Section — Koch–Preuss
Section 3: Duties with Regard to the Giving and Taking of Scandal
The duties that arise in connection with the giving and taking of scandal may be briefly defined as follows:
- It is a sin to give scandal (scandalum activum) knowingly and wilfully, because by so doing a man violates charity; it is a mortal sin if one knows that by committing the act in question he will become the occasion of mortal sin to another.
The guilt incurred by giving active scandal is measured by the position, reputation, and influence of the person who gives it. The larger the number of those who are injured, and the more grievous the sin they are induced to commit, the greater is the guilt of him who gives scandal. Nor is it necessary that the sin of one's fellowman be directly intended or directly caused by the scandalous act (seduction), but it suffices that his spiritual ruin was foreseen and so at least indirectly willed.
The gravity of this sin can be inferred from our Lord's solemn utterance recorded in the Gos- pel of St. Matthew: "He that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of scandals! For it must needs be that scandals come: but nevertheless woe to that man by whom the scandal cometh. And if thy hand or thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to go into life maimed or lame, than having two hands or feet, to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee having one eye to enter life, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven."1
1 Matth. XVIII, 6 sqq.: “But whoever shall scandalize one of these little ones who believe in me, it is expedient for him that an ass’s millstone be hung about his neck and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of scandals. For scandals must needs come; nevertheless, woe to that man through whom scandal comes. And if thy hand or thy foot scandalizes thee, cut it off and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed or lame than, having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thy eye scandalizes thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye than, having two eyes, to be cast into the hell of fire. See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”
- In regard to taking scandal (scandalum passivum) it is necessary to make a distinction. No attention need be paid to the scandalum pharisaicum, that is, one need not omit any act dictated by duty or necessity on account of the offence it may give to persons of a hypocritical turn of mind. This rule can be inferred from the conduct of Christ Himself and that of St. Paul.
When Our Lord declared: "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but what cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man,"2 and His disciples told Him that the Pharisees were scandalized by what He had said,3 He replied: "Let them alone, they are blind, and leaders of the blind."4 St. Paul informed the Galatians that he would not yield to the false brethren who pretended to be shocked because the converts from paganism were not circumcised.5
2 Matth. XV, 11: “Not that which enters into the mouth defiles a man, but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
4 Matth. XV, 14: “Let them alone: they are blind, and leaders of the blind.”
5 Gal. II, 3 sq.
As for the scandalum pusillorum, even the semblance of injustice should be avoided unless the act to which it attaches is dictated by strict duty.6 Whatever is necessary and a matter of duty may and should be done, but Christian prudence and charity will avoid giving needless offence to the weak and ignorant.
6 Rom. XIV, 13 sqq.; 1 Cor. VIII, 9 sqq.; X, 22 sqq.—St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 43, art. 7 sq.
Regard for the pusilli should not, however, be carried so far as to give scandal to the mature and educated.7 The maxim, “In omnibus caritas,” is correct only when taken in conjunction with, “Ante omnia veritas.”
7 John VIII, 32, 36.—St. Gregory the Great, Hom. in Ezech., l. I, 7, n. 5: “Insofar as we can without sin, we ought to avoid scandalizing our neighbors. But if scandal is taken from the truth, it is more useful to allow scandal to arise than for the truth to be abandoned.” (Migne, P. L., LXXVI, 842).—Cfr. St. Bernard, Epist., 34, n. 2: “It is better that scandal should arise than that the truth should be abandoned.” (P. L., CLXXXII, 140).—IDEM, Epist., 78, n. 10 (P. L., CLXXXII, 197); Apol. ad Guilielm., c. 7, n. 15 (CLXXXII, 908).
- We are never allowed to seduce our neighbor to commit a lesser in order to keep him from a greater sin, but we may permit a lesser sin in order to prevent a more grievous one,8 or advise one who is firmly determined to perpetrate a major crime, to commit a minor one.
8 St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 78, art. 4: “It is in no way lawful to induce a man to sin; it is lawful, however, to make use of another’s sin for a good, because even God makes use of all sins for some good.”—Ibid., 3a, Suppl., qu. 62, art. 3, ad 4: “Sometimes a man who has a wife suspected of adultery lies in wait for her, so that he may be able to catch her in the crime of fornication with witnesses, and thus may proceed to an accusation.”
The reason is that, in the words of St. Alphonsus, by so acting we do not seek something that is evil, but something that is good, namely, the preference of a lesser to a greater evil,9 which is an actio bona ex obiecto.10
9 St. Alphonsus, Theol. Mor., l. II, n. 57: “The second, more probable opinion holds that it is lawful to counsel a lesser evil if the other has already been determined to carry out a greater one. The reason is that then the counselor does not seek evil but good, namely, the choice of the lesser evil.” (Ed. Gaudé, I, 353).—St. Augustine, De Coniug. Adult., l. II, c. 15, n. 15: “If he is going to do what is not lawful, let him now commit adultery and not commit homicide, so that while his wife is alive he may marry another and not shed human blood.” (Migne, P. L., XL, 482).—St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 78, art. 4: “It is lawful for him who falls among robbers to disclose the goods which he has, which the robbers sin by plundering, in order that he may not be killed.”
10 The contrary opinion (non licet suadere minus malum ad evitandum maius) is defended, e. g., by V. Patuzzi, Ethica Christiana, III, 156 sq.—Cfr. this Handbook, Vol. I, p. 213, note 3.
- Damage or loss caused by active scandal entails the duty of restitution, to be made either in the form of admonition, or instruction, or good example, or prayer, according to the nature of the case. If the damage done was material, material restitution is a duty, provided the damage was, or could have been, foreseen.
St. Paul's admonition: “Ab omni specie mala abstinete vos”11 means, not that we should avoid the semblance of evil, but that we should abstain from evil in every shape.
11 1 Thess. V, 22: ἀπὸ παντὸς εἴδους πονηροῦ ἀπέχεσθε.
Women in our licentious days have a special duty to avoid giving scandal by an immodest and seductive attire.