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PeteZaHut
Guest
When should you forgive someone and let it go, and when should you turn someone in to the police, assuming that the crime committed only affects you and the person who did the act?
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blackrobe
Guest
You are attempting to obtain one answer to at least two entirely separate questions. To forgive is required; to “let it go” is too vague a term to evaluate without further explanation.
If you have reason to believe a crime has been committed you should report it to the lawful authorities. Furthermore, no moral act is limited in its consequences to subject and object. If a crime has been committed it is against the political and social order as well as the proximate victim. And all moral actions affect the Mystical Body.
JSA+
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FrankLawrence
Guest
We are called to forgive, but forgiveness does not mean that we are not to take the necessary steps to comply with the law. Forgiveness means that we give up our personal right towards revenge, and do not hold feelings of hostility in our hearts. It does not mean that we are to necessarily trust that person again. It also does not mean that we neglect our duties to report criminal activity to the appropriate authorities. If a crime has been committed against you, who is to say that the person who committed it is not going to do the same thing to someone else? In some situations, you could actually become CRIMINALLY LIABLE, if you failed to report an incident, and the person commits the same crime again, but against someone else.
I would recommend, however, if you are speaking of a specific situation, that you explain it on this message board, so that we may be able to better answer what we feel you should do in your situation, if there is a situation and this is all not merely a hypothetical question.
I would recommend, however, if you are speaking of a specific situation, that you explain it on this message board, so that we may be able to better answer what we feel you should do in your situation, if there is a situation and this is all not merely a hypothetical question.
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pyropam
Guest
If you don’t report the people to the police… what keeps them from doing it again to you or someone else??? We must pay for our crimes… Don’t hold hate in your heart… just do your civic duty and report the crime.
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melensdad
Guest
Interestingly, I was looking at the CCC regarding the death penalty and also self-defense. Not quite exactly related, but still a similar.
We are morally required to defend oursleves. We are, as I read it, also morally required to prevent attackers from continuing to attack others. So the logical parallel would be that we are also morally obligated to stop others, who we know are breaking the law, from continuing to break it. Therefore, it seems like we should report crimes to the legal authorities.
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pira114
Guest
Total judgement call.
If you want to stop them from doing it again, report them.
Or…If you want to stop them from doing it again, don’t report them, and show them compassion. This may get them thinking and on the right track again.
So, again, total judgement call. The answer is not on this board, it’s in your heart and mind. Do you think you can help this person by reporting/not reporting? Do you think you can stop them from doing it again? Or to someone else?
More importantly, are you wanting to report them purely out of revenge? Can you live with that?
There will not be any “technicallities” on our Judgement day, so think hard about why you would report them or not report them. Revenge hurts the avenger most. I know.
If you want to stop them from doing it again, report them.
Or…If you want to stop them from doing it again, don’t report them, and show them compassion. This may get them thinking and on the right track again.
So, again, total judgement call. The answer is not on this board, it’s in your heart and mind. Do you think you can help this person by reporting/not reporting? Do you think you can stop them from doing it again? Or to someone else?
More importantly, are you wanting to report them purely out of revenge? Can you live with that?
There will not be any “technicallities” on our Judgement day, so think hard about why you would report them or not report them. Revenge hurts the avenger most. I know.
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puzzleannie
Guest
forgiveness does not imply “letting it go” and failing to report criminal actions to the police. forgiveness is about your own internal attitude toward the sin and the sinner. You do not forgive the sin, you forgive the sinner, and release yourself from the bondage of resentment, recrimnation and bitterness. You are not doing the criminal any favors by not reporting the crime, you are enabling him to continue doing it and perhaps putting others in danger.
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latinmasslover
Guest
depends on the crime.
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vern_humphrey
Guest
Absolutely.
However, my thinking is that in most cases if you have to call the police, the crime is serious enough to warrant more than a severe talking-to. By calling the police, we are using scarce resources allocated for the potection of us all. By failing to follow through, we waste those resources and perhaps increase the liklihood of the offender victimizing someone else.
So perhaps the time to think about it is ** before** you call the police.
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drafdog
Guest
As a citizen it is your obligation to report criminal activity to the police. This is apart from and distinct from all distinctly religious activity. If you are in doubt about the issue, consider that being made by the civil authorities to account for one’s activities may be a significant aid to repentance and atonement.
Do not ever be deceived by the idea that only the immediate victim is affected by a criminal act. Insofar as the criminal is not made accountable, the failure to act contributes to the freedom to act in a similar fashion on subsequent occasions. Thus the victim in the first act, by not reporting it, becomes complicite in further criminal activity of the perpetrator. In fact you become just as morally liable as the criminal if she does it again.
Tort law is another matter as evidenced by Paul’s admonishment to the church at Corinth in chapter six of his first letter. Such matters may be handled by private adjudication by the community as an extension of din Torah. Jesus also speaks of private adjudication of civil matters.
