"Caritas in Veritate"

From Rorate Caeli comes the news that the Holy Father's upcoming encyclical will bear the title "Caritas in Veritate", or "Charity in Truth".

It seems a propitious title for an encyclical, and instructive to St. Louis Catholics who are wrangling with the recent schismatic events in the news. The good Archbishop's actions to defend and preserve the truths of the faith in the face of public scandals reminds us that Charity can only exist in the Truth. Charity does not consist in excusing the sins of others, or condoning them, or encouraging them.

True charity consists in seeking the best and highest good for the beloved. It is loving our neighbor as ourselves; as we would not wish to commit acts of mortal sin that endanger our salvation, so we should not encourage others to commit these acts.

The theology of St. Francis de Sales, the Doctor of Charity, is summed up in the motto of the ICRSP, "Veritatem Facientes in Caritate", roughly translated as "Live the Truth in Charity". The truth and charity are a unified whole, and the Catholic is to live out the truth with love for God and neighbor. The truth compels-- it is internally attractive. Yet, the truth is also uncompromising, which leads us to sometimes fear the demands it makes on us. We must conform to it. It will not conform to us.

This is why admonishing the sinner is a spiritual work of mercy. If you knew someone with a horrible sense of direction, whose car was pointed in the direction of a cliff, would it be charitable to say nothing, because they were sensitive about their poor sense of direction?

But the act of admonishing the sinner is in a sense dangerous for two reasons. We are all sinners, and so all need to be admonished at times. Humility in acknowledging this truth about ourselves and our real position before God is essential to have any chance to influence our neighbor's behavior. We are constantly in need of God's mercy in our own lives. So we cannot become self-righteous. Also, pride causes none of us to experience as pleasant the pointing out of our faults. The admonished sinner is not often immediately grateful and friendly to the one admonishing him.

And yet, as Fr. Andrew Apostoli notes (Envoy, Vol. 7:6), we admonish the sinner because their salvation may be in jeopardy. Salvation is the greatest good a person can receive. He writes:

"St. Francis of Assisi used to say that nothing should take precedence over the work of the salvation of souls. It was for this reason that he was so ardent in prayer for the conversion of sinners, why he preached so earnestly and sincerely calling people to repentance, and why he always strove to give a good example of Christian life that he might move others to know and love God more. In the Acts of the Apostles (cf 6:1 ff), we read how the Apostles would not abandon their work of prayer and preaching the Word of God to serve widows at tables, not because they disdained the work of serving at table, but because they realized that it was more important to serve the spiritual food of the Word of God, calling people to conversion and to His mercy, than even to feed their bodies."

Fr. Apostoli also relates the loss of the sense of sin that pervades our society, even our Church, so that admonishing the sinner is made more difficult.

"Archbishop Sheen would say that 150 years ago, when the Catholic Church declared the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, there were people up in arms that the Church would dare say that there was even one person without sin! Now, he said, everybody is without sin!"

Of course, we live in a world today that equates a concern for another's salvation with the gravest sin in the modern world's eyes-- Judging someone. Of course, judging an act is a far different matter from judging a person. If an action is wrong, i.e., if it is a sin, we must condemn it. Yet we make no judgment on the eternal destination of the sinner, for any sin of which the sinner repents may be forgiven. God's mercy is boundless, if we but ask. So, to use a practical example, if Fr. Bozek rejects Catholic teaching, separates himself from the Church, and leads others away, this is serious mortal sin that must be exposed and condemned. Yet even here, we must pray he avails himself of the mercy of God and changes his ways.

Archbishop Burke is doing the work of a shepherd who loves his flock. To quote Fr. Apostoli:

"Sacred Scripture, for example, contains certain images for those in positions of leadership among God's people. They are to be like shepherds (cf. Jn 10:1 ff) guarding their sheep, ready even to lay down their lives to protect their sheep from harm. If they remain silent, they are simply running away like hired hands! ...St. Gregory the Great uses the image of the watchdog that guards against thieves and other intruders. But, he says, if the watchdog cannot bark, it is useless!"

Let us pray for the grace to live the truth in charity, that we may never cower from the uncomfortable work of exposing and rooting out error, in humility, for the benefit of us all.