It feels kind of strange

[DocSoos]

Greetings my Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am new to this forum, I have found it to be most interesting. Please forgive me, I am not trying to start any trouble.

But I feel I must speek my peace.

On the issue of moral theology I personally find it somewhat awkward on the issue of giving advice to those who have questions about sin.

Now I know I can choose to ignore this section of the forum, but I feel it is the duty of every Catholic to refer these people to a Priest and and the sacrement of confession. I know many of you do this, but is an internet forum the correct place to discuss mortal sin? Or how we would interperet it? After all each case is different.

I will probably get flamed for this, not my intention. Maybe we should all examine our own sin before we start handing out advice to others.

Yours in Christ,
DocSoos

 

[Caesar517]

I think these forums serve an important purpose. Not everyone has 24/7 access to a priest and there is no better way to get several educated opinions within a few hours (even though there are a few less educated ones among them). Many of these issues are hypothetical and as long as everyone remembers where these opinions are coming from, I don’t see a problem. I’ve learned so much in my time here. This section is my favorite.

 

[The_Otaku]

I think these forums serve an important purpose. Not everyone has 24/7 access to a priest and there is no better way to get several educated opinions within a few hours (even though there are a few less educated ones among them). Many of these issues are hypothetical and as long as everyone remembers where these opinions are coming from, I don’t see a problem. I’ve learned so much in my time here. This section is my favorite.

You’re right. Not everyone has access to a priest at any given moment, and even if they did, they want to know they also have the comfort of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Are we not our brother’s keeper?

Also, speaking of the hypotheticals, that’s true too, and for more than one reason. I know that whenever I’ve had an issue I shared here, it was either hypothetical or something that had not happened yet. I asked “what if” questions mostly. Because it’s hypothetical for these people, the assumption is that the sin either hasn’t committed yet, or can be prevented. I feel it’s our duty to try and divert a person away from sin in that instance.

I also find relief and comfort in this particular forum as it shows me I’m not the only catholic that struggles in life. Of course, I already knew this, but to see it in posting format is like a comfort zone.

Of course, this is not to take anything away form the OP. He’s right to suggest we take it to a priest if we can. If we haven’t, we should, because Christ, in the form of the priest, is where we should be going to first with these matters. If we already have, then I see absolutely no problem in seeking future help, of any kind, especially in moments of weakness or uncertainty, in the midst of our brothers and sisters here.

I think this particular forum helps us all become more humble too, and helps us realize our own faults. We are then more able and willing to reach out to others. This whole website is a blessing, but how much more this particular forum? There’s a reason it’s one of the top forums here, and it serves a righteous cause, even if it does get ridiculous, graphic, and redundant at times. The fact some of these topics are horrible, morally speaking, shows there’s a need for these concerns to be addressed.

 

[Newbie2]

I agree.

The only problem that I would see is if a poster took every opinion as “gospel truth” as far as what is sin and what is not. Some sins are clearcut, some are not, some forumites take a rigid, almost Pharisee-ic approach to such questionable sin, others take a more lenient, pastoral approach. But all are merely opinions, and everyone has one.