VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Exceptions to celibacy for priests in the Roman Catholic Church can be puzzling, including for young priests enthusiastic about their vocation.

The Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, run by Opus Dei in Rome, held a theological conference on priestly celibacy March 4-5 and while no one challenged mandatory celibacy, there were repeated questions about the exceptions made in some of the Eastern Catholic churches and for clergy coming from the Anglican Communion.

Q A friend committed suicide recently, after years of treatment for depression. Are such people forgiven? She received a Catholic burial. What about people who kill themselves who have no history of mental or psychological issues? I always believed forgiveness was not possible if one committed suicide. What is the church’s stance? (Iowa)

Lent already? Ah, fish sticks! That mild exclamation can mean “Oh no!” or “Yum yum!” The difference depends on your distaste — or your fondness — for fish. Sticks or otherwise.

And that, of course, raises a number of questions: Do no-meat Lenten Fridays count less if you love fish? Does that sacrifice count more if you hate fish? How is score kept, and who’s keeping it?

Q I have two friends who left the Catholic Church years ago, one because he became disillusioned with a priest, and the other just stopped attending Mass. Now they both want to return but don’t know how. Someone said they must go through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults process, which doesn’t make sense to me. Another said they must talk with a priest, make a good confession and that is all.

I’m sure other former Catholics would also like to know how to come back. (Maryland)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Shroud of Turin, which many Christians believe to be the burial cloth of Jesus, goes on public display this spring, at a time when experts are debating new claims about the 14-foot-long piece of linen.

Pope Benedict XVI has already made plans to view the shroud during a one-day trip to the northern Italian city of Turin in early May. Many observers are wondering how the pope will refer to the cloth: as a sign, an icon or — as Pope John Paul II once characterized it — a relic.

When our parish women’s spirituality group discussed Mary, the mother of Jesus, I was struck that most of the women who talked about their relationship with the mother of Jesus wept.

Tears are an indication of deep emotional involvement. Sometimes we Catholics over-intellectualize our faith. Catholic women don’t do that when they talk about Mary.

St. Ignatius of Loyola would be the first to tell us that in our tears we encounter God. So what did these tears tell me about how women often come to the Lord through Mary?

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI recently urged the world’s priests to make better use of new media, but in his own backyard the digital revolution is still seen as a mixed blessing.

The Vatican Web site remains largely a repository of printed texts, displayed on pages designed to look like parchment. And despite more than a decade of discussion about making the site interactive, www.vatican.va continues to provide information in one direction only: from them to you.

Q What is the church’s take on guardian angels? Are we all issued one of them? When did they first appear in Catholic teaching? My granddaughter asked me some of these questions after she was nearly killed in an accident, and I said her guardian angel must have been with her. I don’t remember learning much about them, except for the prayer we said many years ago in school: “Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here; ever this day be at my side to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.” (Ohio)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Over the last few months, Pope Benedict XVI has opened a wider dialogue on the subject of environmental protection, and in the process put a sharper focus on an issue that’s become central to his pontificate.

Q Where in the Bible is the account of the fall of the angels and St. Michael’s conquest over Lucifer? I can’t locate it. (New York)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Even though it’s only mid-January, Pope Benedict XVI’s calendar for 2010 is already being filled.

On the horizon for the next 12 months are four papal trips; a Middle East Synod of Bishops; the expected publication of a document on the Bible and the second volume of Jesus of Nazareth; a major gathering of the world’s priests; a pilgrimage to the Shroud of Turin; a probable consistory and several likely canonizations and beatifications — including that of Pope John Paul II.

As the old year passes into the rearview mirror and the new one lies ahead it is a natural time for reflection. We review what has been and we look forward to tomorrow. Whatever has been, we cannot change. We can however make wiser choices in the New Year.

Q My unmarried daughter recently gave birth to a son. It was a painful decision to place her baby, through the Catholic social services, into a Catholic home. Wanting to experience her newborn baby’s life as much as possible, she asked the hospital chaplain to baptize the child. He declined, saying the archbishop required that, unless in danger of death, babies should be baptized in the parish where family and parishioners can welcome them into the faith.

I can’t think of a better person to welcome a child into the faith than his own mother. She endured nine months of emotional and physical pain because she knew it would be wrong to have an abortion. You’d think the church would take a more compassionate view toward the needs of the mother and not just the “parish community.” (Ohio)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Looking back on 2009, it’s difficult to imagine a busier year for 82-year-old Pope Benedict XVI.

The Year of St. Paul. The Year for Priests. A major social encyclical. A Holy Land pilgrimage. A first meeting with President Obama. Ten new saints. An African trip and an African synod. A Facebook debut. A controversial concession to Catholic traditionalists. An unexpected overture to disaffected Anglicans.

Q As one who came into the Catholic Church a few years ago through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, there are many things I still don’t know, especially about the Mass. At the Lamb of God before Communion, some people strike their chest three times. Others do not. What does this mean? Should everyone do it? (Texas)

When I envision someone fighting for justice, I don’t think so much of myself. Maybe that’s an image I should change.

Our archdiocese took a small stand for justice last month when it cancelled a contract for an annual awards dinner with a local hotel. It cost the archdiocese a few thousand dollars to break the contract, and money is as tight here as it is everywhere. But the hotel is embroiled in a bitter labor dispute with hotel workers, many of them our Latino parishioners.

There is something magic about Christmas!

Each year as the season approaches it begins to cast its spell on our hearts. Perhaps it is that first Christmas carol we hear, the smell of fresh-cut pine, or smoke from a neighbor’s chimney. Or maybe it is the sight of holiday lights trimming a tree. Sometimes the aroma of holiday treats cooking in the kitchen, or the crisp air on a December evening brings us into the magic of the season.

Q Is there a Catholic teaching that says if a married couple remains faithful to each other not only during life but after the death of one of the spouses, God has a special place for them in heaven?

My father died when I was 12 years old, and my mother told me the above. She read it in your column many years ago, referring to Pope Paul VI.

My husband died on our 51st wedding anniversary after a 51-year love affair. Your recent column about married love in heaven prompts this question: Was what my mother said just wishful thinking? (Illinois)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — With millions of documents filling almost 53 miles of shelf space, the Vatican Secret Archives obviously still hold some secrets.

Despite the aura of mystery surrounding the archives, the Vatican actually encourages academics to research its holdings and has worked with a Belgian publishing house to bring 105 of the most important, or curious, documents to the public.

Do Catholics think about St. Anne during Advent? I don’t know the answer to questions like that as I have only been Catholic a few years. I’m thinking about St. Anne this year. If you are about to be a grandmother for the first time — like I am — St. Anne just might be on your mind this December as well.

Q Where did the custom begin of burying a statue of St. Joseph in order to sell a house? Even some Catholics in our neighborhood find it weird, and a non-Catholic says it sounds superstitious as well as useless. I admit we’ve done it and everything worked out as we had hoped. (Ohio)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Ask and you shall receive. The art world is ready to collaborate with the church in creating inspirational modern art, said some artists who took part in a landmark meeting with Pope Benedict XVI.

After decades of disinterest or suspicion, the rapport between art and religion is ready to be restored. If the church wants art to support its mission, all it has to do is call.