I have been reading a useful and informative book: A Priest Answers 27 Questions You Never Thought to Ask by Fr Michael Kerper, a parish priest in New Hampshire. Some of the questions can easily be answered by anyone of my generation who was taught the Catechism, such as “What’s the difference between mortal and venial sins?”, “What is the Act of Contrition?” and “Is damnation real?”
Others are less easy of definition, such as “Whatever happened to Limbo?” This elicits the author’s sensible statement: “As much as we want to know precisely what happens to non-baptised persons – children and good people - the simple truth is that God’s revelation doesn’t tell us. In the past, Limbo became the favoured opinion because many in the Church stressed the necessity of Baptism. Today, however, many theologians, including Pope Benedict XVI, see that opinion as explaining too much, thereby foreclosing possibilities known to God alone.”
