Twenty Questions Matters of Life & Death

Twenty Questions

1. What is meant by abortion? The removal of a foetus from the womb before it can survive

2. What is meant by near-death experience? When someone who is about to die has an out-of-body experience

3. What is meant by sanctity of life? The belief that life is holy & belongs to God

4. What is immortality? The idea that the soul lives on after the death of the body

5. What is reincarnation? The belief that, after death, souls are reborn in a new body

6. What is meant by paranormal? Unexplained things that are thought to have spiritual causes, e.g. ghosts or mediums

7. What is meant by resurrection? The belief that, after death, the body stays in the grave until the end of the world when it is raised.

8. What is meant by purgatory? A place where Catholics believe souls go after death to be purified. People on earth can pray for those in purgatory

9. What does euthanasia mean? An easy and gentle death

10. What is assisted suicide? Providing a seriously ill person with the means to commit suicide

11. What is meant by contraception? Preventing conception from occurring

12. Why is the Catholic Church against the use of artificial contraception? God’s main purpose for sex is reproduction so every act of sex should be open to the possibility of new life Artificial contraception can encourage sexual immorality eg promiscuity, adultery etc and an increase in STD’s Some forms of contraception eg the coil are abortive – allow fertilisation but not implantation so new life is destroyed The Catechism bans artificial forms of contraception but allows Natural Family Planning

13.What do you know about the Abortion Act 1967? The Law allowed abortion up to 28 weeks In 1991 this time limit was reduced to 24 weeks Two doctors need to agree that the abortion can take place They have to agree that – the mother’s life is at risk – her mental or physical health may suffer – another child’s mental or physical health may suffer – there is a good risk that that the baby might be seriously handicapped After 24 weeks, a termination can be carried out throughout the late stages of pregnancy if there is a serious threat to the mother’s health/life, or if the baby is severely handicapped

14. What do you know about the Doctrine of Double Effect? Catholics follow the Doctrine of Double Effect – if a pregnancy is terminated as a second effect of an operation carried out to save a mother’s life (eg cancer of the womb, ectopic pregnancy) this is not wrong

15. What causes world poverty? War Corrupt governments HIV & Aids Debt Natural disasters Dirty water

16. What is CAFOD? Catholic Agency for Overseas Development

17.Why do some Christians permit the use of artificial contraception? Other Christians teach that contraception is an acceptable way of married couples restricting their family size. They believe this because: God created sex for enjoyment and for bonding a couple. Contraception allows a couple to have sex without creating a child There is nothing in the bible which forbids contraception They believe contraception improves women’s health and raises the standard of living for families as they are smaller

18. What is meant by hell? A place of horrors where Satan rules.

19. What is meant by ‘heaven’? A place of paradise where God rules.

20. Why do Catholics believe in life after death? Jesus rose from the dead Jesus taught that there was life after death eg the parable of the Sheep and the Goats; conversation with thief on cross The creeds which sum up our faith state that we believe “in the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come” It is the most important teaching of the Christian Church – without life after death our faith is meaningless (St Paul)