On another blog someone commented that we shouldn't be judgmental, meaning we shouldn't judge the behavior of others. It's not Christian to do so. Of course that is false. A Christian can become a lawyer, a judge, sit on a jury and condemn people for the crimes for which they are JUDGED guilty.
The Church, meaning her pastors and the laity have every right to judge the behavior of other Catholics, their spouses, children, etc. We don't have the right to judge their personal salvation, but we can connect mortal sin with the possibility of eternal damnation.
But what about giving scandal? If I go into a brothel as a priest and there hear the confessions of those making use of this place of business, am I giving scandal to the larger community or am I showing Christ's compassion to the sinner?
What about the Catholic who goes to the wedding of another Catholic who is not getting married in the Church and in fact is getting married for a second or third time?
HERE'S A GOOD ARTICLE ON THE FORGOTTEN SIN OF SCANDAL. I post you comment.
9 comments:
What do I do if I know Catholic who is a Freemason? Tell a priest, tell him, both, nothing?
Judge behavior? Yes? Judge one accused of unsubstantiated accusations? No.
What of the scandal of silence or ambivalence about the sinfulness of artificial contraception? Does the desire for fuller pews and more revenue justify such silence?
Always speak to the person first and try to persuade him with reasoned arguments.
In the words of one of my Teenage Children "Don't Judge Me". This is what Society teaches today, that any and all behavior is acceptable as long as it is consensual, and no one has the right to judge or question. This is obviously false.
"Learn something new every day on this Blog."
This is a very good article that helped me better understand the sin of scandal. Actually I misunderstood it before reading this article. Thanks.
It can be tricky to know when to keep one's mouth shut and when to speak to a person about something they're doing. I gather from this article that if one's silence in someway would allow or pepetuate a sinfull act or give a sign of approval of that act, then it wuld be a sin of scandal.
Even still it can be very tricky.
Apparently, cowardice isn't an acceptable excuse for keeping silent.
~SqueekerLamb
Is it scandal for a Priest to use the pulpit to tell lies or otherwise mislead his congregation? To speak hatefully with incivility with comments that are divisive?
Should a Priest's watchword or guiding principle be, "First do no harm?"
As for the article, which is worse, for a Priest to misuse his office or for a Priest to withdraw from the Priesthood so he can get an open and fair adjudication with due process protections?
Squeeker.
What's your opinion on administering Holy Communion to Catholics like Cuomo, Pelosi, Kerry, Biden, etc.?
Frajm is conspicuously absent once again.
Just to be clear, FRAJM is Fr. Allan J. McDonald, who posts and thus makes clear his opinions in the original post, but since I have a full time job as a pastor, I do well just to post comments, but can't respond to each one. I let others do that! It's good to be in charge of your own blog and set the rules, no?
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