Tea at Trianon: Giving Scandal

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, January 13, 2023

Giving Scandal

A millstone

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Jesus preaching in Capernaum by Gottlieb

And [Jesus] said to his disciples: It is impossible that scandals should not come: but woe to him through whom they come. It were better for him, that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should scandalize one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If thy brother sin against thee, reprove him: and if he do penance, forgive him.—Luke 17: 1-3

Giving scandal is a serious sin for Catholics, yet one which is continually overlooked. It is particularly bad when a priest, nun or devout lay person, especially one who is committed to a pious union or secular order, give scandal by publicly violating the moral law. Those who teach the Holy Catholic Faith but then flout the teachings of the sixth and ninth commandments as if they do not apply to them do a great deal of damage especially to the conduct of young people. Our Lord had strong words for those who cause little ones to go astray through scandal, saying it "would be better if they had not been born." (Luke 17: 1-3) Harsh words, but Jesus said them. According to Aleteia: "We are helped in our understanding of this Gospel passage by Simon Légasse, who wrote 'the terrible fate of the drowning man with a stone around his neck is nothing compared to what awaits at God’s judgment the one who caused someone to stumble.'"

Often in the past, reformed ladies of notoriety, such as Madame du Barry, would spend time in a monastery, some even became nuns. Giving scandal was seen as no small matter; the damage done to both the individual and to others was such that temporary withdrawal from the world was definitely part of the healing process. However, fallen women belong to a bygone era. Someone can only be "fallen" if there is a certain standard from which to fall. In our time, most standards of what once constituted decent behavior have been drastically altered. Situations that formerly belonged to the "half-world," the demi-monde, are now mainstream.

Yet there are things that remain constant. Promiscuity, then as now, has a hardening effect upon the psyche, as well as destructive, long-term consequences. Such a life leaves many scars. Prostitution in any form is degrading, even the very glamorous whoredom portrayed in Camille, the 1937 cinematic masterpiece starring Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor. Based upon the 1848 novel La dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas fils, the "Lady of the Camellias" had already been the subject of an opera by Verdi, as well as several films.

Because in past times it was frowned upon by society that men and women live together without being married, there was more hope that the relationships be broken off, especially if marriage was out of the question. Guilt is not healthy if nourished but it can and does lead to repentance. We live now in a shameless time. Parents no longer intervene as the fathers do in both Verdi's La Traviata and Puccini's La Rondine. In those old operas, there was sin, there was great passion, but there was also great love and the willingness to make sacrifices for the beloved. There is now little shame, little love and few willing to sacrifice. And sometimes I wonder if people are really happy.

Here is a brilliant article by Father John Flader from Australia. (I love Father Flader and had a lovely dinner with him at a Japanese restaurant in Auckland, NZ.) Not sure why Manet's Olympe is dragged out by the editors as an example of scandal but I guess it makes the point. To quote:

There are many ways in which one can commit scandal. The most obvious is by leading another person directly into sin. A young man who engages in sexual activity with a girl, a married man who entices a woman to commit adultery with him, a person who invites someone to attend an inappropriate film or show, someone who encourages another to commit a crime with him, a business manager who tells his staff to lie to the customer, etc., all commit scandal and are responsible not only for their own sin but also for that of the other.

Another obvious way of committing scandal is by giving bad example, without necessarily intending to lead others into sin. This can include using bad language, dressing immodestly, praising a film that contains inappropriate material, drinking alcohol to excess, etc. This is what we mean by scandalous behaviour. A girl, or a boy for that matter, who dresses or behaves immodestly can be guilty of the sins of all those who look at them with lust or have impure thoughts or desires as a result. Parents have a special responsibility to take care that their children dress and act appropriately.

Parliamentarians who vote for legislation that permits immorality in such forms as abortion, pornography or embryonic stem cell research are guilty of scandal and are responsible for all the sins committed as a result. Similarly those who make immoral films, who make and sell immodest clothing, who run brothels, etc., are guilty of scandal on a grand scale. (Read more.)

From Catholic Answers:

The Catechism explains that scandal is greater according to the authority of the one scandalizing. It is one thing for a four-year-old to say, “Jesus isn’t the Son of God,” but it would be another thing entirely for a bishop to say this. Because of the authority of the episcopate, the bishop can influence more people more effectively, increasing the gravity of the harm done to those who hear him. If the faithful (or unfaithful) believe him, they move away from Jesus Christ and the salvation he offers us.

This example displays a second, closely related element of scandal: it increases when the speaker has a duty to teach the truth. Since people trust their bishops to teach them the true Catholic faith, their errors are particularly harmful. Even when the faithful don’t believe it, the above statement is still scandalous. The faithful feel betrayed by their shepherd, who should be witnessing to Christ’s truth. This can cause a mistrust of the hierarchy and a disrespect for the priesthood.

The Catechism names two more factors that can increase the gravity of scandal. It becomes more grave when the scandalized person is especially weak or when others are deliberately led into grave sin. Given the poorly formed faith of so many Catholics, this means that today the opportunities for scandal are many. The improperly catechized can easily mistake vice for virtue and be led into sin.

In cases where scandal occurs but is less grave, it may lead to a simple misunderstanding. In the graver cases described above, scandal can encourage a gravely improper view of reality, to the point that a person sees good as evil and evil as good. In the most severe cases, as when a Catholic leader endorses a sinful lifestyle, someone could get the wrong idea about God, the Church, or salvation, causing him to run towards hell while thinking that he is closing in on heaven. This potential is amplified when the listeners are young and impressionable. (Read more.)

It is hard to resist the temptation to fall into scandalous behavior if one has been sad and lonely. But to be a Christian means taking up the Cross with Our Savior. People mistake pleasure for happiness. But God is not mocked. In the words of the great St. Teresa of Ávila: "Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and there is only one Glory, which is eternal. If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing."

(Image source.)