Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck
and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Woe to the world because of things that cause sin!
Such things must come, but woe to the one through whom they come!
MATTHEW 18:6-7
INTRODUCTION
Scandal may be the deliberate leading another into sin like recruiting someone to pick pockets. But the sin of scandal is more prevalent, nuanced, and pervasive than that. A priest who abuses a child brings condemnation on a Church and even Christianity. Catholic politicians who brags publicly they are Catholic and supports abortion undermines Church teaching and leads other poorly informed and weak souls astray.
We can give scandal or be recipient of scandal that influences what we believe and what we promote. For example people read a poll that a majority of “Catholics” support abortion. The pressure is on in this world to go along to get along.
Many “feel” there is no outside moral authority. It is what I believe/judge to be right for me. This is called moral relativism. i.e. .What is right for me may not be right for you but so what; When I fill out a form and they ask for gender I mark other. It is up to me to decide what gender I want to be; I can have sex with anybody anytime and it is not anyone’s business.
Contrary to moral relativists, there is moral authority outside ourselves. God our Creator is the giver of the moral law. God made us to show forth His goodness and to share with us His everlasting happiness in heaven. Sin is our separation from God— a cause for unhappiness, dysfunction and ultimately, jeopardizing eternal life and happiness with God.
Sin always has consequences. No one sins without consequences for ourselves and others. i.e watching pornography coarsens and objectifies our opinion of women and if married our marital spousal relationship; a married spouse has an affair with another, breaks marriage vows, disrespects spouse, gives scandal to children, and could result in divorce and break up of family.
To live in a pagan culture is nothing new. Christians have had to persevere from the beginning under the imposition of false idols and immoral man made laws. But today, especially in time of social media, 24/7 news and talk shows, scandal dispersed by “Catholics” is intimidating and discouraging to faithful Catholics.
Discouragement is the tool of the Devil. God only encourages, never discourages. If you are discouraged by the society and culture that surrounds you, let a big red flag unfurl in front of you. Devil alert! Devil alert! Jesus I trust in you! Let me surrender to you not the culture of the times!
News and talk shows do not or should not form our moral compass. For example I am citing some recent news stories I have been following that attack religious liberty, promotes euthanasia, and denial of the gender you were born with and formed in the womb by God.
GENDER IDENTITY PARENTS BEWARE
Last month, the Supreme Court of British Columbia issued an order that a father may not refer to his 14-year-old daughter as a girl because she identifies herself as a boy. or by her original name, whether in public or in private. Doing so has been ruled to constitute “family violence because it would cause her “psychological abuse in the form of harassment or coercion”
CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHING GENDER IDENTITY
When the freedom to be creative becomes the freedom to create oneself, then necessarily the Maker (God) himself is denied. We believe and affirm that all human beings are created by God and thereby have an inherent dignity. What God has created is good. “God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27).
SEAL OF CONFESSION UNDER ATTACK
The proposal, California Senate Bill 360, would seek to require priests to violate the sacramental seal of confession in suspected cases of child abuse or neglect. The bill would force a priest who hears in the confessional about sins regarding sexual abuse to choose to “face possible imprisonment or to betray that confidentiality and violate his deepest conscience and the laws of God and the Roman Catholic Church.”
CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHING
The Church teaches that the “seal of confession” is inviolable and cannot be changed by human authority, because its origin is in divine revelation. A priest who intentionally violates the seal commits a mortal sin and incurs an automatic excommunication. A priest, therefore, cannot break the seal to save his own life, to protect his good name, to refute a false accusation, to save the life of another, to aid the course of justice (like reporting a crime), or to avert a public calamity.
PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE
The Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act was signed into law by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. As of Aug. 1, 2019, terminally ill patients with a prognosis of six months or fewer will now be able to self-administer lethal concoctions of drugs in order to take their own lives.
In Canada, a hospital for sick children has unveiled a plan for how to terminate the lives of terminally ill kids, with or without parental consent.
CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHING
CCC 2277 Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.
CCC 2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.
SCANDAL
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
CCC 2284 Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil. The person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor’s tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense.
CCC 2285 Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized. It prompted our Lord to utter this curse: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. ”
POSTSCRIPT
We must fight back daily the influence of scandal and of course not be guilty of scandal ourselves. Pray always that we will persevere and overcome temptation. All prayers are heard and answered by God. Read and pray Scripture. God speaks to us though their written words. Take advantage of the Sacramental life of the Church.