BISHOP THOMAS DORAN

"As Americans we have somehow gotten the idea of God as a sort of heavenly sheriff who patrols over us every moment of every hour of every waking day, watching and watching and watching to see if we sin, and then when we do, He says, 'Ah ha, gotcha.' That would be a kind of a puerile God, kind of a childish divinity. God tells us to not sin because sin can become a habit and with it comes a habitual weakening of intellect and will that move us further and further away from Him. That is something we have to lay hold of as Catholics. We have to appreciate more and more the continuing effect of sin on our ability to do good and avoid evil."

 

Reading: "Whatever happened to sin?" Catholic Citizens of Illinois, 9/6/04