Matthew
Do not ever be deceived by the idea that only the immediate victim is affected by a criminal act. Insofar as the criminal is not made accountable, the failure to act contributes to the freedom to act in a similar fashion on subsequent occasions. Thus the victim in the first act, by not reporting it, becomes complicite in further criminal activity of the perpetrator. In fact you become just as morally liable as the criminal if she does it again.
Tort law is another matter as evidenced by Paul’s admonishment to the church at Corinth in chapter six of his first letter. Such matters may be handled by private adjudication by the community as an extension of din Torah. Jesus also speaks of private adjudication of civil matters.
Matthew
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guanophore
Guest
I don’t usually post in this part of the forum, but the thinking error in the title caught my attention. As an individual who deals with a lot of domestic violence, I have to say this logic is wrong. A citizen does not “have someone arrested”. Although this kind of thinking is common in offenders who enjoy blaming their victims for their own actions, it is incorrect. A citizen gets himself arrested because he violates the law, whether criminal or civil. It is the duty of law abiding citizens to report crimes, and the duty of the State to arrest or to judge such persons. Thinking a citizen has the power to “have someone arrested” is just not correct.
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vern_humphrey
Guest
Right you are. And the duty of the citizen who called in the complaint is to be a witness in court.
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love4mary
Guest
About 4 years ago, I had invited a neighbor to stay with me while she was working out some personal “issues”. Her way of working them out was with a case of beer and an attitude.
I told her that either the beer an attitude left or she did,she refused both so I had to call the police and have her removed. I had young children in the home and I was Not going to subject them her language and drunken behaviour.
I told her that either the beer an attitude left or she did,she refused both so I had to call the police and have her removed. I had young children in the home and I was Not going to subject them her language and drunken behaviour.
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PeteZaHut
Guest
This is an awkward situation to bring up online.
When a was pretty little (I’m guessing 7-10 years old), me and 2 other kids were being babysat for the night. The babysitter, an older male, who I am pretty sure was a teenager at the time, convinced us to play strip poker with him.
Being the age that I was, I didn’t fully realize the wrong that had happened. It being about 10 years later now, I would hope that he would have time to mature and realize that isn’t the kind of thing you should do. I would also hope that he was going through a stage of changes in his life that had him confused.
I would assume this isn’t the kind of thing I can, or even should report, considering the time that has passed and the fact that I am only 99% sure who this person was.
When a was pretty little (I’m guessing 7-10 years old), me and 2 other kids were being babysat for the night. The babysitter, an older male, who I am pretty sure was a teenager at the time, convinced us to play strip poker with him.
Being the age that I was, I didn’t fully realize the wrong that had happened. It being about 10 years later now, I would hope that he would have time to mature and realize that isn’t the kind of thing you should do. I would also hope that he was going through a stage of changes in his life that had him confused.
I would assume this isn’t the kind of thing I can, or even should report, considering the time that has passed and the fact that I am only 99% sure who this person was.
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franco_antonio
Guest
The question is, can you still file a case against this person eventhough it happened after couple of years. .the answer is yes, if there is probable cause in your explanation/complaint, but this will undergo a very long trial.
Only remember this: Forgiving must start in yourself.
I think it is so hard for me to give comment for that after i read your story.
Only remember this: Forgiving must start in yourself.
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PeteZaHut
Guest
I have had no problem forgiving in this situation. I am just in doubt know that it would be necessary for me to pursue this any further considering the circumstances.
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guanophore
Guest
I will offer some guidelines for you on this matter. It may have been an adolescent phase, but the majority of young people who engage in this inappropriate behavior are early victims themselves. This behavior is learned. If there is any chance that the individual could be around children, or possibly engaging in the same behavior, then it would be prudent to report it. The citizen is not the one who needs to substantiate the claim, but the children’s protective services. You have no way of knowing how many other complaints may have been made, but if everyone reports, a pattern begins to emerge. On the other hand, if the indidual corrected his ways, then the investigation will be dropped. No harm, no foul.
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PeteZaHut
Guest
How would you go about doing that, considering I am not 100% sure who the person was and it happening so long ago.
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Ignatius
Guest
Forgiving someone does not require that you thwart justice. Justice is from God as well as mercy. The courts will decide on the balance of mercy and justice. If a serious crime has been committed, you are obligated to report it to the authorities.
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strngrnrth
Guest
This reminds me of a question I’ve been wrestling with.
Many people I know are using marijuana. Some sell it. Am I required to obey the law and report them, though that would destroy any chance I have to be a witness in the community around me? No one would talk to me again. No one would ever trust or respect me. They would not want to learn about Jesus after I did that to them. I would actually have to leave the area. But we are supposed to obey the law.
Can betraying people who aren’t trying to do anything but consume an herb really be the right thing to do?
Many people I know are using marijuana. Some sell it. Am I required to obey the law and report them, though that would destroy any chance I have to be a witness in the community around me? No one would talk to me again. No one would ever trust or respect me. They would not want to learn about Jesus after I did that to them. I would actually have to leave the area. But we are supposed to obey the law.
Can betraying people who aren’t trying to do anything but consume an herb really be the right thing to do?
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