Scruples, Sin, and Such on CAF

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LiliesofMaria said:
I’m not so much asking about CAF fixing the problems of those who seek answers here. I’m asking those on CAF what their opinion is for a fix in these problems in the greater population of the Church.
It seems like there has been a recent surge in not only the scruples but also the other topics I mentioned and I was asking CAF members if they thought there is a problem not being addressed by the Church.
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No, scruples are not a problem in the Church or of the Church. They are very much individual problems suffered by individuals within the Church, and so are handled individually, not corporately. The Church does help, but because it is such an individual problem, the Church ministers to them through individuals, and that is through the Confessor.
 
proximate material cooperation in a grave but not mortal sin due to lack of knowledge and incomplete consent with a valid but illicit absolution…
 
So I’d assume that’s why I had never heard of it before. Thank you for your explanation.
 
A compulsion of those with OCD and scruples is seeking out reassurance from others. Thus, when one’s OCD is untreated, people flock to places like CAF for quick, easy answers.

It just seems like there are a lot of people with these issues because those who have it, seek it out on CAF.

All the Best,

Someone with OCD and scruples
 
LiliesofMaria said:
Wow. I’ve been seeing a lot of posts regarding scruples, mortal sin, and then those threads about sexual sins. It makes me wonder if something just isn’t being addressed in the Church.
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No, sites like these are a magnet for people with scruples and OCD.
 
LiliesofMaria said:
Regarding the sexual sins that come up so often from mostly youth, I can vouch for the fact that in this over-sexualized world, Catholic youth are not being taught about the Church’s view on sex, virtue, love, etc. When I was in religious education, someone had asked about homosexuality and the teachers completely dodged the question. One section in my Confirmation program was about chastity and some of the questions that were in the book in front of us were avoided and not answered even though they were about masturbation, pre-marital sex, etc. That’s probably why there are so many questions.
People honestly don’t know and while I’m not condoning finding loopholes for that stuff, teens are curious and need real answers.
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I am a Confirmation catechist. One of our lessons is supposed to be on Catholic sexual morality.
We had about 5 students whose parents “opted out” of that lesson because they didn’t want us teaching the rules of the Church to their kids. They felt it “was not our place”.

I can say that it is not the Church’s fault that things like this are not talked about. Every time I have seen it try to happen, someone is never happy, and it ends up causing a lot of problems for the Pastor.

Sad as it is, sometimes it’s just not worth the aggravation.
 
LiliesofMaria said:
It seems like there has been a recent surge in not only the scruples but also the other topics I mentioned
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I’d caution extrapolating your experience of CAF to be representative of a larger trend.

Think about it. If a person is suffering with scrupulosity or OCD, what type of place would they naturally gravitate towards? An anonymous internet forum.

Maybe they have already gone to their priest and other Catholics and they feel like they are only going to be annoying them by asking them yet another question. Or maybe they have received answers, but their scruples don’t allow them to peacefully accept those answers. Or maybe they feel too embarrassed, timid and shy about actually voicing their concerns to someone else in person.

In all of these cases, an anonymous internet forum is the perfect place to go. They can come here any time, day or night, and post a question. And with this forum being as big as it is, they are virtually guaranteed to get a response.

Not that this isn’t an important thing to be addressed. As porthos said, pretty much any priest already is handling this with people on a case-by-case basis—which is really where it needs to be handled.
 
As far as those with scruples go, the only acceptbable answer is to direct them to their pastor or spiritual director. The question that they are asking is just a symptom of their overall problem, and no one here is qualified to deal with it. If anything, it just feeds into the problem.
 
LiliesofMaria said:
Maybe special instruction from the priest for all those who are going to do religious education. A program from the diocese that talks about more than just child abuse. (that stuff should be included but shouldn’t be the only thing that is covered for religious ed. teachers.
I feel like people who are educating others, especially youth, on the Faith should be tested to make sure they know the basics of their Faith as well as answers for commonly asked questions regarding whatever group they teach. Volunteers are great but if they don’t know their Faith, why should they be teaching?
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I feel like you have two separate threads here. 😝 This is a whole other issue. Of course, we do need good catechists, and it would be ideal if they not only knew the faith well, but could articulate it in a way that is effective, engaging, and (of course) age-appropriate.

But where are these people going to come from? They don’t fall from the sky or get manufactured out of thin air. And telling the person who has already committed to giving up an hour and a half of their week, 30 weeks out of the year, that they have to also go through extensive training can be a hard sell.

It’s not a problem with a simple solution.
 
And 1.5 hours a week is class time only!!

I am a volunteer Confirmation catechist, one of 2 for my parish.
I easily spend 5-10 hours A WEEK, preparing supplemental information for our lessons.
 
Indeed! It’s not a small commitment. I have so much respect for all those who are catechists.
 
I’m over the age of 60 and had to look up the definition of scruples as it pertains to the Catholic Church and confession. I’ve had a thought rolling around in my head this week that perhaps much of the anxiety, scruples and even some sins are caused by folks (especially teens) spending too much time isolated from face-to-face interaction and too much time on social media/screen time. I know I can get myself really worked up and anxious if I spend too much time on CAF! I heard Dr. Ray (radio) saying that those of us who are thinkers can cause much of our own anxiety. If we’re only “talking” to ourselves, we can really get carried away with scruples. Just a thought.
 
Dlee said:
those of us who are thinkers can cause much of our own anxiety. If we’re only “talking” to ourselves, we can really get carried away with scruples.
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I think there’s something to this. When I did DBT treatment for postpartum anxiety, we focused a lot on quieting my never ending stream of mind talk. 😅 It can get worse when I try to reason with myself, so now when that voice gets going (not scruples but other things) I use those techniques to not listen or quiet the voice. Feeding it makes it worse.
 
I don’t try to turn it off. Itry to change it. So basically I argue with myself.
 
LiliesofMaria said:
So, how can we fix this problem in the Church? Have you noticed or encountered it? Is it even a problem throughout the Church or just in personal lives?
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By looking to parishes that are doing this well. Each parish has its own strengths. We are our own biggest resource. My parish has sooooo many programs to help families/couples/youth grow in faith, but none of them would thrive the way they do without our childcare ministry. Those sweet ladies make it all possible for people with families to attend and get the tools they need.

Apart from that, anytime you are tempted to look at the times we live in and fear for our kids…don’t! God has raised up the saints we need for our times and we have more quick access to quality resources than ever before! I am confident that in the next few years some of the real movers and shakers of the new evangelization will create a sex- ed program that will take the world by storm! Maybe it already exists.
 
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