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Dear Catholic Exchange:
Is there a fine line between judging others and instructing them, i.e., making them “aware” that what they are doing contradicts Church teaching? Is it up to me to mention something to them if I see they are doing wrong?
Thanks in advance for the insight,
Michele Wortman
Dear Michele,
Peace in Christ! While Jesus and His Church do teach we should not uncharitably judge someone, they also teach there is a major difference between fraternal correction done in charity and uncharitably “judging” someone. In a well-known passage from His Sermon of the Mount, Jesus teaches:
Judge not, that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? . . . You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye (Mt. 7:1-5).
In this passage, Jesus is not precluding fraternal correction. He is rather admonishing us to look within ourselves before we presume to judge others in a negative fashion. The example He gives is clear. We should not be concerned about the minor details of another person’s life (a “speck”) when we have major things to address in our own (“logs”). In addition, Jesus admonishes us that the standard by which we judge others will be the standard by which we ourselves will be judged. Elsewhere, Jesus provides us the words of the Lord’s Prayer, in which we pray that our heavenly Father will “forgive us our trespasses, as [i.e., in the same manner as] we forgive those who trespass against us” (cf. Mt. 6:12-15).
In contrast, Jesus provides that the faithful have the right and even moral obligation to correct one who has gone astray. This involves, generally speaking, making a moral evaluation or “judgment” of that person’s choices. Yet, such judgment need not be uncharitable. To the contrary, consider the example of Matthew 18:15-18, in which a wronged person is called to: correct his wrongdoer, refer the wrongdoer to a small group if he resists his initial fraternal correction, and then to Church leaders if he resists the small group’s correction as well. If he resists the Church’s correction, he is to be treated as a “Gentile,” i.e., as an outsider to the community of faith. There are similar examples elsewhere in Scripture.
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catechism), the Church teaches that “fraternal correction” is one of the means by which “conversion is accomplished in daily life” (no. 1435). St. Paul affirms, noting in his Second Letter to Timothy, “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 2:16-17).
In addition, the Church teaches that we must be charitable in correcting someone and, in fact, that our truly loving someone can “demand” our fraternally correcting him or her:
The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy; charity demands beneficence and fraternal correction; it is benevolence; it fosters reciprocity and remains disinterested and generous; it is friendship and communion. . . .” (Catechism, no. 1829, emphasis original).
Scripture also provides that we should be open to fraternal correction, too (Prov. 27:5,6; cf. Prov. 20:30).
Obviously, we cannot spend all of our time fraternally correcting everyone we know, lest we lose sight of our own need for ongoing conversion and, consequently, justly hear the words of Our Lord in Matthew 7:1-5 repeated back to us. When considering whether to correct someone, we should foremost keep in mind the goal of his or her eternal salvation as well as ours. In doing so, we should consider how well we know them and whether they are likely to listen to us, or whether they would be more receptive to receive correction from someone else. Furthermore, regarding mortal sin, we need to realize there is a distinction between objectively grave wrongdoing, for example, regarding the sin of fornication, versus a person being subjectively guilty of mortal sin. Catechism, no. 1860, cites various factors that can mitigate the culpability of one who has chosen to do something that is, objectively, gravely wrong.
Finally, in considering whether to engage in fraternal correction, the Church exhorts us to avoid the sin of “rash judgment”: “To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret, insofar as possible his neighbor’s thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way . . . (Catechism, no. 2478; cf. no. 2477).
I hope this answers your question. If you have further questions on this or would like more information about Catholics United for the Faith, please contact us at 1-800-MY-FAITH (693-2484). Please keep us in your prayers as we endeavor to “support, defend, and advance the efforts of the teaching Church.”
United in the Faith,
Amy Baragree
Information Specialist
Catholics United for the Faith
827 North Fourth Street
Steubenville, OH 43952
800-MY-FAITH (800-693-2484)