Does the Catholic Church Need a New ‘Framework’ for Sexual Sin? This Moral Theologian Says No, by Jonathan Liedl

In recent weeks, Cardinal Robert McElroy has argued that the Church’s pastoral practice needs to be reformed to be less ‘exclusionary’; Father Thomas Berg, a moral theologian at St. Joseph Seminary, says the Church is already well-equipped to provide pastoral accompaniment to those struggling with sexual sin.

By Jonathan Liedl, EWTN News, February 23, 2023

Jonathan Liedl Jonathan Liedl is senior editor for the Register. His background includes state Catholic conference work, three years of seminary formation, and tutoring at a university Christian study center. …

In a series of recent public contributions, Cardinal Robert McElroy has called for reforming the Church’s pastoral practice related to sexual sin, on the grounds that the current approach is harmfully exclusionary.

First, in his Jan. 24 essay published in America magazine, the San Diego bishop argued that the Church’s characterization of all sexual acts outside of marriage as “objectively grave sin” has led to a pastoral practice that is focused “disproportionately upon sexual activity.” As a result, those engaged in sexual sin — particularly the divorced-and-civilly remarried and persons engaging in same-sex sexual activity — are unduly excluded from the life of the Church, including the Eucharist. …

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