Sin of Detraction

Father Pisut,

I found your web-site and like it very much. I always wanted a place that you could ask a question if something came up and this seems to be the perfect place to do that. There is an elderly man in our town that writes a letter to the editor every once in a while and always talks about the sanctity of life and why we should not be taken in by the culture of dead. I enjoy reading them, as I know him. He goes to church every day and I have talked to him many times. The question is: This time as he wrote, he mentioned a nun who has taught against church teaching. I don't know where he got his information but was kind of upsetting that he mentioned her as a source for pro life. There are so many good priests that do such good things in the pro life movement that it would have been a lot better to say something about them and what they say. I was wondering if I said anything to him about this subject, would it be the sin of detraction. It would be true but it would be telling someone something about another person that they might never find out on their own. Also what ever he read, I would like to steer him away from her as a reference to Catholic teaching. Your advice would be very helpful.

Thanks and God bless you,

Mary


Mary,

Strictly speaking a sin of detraction would be informing someone of someone else's shortcomings simply for its own sake. In this case you are not trying to denigrate the reputation of this nun for its own sake but rather you are trying to help someone to defend the cause of life in the context of fidelity to the Church's full deposit of faith. While it is fundamentally important that all persons respect the sanctity of human life, and so we applaud this nun for seeing that, the sanctity of life is best understood in the context of the fullness of revealed truth as found in the Catholic Church. Even though this nun is pro-life her infidelity to other areas of Church teaching could compromise this gentleman's greater cause of being pro-life. It would not be wrong to point this ought to this gentlemen just as it would not be wrong to try and bring this nun to full acceptance of the Church's teaching. However, all should be done with Christian charity.

Fr. Pisut