Catholics use the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, also known as the Last Rites, to give spiritual support to people who are ill, and in many cases close to death.
Sanctity of Life
The Catholic Church opposes IVF (in vitro fertilisation), contraception, abortion and euthanasia because of its belief in the sanctity of life.
The Afterlife
Catholics believe that God will bring the world to an end and there will then be a Day of Judgement. Those who have been good Christians will go to Heaven while others will be consigned to Hell.
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Catholic Marriage
Marriage, also called Holy Matrimony, is the celebration of the union of a man and a woman in the eyes of God. It is the only sexual relationship approved by the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church forbids same sex marriages.
The Church strongly disapproves of sexual relations between people who are not married.
Even married couples are not allowed to use artificial methods of contraception. They can use natural methods, such as the rhythm method. Even then, they should use natural contraception only as a method of planning a family.
The Catholic Church does not allow divorce, and divorcees cannot remarry in church or take Holy Communion.
There is a process called annulment when the Church recognises that a marriage was never valid. This can only happen in certain well-defined and limited circumstances such as concealed infertility or mental incapacity such that one of the partners could not have understood the marriage vows fully.
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Catholic Reconciliation
Sacrament of Reconciliation
The Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation, also known as Penance or Confession involves the believer confessing his or her sins to a priest who can then offer Absolution, forgiveness for sins. In this context the believer is called a Penitent. The priest can discuss the confession and may give a Penance and ask for an Act of Contrition.