A Quote for the Day

Doing good is both about following Christ and leading others to follow Christ through your example. People easily follow those they can see. And the authenticity of your example determines how much of Christ came across for others to follow. This is a task that entails a huge responsibility.

The burden of honesty and responsibility is extremely heavy, especially to those who followed the opposite path. At times, even death pales in comparison. But those who braved the pain follow the right path shines forth as people of great courage. (Photo courtesy of Jim Sabo Fine Arts )

Just because a person intends to take moral responsibility in performing a sinful act does not mean that the sinful act ceases to be sinful, or a disorderly behavior ceases to be so. It neither means that doing the sinful act is no longer sinful. While intending not to hurt others is much better than not hurting others, it is not the same as not hurting others at all. This is what Pope Benedict XVI means when he was quoted in the book Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times saying: "There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility." Doing so does not provide an exception to the sinful disorder committed in the use of condom for reproductive control, it simply indicates a development of moral responsibility (not to hurt the customer through the spread of HIV) in the male prostitute.