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ContentsDefinitions bring to topSources Cited bring to top Definitions
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Should we judge our neighbor or agree to have anyone judge us?
Anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of an injustice naturally judges. "Hey, you can't just barge into my house and steal my belongings!" or, "Wait a minute here; it says in our contract that I am getting a five year lease. You can't now change it to a one year lease and change the monthly payment; that is wrong."Those of us who are responsible for ensuring rules are followed, must judge. If an obvious foul occurs in a professional sporting event, the referee is negligent who says, "Oh, that is OK; we don't expect him to follow the rules of the game; we will accept him where he is; he can't help himself." Or if an older sibling is seriously beating up a younger sibling, the father would be negligent who hears the cries for help from the younger child and sees the attack and simply states; "Oh, in our family, we don't judge people; we don't expect you to stop hurting your siblings in this household."
Relativists want us to believe that judging is wrong and that real Christians don't judge others. However, according to the Old and New Testament, God judges, and were are required to judge too. Though we can't know exactly what motivates someone, we can see their actions and we can observe if their actions contradict natural law, God's law, and Catholic law. We are responsible and invited to correct our offenders. And we are responsible to protect those who cannot protect themselves.
For those want true serious Catholic Marriage, they choose to abide by the rules of the Catholic Church and can expect to be judged by the arbitrators of those rules – the Roman Catholic Church tribunal system.
Authoritative Sources Cited
Matthew's Gospel 18:15-17 If your brother sins (against you), go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.Ezekiel 33:7-9 You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me. If I tell the wicked man that he shall surely die, and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked man from his way, he (the wicked man) shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you warn the wicked man, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself.
Ezekiel 3:17 Thus the word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, you shall warn them for me. If I say to the wicked man, You shall surely die; and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his wicked conduct so that he may live: that wicked man shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death. If, on the other hand, you have warned the wicked man, yet he has not turned away from his evil nor from his wicked conduct, then he shall die for his sin, but you shall save your life. If a virtuous man turns away from virtue and does wrong when I place a stumbling block before him, he shall die. He shall die for his sin, and his virtuous deeds shall not be remembered; but I will hold you responsible for his death if you did not warn him. When, on the other hand, you have warned a virtuous man not to sin, and he has in fact not sinned, he shall surely live because of the warning, and you shall save your own life.
Timothy 2:22-26 So turn from youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith,love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord 5 with purity of heart. Avoid foolish and ignorant debates, for you know that they breed quarrels. A slave of the Lord should not quarrel, but should be gentle with everyone, able to teach, tolerant, correcting opponents with kindness. It may be that God will grant them repentance that leads to knowledge of the truth, and that they may return to their senses out of the devil's snare, where they are entrapped by him, for his will.
Vatican II. Lumen Gentium That discernment in matters of faith is aroused and sustained by the Spirit of truth. It is exercised under the guidance of the sacred teaching authority, in faithful and respectful obedience to which the people of God accept that which is not just the word of men but truly the word of God. (Lumen Gentium, no. 12, par. 2) The laity should, as all Christians, promptly accept in Christian obedience decisions of their spiritual shepherds, since they are representatives of Christ as well as teachers and rulers in the Church. (no. 37, par. 2)
Catechism. Catholics are called to obey and submit to authoritative teaching. We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advice of others and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church. When a man "takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin," he is ignorant and in such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he commits.
Catechism 1435 and CCC 1829
teaches us to excercise fraternal correction amongst ourselves. Fraternal correction is a means of conversion and one of the fruits of charity (or love).
Canon 212 §1 Christ's faithful, conscious of their own responsibility, are bound to show Christian obedience to what the sacred Pastors, who represent Christ, declare as teachers of the faith and prescribe as rulers of the Church.
Congregation for the Clergy, General Directory for Catechisis [The] teaching of Christ on community life ... calls for attitudes which it is for catechesis to inculcate: the spirit of simplicity and humility ('unless you turn and become like little children...' Mt 18,3); solicitude for the least among the brethren ('but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin...' Mt 18,6); ... fraternal correction ('Go and tell him his fault...ÊMt 18, 15); . . . (Education for Community Life, paragraph 86 a)
Inside the Vatican contributing editor, John Mallon A Catholic is one in love with Jesus Christ who freely chooses and assents to Catholicism as a lover to his wedding vows, resonating with the truth and love "written in the heart" and read with a conscience formed in good faith. A Catholic is not one who grudgingly "takes orders from the Vatican," but rejoices and trusts in the astonishing gift of the Holy Spirit of infallibility, given to the Church in the Magisterium the Vicar of Christ and the successors of the Apostles teaching in union with him.
