Participation in sin, going to parties

[Kaben123]

Greetings.

I have a question regarding the topic of participation in sin. Suppose that I go out with my friends, to a party or anywhere else. They are not Christians, and therefore they obviously don’t follow the Churchs’ teaching on drunkenness. If I go out with them, and drink moderately, am I commiting a sin by going out with those who do not? As I understand it, silence (not telling them to drink less, which wouldn’t really be an option) can count as “participation”.

Thanks.

 

[Joe_5859]

I would encourage you to speak with a priest about this. Going to those types of parties probably isn’t prudent, even if it’s not immoral. Then again, if you’re looking out for the safety of your friends, there might be times it is necessary to do. I don’t know that I’d say silence = participation in their sin. Do they honestly not know where you stand? When I was in college, I didn’t drink at all. All those around me knew where I stood and why (because they always asked me about why I wasn’t drinking). I didn’t need to lecture them about it every single weekend before they headed out to the bars.

Of course, it would be good to have friends that share your moral convictions. I would encourage you to seek out such people. Having a network of Christian friends is invaluable.

 

[kmuestwin]

I’ve been to some of those types of parties. Most of the time when I go out, I’m recognized by people for the work I do in the Catholic Church on campus. It has been a good reminder that no matter where I go I have to live a Catholic lifestyle.

The funny thing is, the last two altar servers I trained, I met at keggers and they told me they wanted to get more involved in Church. They remembered what they told me the next day and I got them involved.

It is important not to scandalize people by showing up to inappropriate events but it’s also important to go where the people are. I never preach at people but by being present and being an example of how to have controlled fun is important.

Listen to your gut. If you should be there, go. If you shouldn’t then don’t.