William Doino, Jr., writing today at First Things, talks about Pope Francis and the Theology of Sin. He contrasts the views of the Pope with those of the secular world (the Pope's views, of course, are those of the Church), and seems to be addressing his comments to the "I'm OK, you're OK;" "It is what is is;" "We're all going to heaven as long as we love each other" crowd with the teachings of the Church through the centuries. The concept of "shame" seems nowhere to be found in our secular culture, and that (pardon the pun) is a shame. Here's Doino:
(Pope) Francis takes if for granted that sex outside of marriage (to cite only one sin) is gravely wrong; the world does not—and increasingly doesn’t even believe in the proper definition of marriage. The Pope maintains the urgency of confessing our sins; the world believes in celebrating and justifying them. The Pope believes it essential to acknowledge and promote a healthy Christian concept of shame; whereas the world mocks the very idea of shame. Perhaps that is why Francis, in his April address, reserved some of his strongest words for the “unashamed...”Pope Francis, addressing his fellow Jesuits on the Feast of their Founder, Ignatius of Loyola, had much to say about the absence of shame in today's society, and one quote in particular stands out.
Here's the quote:
"I do not know if there is a similar saying in Italian, but in our country [Argentina] those who are never ashamed are called “sin verguenza”: this means “the unashamed,” because they are people who do not have the ability to be ashamed and to be ashamed is a virtue of the humble, of the man and the woman who are humble."
