Should a confirmation candidate be allowed to be confirmed if they've been expelled from school for drug use?

[JS_in_Seattle]

Recently some students were caught using drugs during a school function and were expelled from a catholic school. Several of the expelled students were also confirmation candidates. If the catholic school condemns their behavior by expelling the students is it
right for the church to condone their behavior by allowing them to be confirmed? I’m conflicted in how to answer my kids questions regarding the issue.

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

They should be treated the same as anyone who is struggling with a particular sin. Drug addiction is a living nightmare for those caught up in it, why should they be denied the grace of the sacrament? Teenagers also don’t always make the best decisions. If your son or daughter made a mistake, would you want them to be shunned? We are all sinners in need of God’s mercy and grace. Some sins aren’t illegal, others remain private. Those caught up in drugs get caught in legal and public matters. How many have done similar things or things of similar gravity only not to get caught or be revealed?

School enrollment or expulsion are issues of keeping order and safety in the school. Sacraments are about the grace of God. Apples and Oranges.

The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum of saints. Remind your children that they too are sinners who receive God’s grace because of His mercy, not their merits.