Fr. Timothy V. Vaverek: Of Sin and ‘Mitigated Culpability’

Pope Francis recently had to clarify his affirmation that homosexual activity is a sin by recalling that, as with every sin, “one must also consider the circumstances which may decrease or eliminate fault.” True, but unfortunately, his reminder won’t help much. For sixty years, proponents of the New Morality have misinterpreted this teaching to permit those with mitigated culpability to continue damaging and sinful behavior.

The New Moralists have a simple strategy. They retain orthodox terminology, but change its meaning in order to persuade Catholics that their new approach (or paradigm) doesn’t change the Gospel. They hope this will lead the Church officially to embrace notions of “conscience” and “acceptance” that fit the postmodern world’s distorted sensibilities. …