Scrupulous Conscience vs. Sensitive Conscience
Imagine if St. Francis of Assisi were alive today. Imagine he walked into an average Catholic Church and confessed his sins. I fear the average priest would laugh at him and call him "scrupulous." But this would be a big mistake. A man's venial sins are a big deal in the eyes of God, and while no priest should be hard on people for their venial sins (nor mortal sins except extremely rare occasions) a priest should believe a penitent's accusations against herself. (A penitent is the person confessing her sins and the confessor is the priest hearing penitents' confessions, usually in a confessional box.) A priest should never [...]








