All the more reason for practicing Catholics to “be there” for each other (including making themselves available for marriage to each other!) so that they don’t have to weather the storms alone. But that is the topic of a separate thread.
Well, Christ did make reference to the fact that He came to bring division, and that family members would be set against each other (not that He wanted to do that on purpose, just that being a Christian would be met with opposition, even from family members).
I could agree that there is indeed a difference, because according to St. Paul formication was worse because in fornication one physically unites with a prostitute. Add to that the fact that Our Lady stated that more people will go to hell due to “sins of the flesh” (code for “sexual sin”) than any other sin.
A lot of issues like this could be solved if the two sides would have an honest conversation in which they would all listen to each other and respect each other and sincerely try to understand the other person’s perspective and all be willing to compromise a little. That would be true whether this is a conversation between a parent and child or between a man/woman and their spouse or between any other individuals who are trying to resolve a dispute or misunderstanding. All too often, people aren’t really willing to honestly and sincerely listen to each other and tend instead to talk past each other and to dig in their heels. And I’m sure that I’m guilty of this, too. It’s probably human nature.
Again, in a loving family, this would not be a sudden change of course. A child would know what the house rules are from the time they reach the age of reason. They would know that mom and dad expect X, Y and Z. That if, when they are of age, they do not want to abide by the house rules, that they are welcome to find a new place to live.
The child has already moved away from the faith tradition in which he or she was raised.
In the context, you’re kind of saying that this is what it would take in terms of off-property conduct before you would ask an adult in your home to consider that they either need to change their habitual conduct or else start their own household. Otherwise, stay sober, don’t put smoke in the air, pull your weight with the chores and if you’re a relative it is mi casa es tu casa.
No, it is code for “the Flesh” as in: the World, the Flesh and the Devil. She did not say sex and there is no reason to conclude she only meant sex.
Actually, I’m going to say that for the purposes of this thread, my point is that serious disagreement between adults in a household is sufficient to ask to split off into separate households. To say that people should not care what other adults in the househood do unless it is something like smoking, being drunk or high, failing to do one’s fair share of the chores or something else directly experienced by other members of the household, the other members of the household have no right to say anything about it.
Your meaning emphasizes a narrow interpretation to the exclusion of the broader interpretation. I’m not saying that sexual sins are not sins of the flesh. I’m saying they are not the only sins of the flesh.
If the parents are extremely concerned about their adult daughter sleeping over at her boyfriend’s from time to time, would they be less concerned and sleep better knowing that she’s still doing this while living at her own place or has moved in with her boyfriend instead of remaining in their own home? Would it be less of a “purgatory” for them that way?
How would you propose that an adult family member prevent another adult family member from making “mistakes”? Unless something criminal is going on, there’s not much that anyone can do, except, as many in this thread have suggested, forcing the person they think is making “mistakes” to move out of their home. Or they could shun them, I suppose, and hope that that will make them change their behavior.
Should parents respect the right of their children to commit mortal sin ?
Apart from voicing their disapproval and perhaps forcing an adult child they think is sinning to live elsewhere besides their own home, what other options do parents have? Most of us don’t have any control over the sins of other adults unless the sins are a crime.Thorolfr:
Should parents respect the right of their children to commit mortal sin ?
What the parents do isn’t your business and yet…
That is indeed the rule from a legal standpoint. Once someone turns 18, they are free to move away from home and cut off all communications with their parents if they want because they are legally an adult.