholicism, exactly what is a Canon Lawyer? What responsibilities does that title carry, and are there any special privileges or abilities that you possess that the typical priest would not?
• Now that Bishop Strickland has officially been removed as the Bishop of Tyler, I was hoping you could provide your thoughts or initial reaction. Were there grounds for a removal, and why or why not? And, what happens from here?
• What canonical law did Bishop Strickland break, if any?
• What does Canon Law say on the subject of transgenderism?
• I was married in the diocese of my now-wife, which was a non-US diocese. We did the marriage prep through the parish we were married in and I provided my baptismal, first communion and confirmation certificates as requested. Was there supposed to be some other dispensation granted by the Bishop of my diocese? If so, is my marriage valid?
• If transexual behavior is disordered, can a canon lawyer sue the Vatican using canon law?
• When a couple gets married and has a normal wedding mass up until the end, but the priest does not say the words "I pronounce you man and wife," is that valid?
• I have a family member who is getting married. Both are Catholic but are not practicing anymore. When they get married outside the church, is that valid?
• If a church is closed by the Bishop, what happens to the money gathered by the sale? Who gets it?
• This situation with Bishop Strickland reminds me of the situation with St. Padre Pio. How do you think this will eventually be rectified? Would it be something similar?
• With the church's view on homosexuality, how did several homosexuals get ordained into the priesthood?
• What is Canon Law?
• Papal infallibility is something that I (and likely many other Catholics) have struggled to fully understand. What are the limits of that infallibility?

 

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