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Dear Catholic Exchange:
When I am in a public place (such as a laundromat or waiting room) and find misleading literature (such as the Watchtower or a brochure on “safe sex”) I will sometimes collect the offending material and place it in the nearest recycling bin.
Am I committing a sin or an act of public service?
Robert Montgomery
Dear Robert,
Greetings in Christ. I hope this response will adequately address your question.
Your zeal for the faith is commendable. There are two “offensive materials” scenarios: (1) that found in a church or other church property which is open to the public; and (2) that found on other property open to the public, whether privately or publicly owned. In the first scenario, you wouldn’t have to ask your parish pastor whether to remove the offending materials, although you should inform him so that measures can be taken to curtail further non-authorized placements.
A laundromat, doctor’s waiting room, subway station, etc., are different, though, because they are not owned and operated by the Church. Regarding privately owned establishments, you should check with the owners or managers of the establishment to see if they authorized the placement of such materials. Oftentimes, the Jehovah’s Witnesses will simply leave their materials in an establishment without permission, and establishment owners will thus readily dispose of them. (Doctors are particularly watchful for offensive materials in their waiting rooms.) But the choice is the owner's or manager's, since the materials have been placed on their property (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2409). If by chance they have authorized such placement, you can express your dissatisfaction about the controversial materials being placed in the establishment, especially if there is a misinformed, anti-Catholic focus to them, as is often the case with the materials of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. If you think that the owner’s view may be different than the manager’s, you can always ask to speak to or you can write to the owner. If the owner refuses to remove the materials and won’t allow similar Catholic materials, you can witness by going elsewhere with your business.
The same principle applies to a public, non-privately owned place, such as a subway station. Has the placement been authorized? If not, the information will be quickly removed. If the materials’ placement has been authorized, make your case about the deficiency of the materials and, if the materials are not removed, see whether those in charge are open to Catholic materials. In the case of publicly owned establishments, you can also appeal to elected officials, such as city councilmen, state legislators or Congressmen.
In summary, it is wrong to decide for oneself what reading materials may be made available in a privately owned laundromat, doctor’s office, etc., as well in public buildings, since they are owned by others. Instead, your well-founded concerns regarding such materials should be channeled toward letting owners and managers know about the offending materials, and then possibly “voting with your feet” and going elsewhere if the materials are not removed.
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