You're in a park and you see the spouse of your best friend in an amorous embrace with a stranger. It is obvious they are cheating on their marriage. What do you do? Do you tell your best friend what you've witnessed and that their spouse is unfaithful? Do you keep what you saw a secret?
The priest has noticed that one of the church helpers is stealing from the collection plate. He confronts him, and the helper confesses and repents profusely. The priest consequently learns that this helper has applied for a job at Bishop's House working for the Bishop. What should the priest do? Tell his boss of the potential problem, or keep quiet?
What if the Bishop asks the priest for a character reference?
You are on a cruise ship enjoying a holiday. A passenger falls off the ship into the water and shouts for help. Should you video the event with your cell-phone or take photos with a good SLR camera with automatic telephoto lens?
In the first instance..I would walk up to my best friend,
ReplyDeletein his amorous embrace and say.."Hello John..how ya
do'in, how's the wife and kids"?
In the 2nd instance...The priest should take the helper
to one side and talk to him, advise him, and maybe
help him..to see the error of his ways..!
Hopefully he will 'genuinely' repent..!
In the 3rd instance..It's wrong to go round pushing?
passengers off of ships..And videoing it whilst doing
it, would put you in serious trouble... HeHe! :).
🖐️ 🖐️ 🖐️ 🖐️ 🖐️🖐️ 🖐️ 🖐️ 🖐️🖐️ 🖐️ 🖐️ 🖐️ 🖐️
PS..No! Charge for said advice....! :O)
In the second one, the man has genuinely repented. Should the priest warn his boss, the Bishop? What if asked for a reference? Should he tell everything in the reference?
DeleteGod bless, Willie.
Goodness! Victor! Your pushing on this one...
DeleteBut! Yes! The priest should explain to the Bishop
how he feels about the situation, and take full
responsibility on his decision regarding the carer!
The Bishop will then make his own decision on
the carer's future!
Being serious on the last one..I would film the
whole episode on my mobile...Shouting things
like.."Back a bit..left a bit..back..back..SMILE".
HeHe! Are'nt l wicked..! :O).
Thank you, Willie.
DeleteThe second one is a real dilemma. The priest has to be loyal to his boss in case the church helper repeats the offence and steals again from the Bishop. It is also a dilemma when writing a reference for someone. Should we tell everything in a reference? By keeping some information unsaid, are we liable should the person re-offend and we knew about it and did not say so?
As for the first example. You are very brave and most probably right. But ... would you tell your best friend the spouse is cheating?
God bless.
HeHe! My advice is gonna cost you a fortune
DeleteVictor...! :).
Yes! The second one is a dilemma..Who is this
carer, is he a responsible person? married? children?
how old is he..? Is a first offence?
I don't think the issue should pushed to much, if the
circumstances are in the carers favour, then the
priest, after all, he is a priest, should consider all
the facts and the carers thieving will remain between
the priest and the Bishop..hopefully the carer will
realise this and change his ways..!
And..If it was the spouse who was cheating, l would
still go up to her and say the same thing..in reverse
order of course..!
You do 'NOT' mess with anyone's wife, husband,
girlfriend, boyfriend, cat, dog...the punishment for
so doing is...'Death'..!
HeHe! Remember..I'm a Sicilian..!
Oh! I know what l meant to ask...
What's with the shaved Alpaca up top...? :O).
As Sandi said. It is a llama. Dyed colour white. So it's a dilemma!!!
DeleteGod bless, Willie.
Dyed? I don't think so..!
DeleteBut! Yes! I'm wrong..It is a Llama..
I should have known better..A Llama is bigger
than an Alpaca..Both the same family though..
AND..They both 'spit'..
...sometime it can be difficult to know what's the best thing to do.
ReplyDeleteI would have thought the SLR camera is best.
DeleteGod bless, Tom.
A llama! ❤️❤️❤️
ReplyDeleteWell done, Sandi. You solved my dilemma. Thank you.
DeleteGod bless.
Hey Joe! guess who I saw in the park today?
ReplyDeleteThese are dilemmas for sure. WE all must pray, think and do our best to stay Christian. At times YES we are faced with situations and wonder which action is best silence or fact. If you are a person who MUST say later, I KNEW THAT! Then it is better to say it up front. Other wise I think Silence is best.
This are situations that could well have happened and it is difficult to decide the best action to take.
DeleteGod bless, Jack.
You do what you think is right.
ReplyDeleteNot always easy though. I'm so indecisive; I'm not so sure.
DeleteGod bless, Bill.
De-llama! Sad to say but judging from what I'm seeing out on social media, there's more than a few who'd document the passenger's peril v. rushing to save him. To answer your question, I think silence is golden.
ReplyDeleteA true de-llama indeed. Why can't life be simple, Mevely?
DeleteGod bless you.
When faced with situations like this I stop and say a quick prayer to find out what God's will is for me, then follow the answer I receive.
ReplyDeleteGood suggestion, Kathy.
DeleteGod bless.
Hard decisions, in a way. But not. Prayer precedes and works through and finds God's will.
ReplyDeleteIndeed Susan; prayers always.
DeleteGod bless.
If it was a very good friend I would tell. If just someone I knew I wouldn't.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would tell on the church helper if he was really sorry and repented. BUT if asked for a reference I would tell the truth but say he has confessed and repented.
A good idea would be to first pray about what is the right thing to do.
A wise comment Happyone. Thank you.
DeleteGod bless.
In the first instance, i'd take a photo then walk up to the couple and let the friend's spouse know i'm there. Then i would say, "you have 3 days to confess your infidelity to your spouse and start trying to put your marriage back together, or i will tell what i've seen." This gives the perpetrator a chance to do the right thing.
ReplyDeleteIn the second case, my understanding is that a priest must keep confessions a secret no matter what. If the priest confronted the man, and he confessed and asked for absolution and truly repented, and nothing more has disappeared from the collections since, i thought the priest had to keep mum about it.
In my case, not being a priest, if someone asked me for a recommendation under such circumstances, i'd go have a heart to heart with the person doing the hiring, letting them know i believe this person should be given a chance and watched to see if the behavior has changed.
If someone falls overboard, i'm not taking pictures, i'm calling for help!
You are right that a priest should not reveal a confession; however, if asked for a reference, should he omit to mention the incident? By doing so, is he sinning against the Bishop by withholding information?
DeleteGod bless, Mimi.
Dearest Victor,
ReplyDeleteGuess we all will face such dilemmas during our life.
Those are the times we must follow the head and not the heart or emotions. It could have dire consequences for all involved, later...
Hugs,
Mariette
You are right, Mariette; and prayers always help us reach a decision.
DeleteGod bless you.
💞
DeleteIf a passenger falls off the ship the FIRST thing to do is get help for him or her, then film the rescue.
ReplyDeleteIf the Bishop asks for a character reference, then mention the stealing, if he doesn't then just have a word with the thief to be be on his best behaviour.
I have no idea about the cheating spouse. I'd want to tell, but think it should be up to him or her. I would perhaps wave and say hello so that he or she knows they've been seen.
You make very good points, River; and wise decisions too. Thank you.
DeleteGod bless always.