8
Monday, March 23, 1987 / University Daily Kansan
Catholics
Continued from p. 1
Christian religions, but had five unique beliefs: the belief in the pope as Christ's representative on earth, the seven sacraments, the Mass as the highest act of worship, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist or holy communion and the practice of honoring Mary as the mother of God.
In February, Fitzsimmons spoke on "What Does it Mean to be Catholic" and talked about the Church.
Krische said that when Pope John Paul visited the United States, he criticized the "cafeteria Catholics," or those Catholics who "wanted to go through the line and select what parts of the doctrine appealed to them."
"To be Catholic means that you have to accept all of the doctrinal and moral teachings of the church. It means believing in Jesus as God and man, in the Trinity and in the nature of sin." he said.
For most KU Catholics, accepting church doctrine is not a problem on a Sunday-to-Sunday basis. But many students have trouble accepting the church's position on two of the seven sacraments, and on other moral teachings.
Marriage in the church
Markeizich is Catholic. Her fiance Bryan Stephens, St. Rose, La., graduate student, was raised in the
church but no longer considers himself a Catholic.
Markeizich and Stephens plan to be married in the Catholic church, but Stephens said he wasn't happy about the six months of marriage preparation sessions the church requires before a Catholic wedding.
"We could get married tomorrow if it wasn't for the church," he said. "I'm just going to have to be a hypocrite for six months and become a 'honeymonk Catholic.' I'll say yes to whatever I have to say yes to.
"But if you don't believe in something, then saying that you don't fit is just bad."
Fitzsimons said, "The high number of divorces indicates that some couples didn't understand what they were getting into."
Krische said, "The church does not treat marriage as a decision solely between two people. It is a social sacrament that affects the whole community."
The engaged couple takes a premarital inventory, which asks the couple to look at the relationship from 10 different aspects, including children and parenting, family backgrounds and expected roles.
After that, couples meet in the home of a married couple for five sessions to discuss communication in marriage, finances, growth in marriage, marriage spirituality and married sexuality.
The church's teachings on marriage are discussed in three additional sessions, and then the couple
Krische said a couple could not get married in the Catholic church if they did not intend to have children, a permanent marriage or to be faithful to each other.
meets with a priest for five more sessions to go over the wedding liturgy.
The Rite of Reconciliation, or confession, is another sacrament that troubles many KU Catholics.
Confession
Once a year is the absolute minimum for Catholics to confess their sins to a priest and receive absolution, Fitzsimmons said. But it's better for a person's spiritual well-being to go more often, he said.
"Every month or so it's good to review our lives and reconcile ourselves with God," Fitzsimmons said.
"God already knows what we've done; he's a step ahead of us," he said, "but we need to acknowledge it for ourselves."
Louise Caola, St. Louis senior, said she hadn't gone to confession since the time she told a priest that she didn't believe in it.
"I don't believe we need a mediator," she said. "I think a person should go straight to God and to the person he's harmed."
But Krische said a priest was necessary.
"Primarily because sin is not only committed against God, but because it's also committed against the church. There no such thing as 'a
"People today generally tend to do what they can to make themselves as comfortable as possible, but religion isn't a matter of comfort," he said. "It's not a matter of what fits in with your life-style."
Colarelli said that he did receive the Rite of Reconciliation regularly and that he considered it an important sacrament, despite the fact that it made many Catholics uncomfortable.
private sin between me and God, '`` he said.
The issue of whether Catholics should be allowed to use birth control still is debated by many Catholics, despite the church's stand against it and the church's endorsement of natural family planning.
Moral teachings
"You have to be open to the will of God, and the creation of new life," Fitzsimmons said.
He said the ban on birth control was not an easy command to follow, which was why the decision to marry called for maturity in both partners.
"Christ is really saying that we need to be mindful of abstinence, of self-control, rather than some sort of medical control," Fitzsimons said.
Krische said, "It requires a real belief in God; that they see a child as not their decision, but as a gift from God."
Fitzsimmons said the Vatican's most recent ruling, which opposed all artificial means of reproduction including artificial insemination and
Krische said the church believed that premarital sex was against the teachings of Christ.
surrogate motherhood, was only a clarification of existent doctrine.
"The full expression of sexual love is to occur after the commitment has been made. The sexual act is the sign of total giving of two people to each other."
Caola said, "When you are involved with someone that intimately, that's a commitment that cannot be tossed away next week. And if you're not married, it's easier to say, 'I want out of this.'"
The Catholic church considers abortion to be murder, but Catholics could be forgiven through the Rite of Reconciliation, Fitzsimmons said.
The Rev, Michael Scully, of St. John the Evangelist Church, 1219 Vermont St., said, "There is no such thing as an unforgivable sin."
But Krische said abortion was considered a reserved sin. The local priest would have to appeal to a bishop for jurisdiction, and the bishop would grant forgiveness and impose a penance on the woman who had had an abortion.
The church is against ordaining women as priests because it believes that there are other ways for women to take part in the Mass. Fitzsimons said.
"There are some things some people do better than others," Fitzsimmons said. "Not everyone can sing in the choir."
Caola disagreed. "As a junior in
high school, I felt a calling to be a priest and I was very adamant about it.
"My seminary friends said, 'Well, Louise, that's doctrine, that's the tradition,' and I said, 'That's not a good enough reason.' "
Need for faith
But although they may not agree with all of the church's teachings, more and more Catholics are attending Mass and re-examining the place of religion in their lives.
"I've been at KU for 10 years," Krische said, "and each year it has grown more and more. Students have a hunger for spirituality because the demands of the world do not seem to satisfy their deepest needs."
Stephens said, "If I had to choose a religion that suited my needs, I would choose Catholicism. I see the Catholic Church as a good source for moral guidance in society."
Fitzsimmons said he encouraged Catholics who were confused about their religion to talk to a priest.
"It's good to memorize definitions, but we need to understand what we memorize," he said. "People need to an understanding of their faith."
"Christ didn't just come and set a good example. He talked about it. We need to understand our faith so that we can articulate it to other people."
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