Well done. As it is said unequals need to be treated unequally. Hannity was treated fairly and charitably. Others who saw the exchange may come away with different view, but that is true of any exchange at any time.
It is shockingly poor judgment for thousands of Priests to say and do nothing while millions of souls are placed in jeopardy. It is an act of mercy for a Priest to correct a person, and the good Father tried to correct Sean privately and Sean refused to respond. Priests have individual souls to care for, and yet they also have a coporate responsbility, meaning they must try to lessen the public scandal of someone like SH professing anti-Catholic beliefs. Every single time Sean goes against the faith, thousands, perhaps millions, of Catholics hear his voice and this countries citizens are entrenched in a culture of personality, falling often into a cult of personality.
I didn’t know artificial birth control was ok for someone who is “constantly” on the side of pro-lifers,
Ahhhh, the lesser of evils. I see. I’m ok because at least I’m not Hitler. Got it.
I said it was a poor statement.
When people come on to discuss issues pertaining to pro-life topics, the majority of the time he defends and sides with them.
But to bring the person back into the fold is what one does to those who have fallen into error. We will not agree, because there is never one way to deal with a person, but this way, as shown itself to repel rather then attract. Attract is the end that one wants to obtain which we ultimately rely on the grace of God. But that is why, it is so crucial we carefully decide how to say things not if to say them.
I agree. We are not disagreeing here, we are disagreeing in how this is done not if it is done.
Son of God > Father Tom
So, was Jesus wrong?
Who’s to say that this didn’t plant a seed in Sean’s mind? Who’s to say that he won’t realize that he was in the wrong and change his views? Just because it came across as harsh and appeared to not bring him closer to the Church, doesn’t mean that it won’t in the long run. Sometimes people need to be slapped in the face with the truth, instead of euphenizing (is that a word?) the truth to try to subtly get in. Like you said, there are many different approaches.
Okay, so it is okay for Jesus to strongly rebuke people, but His personally chosen Priests are not to do the same when needed?
We disagree on what is the meaning of “needed”. Also when and where this happens. God’s judgments on this are far different then human judgments. We are in every sense of the word, unable to even begin to reach that level of sound judgment.
If a priest, or a holy person, cannot judge words and actions as being right or wrong then I would gently suggest we have a real problem. That problem is deeper than this one issue.
I did not, and would not say Father Morris is “ill equipped for reality”. What I’m saying is that Father Euteneuer is deeply entrenched in the work of the pro-life movement as opposed to the work that Father Morris does, and as such Father Euteneuer has a certain amount of passion for the subject that Father Morris does not embrace as fervently.
I happy that worked for your friend. But people are not the same. Though granted, you are correct a seed might have been planted God willing, but it also may harden the soil. If it wasn’t for my Freshman religion teacher in high school, and his compassionate but yet direct teaching methods, I would not be any kind of Catholic man that I am today. I had my heart completely unaware of many of the treasures of the Church’s teachings but rather then throwing them at us, he taught so well and explained with such love for the Church and us, I never received anything like it before.
The vast majority of the time, the nicer, less confrontational way is the better way.
That is a prudential judgment. My point is this current culture equates secular “niceness” with true charity. We have, in many ways, become confused. Note the abundant number of public figures claiming devout Catholic faith yet supporting abortion, contraception, on and on…
Well, again, theories can only help our imaginations but do not help actual facts. We do know why he said it in his letter to why he wrote the open letter to Sean Hannity.
I apologize, I made that conclusion wrongly but did so for a few of your statements which I believe implied so much. Forums are always harder to convey your point of view the way you intend. Happens to me all the time.
Yet, men called by God to be Priests are given charisms and gifts that lay Catholics do not receive. As I am sure you know, a Priests is “in the Person of Christ” when he says Mass, which very much means “another Christ” at that time. I think we need to be very, very careful comparing Priests and their rebukes to the normal world.