Scandal: which side is worse?

Jul 25, '07, 1:31 pm

SeekerJen   Join Date: July 12, 2004 Posts: 5,132

Scandal: which side is worse? So after reading the new cohabitation thread (where it is asserted by a poster that it is sinful for an unmarried brother and sister to live together because others will assume scandal), I started wondering. I know that when people see my husband and me, childless after 4 years of Catholic matrimony, they assume that we are using contraception, which is very much untrue. In fact, to rid others of that assumption we would likely have to resort to immoral means (pregnancy through IVF, etc.). So which is worse: the one who, through no fault of his or her own, lives in what may be construed as scandal, or the one who automatically assumes scandal, even when there may be none? Or are they equal? Please understand, I do not ask this in a sarcastic or facetious manner. I sometimes wonder if I should leave the Church because our infertile marriage does present scandal.        Jul 27, '07, 6:24 pm Dwyer Regular Member   Join Date: February 26, 2007 Posts: 1,359 Religion: Byzantine Catholic Re: Scandal: which side is worse? There's one thing I'd like to add if that's O.K., SeekerJen: one never leaves the Catholic Church if you're Catholic; the Catholic Church is the only Church that is Christ's one True Church, and teaches the fullness of God's Truth. Remember the Church has an earthly presence, and a heavenly, metaphysical presence. St. Peter was the Rock upon which Christ's built his One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. The Catholic Church is Holy because its founder Jesus was Holy. You never ever leave the Catholic Church if your Catholic; you don't leave because a Catholic clergyman committed a crime against you, or said something bad or mean, or a Bishop is bad, or you don't like the music or the New Mass, and not because your worried about what others might think about you at Mass. You believe in the Catholic Church because it is the Church of Jesus Christ, and it only has the fullness of God's Truth with the 7 Sacraments and the Eucharist that provide the means to become holy and a saint. Our human thoughts compared with God are, in perspective, really worthless thoughts. Yes, they're important for salvation, but just turn the TV on and you'll see there is a lot of worthless noise and the babble of human mouths. That's not to say that humans haven't achieved some great things, but our world is not the be all and end all of all life. What goes on in this world really isn't that important; what is important is where you end up in eternity.