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They believe that one of the fundamental aspects of the human condition is believing that certain things are right but struggling to live up to it. They believ
by adrianmonk 4y ago
They believe that one of the fundamental aspects of the human condition is believing that certain things are right but struggling to live up to it.
They believe that everyone experiences this kind of struggle, but in different ways depending on the person, and that failing at it is inevitable. They believe there is a way for things to be OK even though you fail.
They also believe in an ethical framework where you determine what is right or wrong based not on your own assessment of the pluses and minuses but by following guidance that comes (through scripture, church tradition, etc.) from a higher power whose wisdom is greater than your own.
And they also believe there's some kind of grand plan behind everything, and that the way they fit into this grand plan is to be a priest. They have at some point come to the conclusion that they are supposed to be one, that it is their vocation.
Or at least, within their faith, these beliefs are what is commonly accepted as the right way to look at it. An individual person may or may not actually think or feel exactly like this. Sort of like how one person may become a doctor because they like helping people and someone else may become a doctor because they don't want to disappoint their family.
- RC_ITR 4y agoThey also believe the sin is the act not the desire. So from their perspective, being hetero-celibate and being homo-celibate is an equal sacrifice. A major cited driver of a lot of the abuse was that exact line of thinking. Good intentioned people who knew they had bad desires would enter the Priesthood as a framework to not act on those desires, but then they see other Priests being sexually active and just give in. It also built a network of secrecy - very fine line between covering up your bosses' non-abusive (but in your mind still morally wrong) affair and asking him to cover up your abusive (but in your mind, only equally as morally wrong) activities. In general, it's one of the arguments for normalizing non-abusive fetishes in the general populace. The more secrecy there is generally, the more truly bad stuff gets covered up.
- mrguyorama 4y agoPlenty of american christians seem to think the desire is also a sin.
- jfengel 4y agoThat's largely a fundamentalist evangelical thing, and it's theologically dubious.
- ThunderSizzle 4y agoWhile Catholics may be Christians, it is disingenuous to assert this is the teaching of the Church or that a majority or plurality of faithful Catholics have this position. There is a very clear delineation between temptation and sin in the Catholic world.
- Connor_Creegan 4y agoDid you even read the article? These priests were on Grindr. That is different from experiencing temptation. "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:28
- RC_ITR 4y agoCorinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
- Connor_Creegan 4y ago[flagged]
- dang 4y agoWe've banned this account for religious flamewar and for using HN primarily for ideological/religious battle, which is definitely not what this site is for. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- 4y ago