There is a certain group of people, mainly under the age of sixty, who I call the "generation of psychology". With some of the people in this age group, from about 50-60, sin, for them, must always be explained and defined by three things. Of course, when they define and explain sin in this manner, they fall into heresy.
One, every time I discuss the fact that love and sin is in the will, these Catholics simply do not understand the concept of the will. They define sin as caused by the emotions, which would be a heretical notion, taking away responsibility from the person who sins for those sins and for the consequences of sin.
Two, these people want to explain away the consequences, and even the culpability for sin by blaming one's psychological past history. In other words, no one really sins, but only reacts sinfully because of past hurts, abuse, neglect and so on. The idea that a person chooses to sin never enters these people's conversation. All sin is, therefore, caused by psychological damage, usually from childhood.
Three, the result is that parents are blamed for sin, or a teacher, or an abusive sibling, or abandonment of a husband, and so on, letting the one who is sinning "off the hook."
I cannot tell you, dear readers, the number of conversations with the members of the generation of psychology I have had in the past six months here in the States where people deny their own or their friends' or even their own children's sins by appealing to psychology, the false religion of the day.
Later on today, I shall return to this theme, as I have to get to Holy Mass now.
