Is Sacrilege just against Rome?

[Richard_I]

I know if we have unworthy confession or receive Communion unworthily then we commit a mortal sin. How about do we commit a mortal sin as Catholics by speaking against the Orthodox Church or against it’s validity of orders and sacraments? Is it a mortal sin to believe the Orthodox Church is in some form of heresy? Is it a mortal sin to believe that they are devoid of grace as Catholics have? Is it a mortal sin to speak against an Orthodox priest when he speaks against the Catholic faith?
One of the reasons why I ask these questions, is because I’ve seen a lot of Orthodox on Facebook criticize the Catholic Church ad even call it’s people heretics and not saved. One day there was an Orthodox priest that had once by friend but as I defended the Catholic Church in it’s past history, he disagreed with me on something historical, and said something very rude to me. I replied that I didn’t see him as a valid priest, and that looked forward to when he returned to Rome. While I realize I probably should have said something different now I want to know if what I said is recognized by the church as a sacrilege? Also, if it isn’t one, can Catholics say anything against the Orthodox Church that is seen as sacrilege.

 

[Richard_I]

Also to be clear I have Orthodox and Catholic friends both. I’ve known good and bad in each.

 

[YADA]

I cant speak to all of your questions …

However, it is not possible to sin “accidentally” or without knowledge that one’s act is a sin …

Thus your response the person about the validity of their Priestly Ordination and the future when they returned to union with the Catholic Church could hardly be considered mortal sins … in order for them to be such - if sinful in any way - you would have to know that it was in fact sinful and continue to express your feelings anyway …

I say this because - as your faith grows - and you come to know Jesus ever more deeply - there are many past actions that you will become aware of that may haunt you … Yes, it helps to discuss this with a priest in the Sacrament of Confession with the grace your new faith has given you to see the sinfulness whether it was in reality at the time or in retrospect.

Once you become aware of sin it is your obligation to avoid it - and if you fail - hopefully to repent and try again …

But do not make yourself crazy over your past as you are trying to move forward into a future with Christ … we are all unworthy - He loves us anyway

I am praying for you on your journey

 

[Richard_I]

Thank you so much for your prayers. I knew Canon Law taught there orders were valid though I still didn’t believe there orders were valid. I knew many Catholics saw their orders as valid but didn’t see any reason for this to be so since the Catholic Church has never proclaimed their orders to be valid? With knowledge of Canon Law then, did I commit a mortal sin.
The longer I live the more that I know there’s enough sin I’ve committed to not judge all else. Lord forgive me.

 

[thistle]

I know if we have unworthy confession or receive Communion unworthily then we commit a mortal sin. How about do we commit a mortal sin as Catholics by speaking against the Orthodox Church or against it’s validity of orders and sacraments? Is it a mortal sin to believe the Orthodox Church is in some form of heresy? Is it a mortal sin to believe that they are devoid of grace as Catholics have? Is it a mortal sin to speak against an Orthodox priest when he speaks against the Catholic faith?
One of the reasons why I ask these questions, is because I’ve seen a lot of Orthodox on Facebook criticize the Catholic Church ad even call it’s people heretics and not saved. One day there was an Orthodox priest that had once by friend but as I defended the Catholic Church in it’s past history, he disagreed with me on something historical, and said something very rude to me. I replied that I didn’t see him as a valid priest, and that looked forward to when he returned to Rome. While I realize I probably should have said something different now I want to know if what I said is recognized by the church as a sacrilege? Also, if it isn’t one, can Catholics say anything against the Orthodox Church that is seen as sacrilege.

Modern Catholic Dictionary:

SACRILEGE. The deliberate violation of sacred things. Sacred things are persons, places, and objects set aside publicly and by the Church’s authority for the worship of God. The violation implies that a sacred thing is desecrated precisely in its sacred character. It is a sin against the virtue of religion.

Personal sacrilege is committed by laying violent hands on clerics or religious of either sex; by unlawfully citing them before secular courts, i.e., without just cause and without express permission of their ecclesiastical superiors; by unlawfully demanding of them the payment of civil taxes or military service; and by the commission of acts of unchastity by or with a person bound by the public vow of chastity.

Sacred places are violated by sacrilege through defilement, e.g., serious and unjust shedding of blood, as in willful homicide or by putting the sacred place (church or shrine) to unseemly use, e.g., secular trading, acts of debauchery; by grave theft from the Church or consecrated edifice; and by violating the immunity of a place as having the right of sanctuary.

Sacred objects are desecrated by sacrilege whenever something sacred is used for an unworthy purpose. This includes the Mass and the sacraments, along with sacramentals; sacred vessels and church furnishings; and ecclesiastical property. Desecration in each of these areas includes the deliberate invalid reception of the sacraments, simulation of Mass, grave irreverence to the Eucharist; gravely profane use of sacred vessels or vestments; and the unlawful seizure of sacred things or ecclesiastical property.

Sacrilege is many times reprobated in Sacred Scripture, notably in the second book of Maccabees and in the writings of St. Paul. Grave sacrilege in the Old Testament was punishable by death, and in the Catholic Church is considered a mortal sin. (Etym. Latin sacrilegium, the robbing of a temple, the stealing of sacred things.)

 

[erikd]

I know if we have unworthy confession or receive Communion unworthily then we commit a mortal sin. How about do we commit a mortal sin as Catholics by speaking against the Orthodox Church or against it’s validity of orders and sacraments?.

Hi Richard, while the Orthodox Church is not in full communion with the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, the Orthodox Church has valid Holy Orders and therefore valid Sacraments. The same lineage of Bishops going back to before 1054 validates this. The excommunications of 1054 were lifted in 1965 by Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople, and in 1995 St. John Paul II concelebrated the Eucharist with Bartholomew I of Constantinople. Catholic Answers has a great tract about this:

catholic.com/tract/eastern-orthodoxy

 

[porthos11]

I know if we have unworthy confession or receive Communion unworthily then we commit a mortal sin. How about do we commit a mortal sin as Catholics by speaking against the Orthodox Church or against it’s validity of orders and sacraments? Is it a mortal sin to believe the Orthodox Church is in some form of heresy? Is it a mortal sin to believe that they are devoid of grace as Catholics have? Is it a mortal sin to speak against an Orthodox priest when he speaks against the Catholic faith?
One of the reasons why I ask these questions, is because I’ve seen a lot of Orthodox on Facebook criticize the Catholic Church ad even call it’s people heretics and not saved. One day there was an Orthodox priest that had once by friend but as I defended the Catholic Church in it’s past history, he disagreed with me on something historical, and said something very rude to me. I replied that I didn’t see him as a valid priest, and that looked forward to when he returned to Rome. While I realize I probably should have said something different now I want to know if what I said is recognized by the church as a sacrilege? Also, if it isn’t one, can Catholics say anything against the Orthodox Church that is seen as sacrilege.

Yes. Because the Orthodox possess valid orders and valid sacraments, speaking out/attacking an Orthodox priest is just as sacrilegious as would attacking a Catholic priest because despite our schism, they do possess the same configuration to Christ as our priests do, and their sacred ceremonies and objects do revolve around the Real Presence.

Your comment to this priest was out of line. The Orthodox can be hard-nosed, and are often rather unfair to us Catholics. That does not give us license to call into question the validity of an Orthodox priest’s holy orders.

Objectively, what you did was sacrilegious. Subjectively, only you can examine your conscience.

 

[Richard_I]

Thanks for the help guys.