Who’s having a tizzy? Scripture says what it says. Chalcedon says what it says. Either way if you want to move on that’s fine with me.
If a word or phrase is true,that is what matters and it should be used. Sin should be spoken of for what it is. Something that is bad should be spoken of as bad. There is nothing wrong in itself with condemning sinful behavior. If people take it as condemning themselves,that either shows that they identify with their sin and do not regard it as sin,or they know they are guilty. If they feel guilty and are sorry,they can be consoled and encouraged.
It isn’t cruel to rebuke people with the intention of getting them to stop sinning so that they may be saved. To admonish sinners is a spiritual work of mercy.
I really hope that people feel what you say. For my own situation, I just now came to the catholic church ans was welcomed with loving and open arms. I did not know that I was not in a state of grace because of my husband’s previous marriage. We didn’t get awful words that we were committing adultery, but instead love and help to start working on our annulment process. I just hope that this synod emphasizes compassion; especially for those of us just coming into the church,
Perhaps you need to realise that there are many, many Catholics who married outside the church, re-married after civil divorce, or have other living arrangements that are problematic. Such people do know where the church stands on these things and realise they are indeed committing adultery when re-marrying. ( You, of course, were not one of those people because you had no clue about what the church teaches. This is completely reasonable and I doubt anyone expected you to be aware of it.)
One of the reasons I chose the catholic church was because of the strong faith of my friend’s family. They were always an inspiration . The immediate friend will not come back to the church because of bad pastoral care and being rebuked by the current priest. She is supportive of me and is very happy that I have a Fr. that is kind and compassionate.
How would we react each time we reject His invitation? How do we react to a parable that equals us all in dignity as children of God and asks for a continuous conversion of heart? How willing are we to go to the intercection of roads to proclaim the invitation heart to heart ?
The church is open and kind and merciful to all who want to return. But people who want to convert or return must do so humbly, willing to change their lives and be open to God’s will. With such people the church will be patient and loving and kind until the end of time. But there are people who want to change the church teachings to accommodate their lifestyles.
Actually it’ll accomplish something: it’ll sour Catholic evangelization in Africa, where homosexual behavior and tolerance thereof are seen as signs of moral weakness, and where Muslims and evangelicals are already making inroads by calling Catholicism “the gay church.”
Agreed. I predict many gays won’t be happy with the kindest, gentlest welcome in the world that ends with an affirmation of teaching of the sin of homosexual behavior. My question about that though - is much of this push (I am talking about the gay issue here) to soften the approach to teaching a conscious effort to alter teaching or subconscious, by that I mean are many gays thinking, oh, if people were just more welcoming and would give me a chance to really change, or are they thinking why can’t the defenders of teaching see that they are wrong about gay sex; I am a good Christian, faultless in that regard. I am not asking anyone, just wondering about it myself. Likewise, I think this “slippery slope” does apply to other issues beyond the gay one as well. The really, really sad thing is that even with a complete overhaul, à la the Anglicans or Lutherans (ELCA), not that many would really come for very long (in no small part due to the continued and even strengthened tendency to sin). Picture of Dorian Gray.
It is no sin to be accidently cruel. If you read the above posts, you will see where someone in the RCIA program said that some posts here come across as cruel. Rebuking a sinner is, as you say, so that they may be saved. Since this is the goal, as opposed to making ourselves feel holier, then the appearance of cruelty is every bit as important as intent. Otherwise, we would accomplish more with simple silence.