Who were the Magi?

I was visiting an inner-city church one day and in the vestibule some graffiti was written on the wall which said, "Catholics, God has no mother," obviously referring to Mary's title as "Mother of God." How does one respond to such an objections?

More and more people I know are having deceased deceased ones cremated. I thought that Catholics were not allowed to be cremated. A friend though said that the Bishops have permitted cremation. Could you please explain the Church's teaching?

Several of my friends "tithe," giving 10% of their income to the Church and to charity. They say that this is traditional and found in the Bible. Could you please explain more about tithing and are we required to tithe?

I was very disturbed over the recent letter "Always Our Children." It seems to make homosexuality accepted. Has the Church changed its teaching concerning homosexuality?

The Washington Times had an article which said that President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky had phone sex and oral sex. It also said he researched the Bible and concluded that oral sex does not constitute adultery. Aren't phone sex, oral sex, and masturbation wrong?

What are origins of Ash Wednesday and the use of ashes?

Recently I was discussing the Lenten fasting and abstinence regulations with a friend. He told me that a person is supposed to fast one hour before receiving Holy Communion. I honestly have never heard that before. Can you clear up this matter for me?

While the criteria for waging a just war are reasonable, our modern methods of warfare complicate their application, especially in the areas of proportionality, discrimination, and due proportion.

With recent conflict between Iraq sod the United States. the the of war, the use of chemical weapons, and the debate over the morality of the embargo imposed since Desert Storm, what moral teaching guides our thinking as Catholics concerning these issues?