PURGE. SANCTIFY. DEFEND
“ Go rebuild my Church, which you see is falling into ruins.”
THE UNFORGIVABLE SIN
Mark 3:22-30 states, “And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebub,’ and, ‘By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.’ …‘Assuredly, I [Jesus] say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation;’
In Matthew 12:31-32, Jesus says to the Pharisees, “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come”
In the year of Mercy, maybe these are passages that really make us think. What is an unforgivable sin?
These passages have been debated by many theologians. Especially in today's society where we see and understand an all loving God who forgives all sins. So what really is the criteria for an unforgivable sin? How do we blaspheme against the Holy Spirit?
It is God the Holy Spirit that gives us life, grace and pulls us toward God. How do we so offend Him as to lose this unfathonable love?
I have come to believe the unforgivable sin is the sin that you do not ask forgiveness for.
Over the past years I have talked to many victims or their families and felt their sorrow, confusion, anger and sometimes hatred or resentment.
It is hard for them to find peace and even harder for them to understand God may forgive the men and women who ruined their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
It is this wonderful God of mercy and love that we all turn to! It is His judgement alone that will determine our final destiny.
Those men who did these terrible deeds can be forgiven of their sins. Our faith teaches us that if we ask for forgiveness, with true repentance, our sins, no matter how terrible, are forgiven.
So we must understand that many of these perpetrators may be forgiven.
These men and women may be forgven of their sins but they still may never see the face of God.
Why do I say this?
Because many of these men, their Bishops, and their co-conspirators have broken the eighth commandment. Thou shall not bear false withness against thy neighbor.
This is the reason they might never see the face of God. Under Catholic theology you must have true contrition and not intend to repeat the sin.
Over the years hundreds of children have told their experiences of abuse and their perpetrators have bore false withness against them. The Bishops have bore false witness, and many of the people who surrounded them have joined in.
Not only have they bore false witness but they continue to do so!
The understanding for a good Confession is there must be true contrition for sin.
As a child it was explained to me like this. If you rob a bank you can be forgiven, but you must give the money back and you cannot be planning to go do it again. This is the aspect of true confession.
Many of these perpetrators continually deny they have done anything wrong. The Bishops continue to lie, and hide what really happened even to the point of trying to discredit victims and their famlies. These sins of false withness cannot be forgiven until they stop doing them, and until they do amends.
In the Grand Jury report, some men pleaded the fifth amendment. This is fine for secular society but not a holy institution. I was told one priest said they did this because they were "advised" to.
If you were not really guilty, but you pleaded the "fifth", are you not bearing false witness? Of course you are, especially in a legal situation.
By their actions, these priests, religious and Bishops will all be guilty of the unforgivable sin. They are bearing false withness againt the Holy Spirit. They are repeating an offense against the eighth commandment, continually.
Although they may be forgiven of the grave sin they initially comitted, they will be held accountable for bearing false withness. This sin cannot be forgiven sin it they are not sincere. These men can rectify the hearts of many of these victims through their own admission. This is the true sadness of these cases. Many Bishops have led these men in this direction by silencing them and their victims with settlements. This is the true ugliness that haunts our church today.