{"id":257,"date":"2011-06-07T10:18:06","date_gmt":"2011-06-07T14:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/catholicbychoice\/?p=257"},"modified":"2011-06-07T10:37:21","modified_gmt":"2011-06-07T14:37:21","slug":"truth-twitter-and-tangled-webs-learning-from-%e2%80%98weiner-gate%e2%80%99","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/2011\/06\/truth-twitter-and-tangled-webs-learning-from-%e2%80%98weiner-gate%e2%80%99.html","title":{"rendered":"Truth, Twitter and Tangled Webs: Learning from \u2018Weiner-gate\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZraiZvOCRHE<\/a>\n

I just returned from what would have been a wonderful, hard, exhilarating and uplifting workout at the gym- but for \u201cWeiner-Gate\u201d. Most people reading this piece know what I am referring to. The sad series of events which continues to propel Congressman Anthony Weiner of New York onto every television screen in America \u2013 and beyond – and make his awful behavior the subject of multiple conversations.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After a week of denying that he sent lewd and obscene photos of himself over social media to young women, during which he arrogantly and abusively excoriated almost every media source which had the seeming audacity to question his account, he finally, \u201cfessed up\u201d over national television. The scene is continually replayed it seems, as though it were set on some sort of endless media loop.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This torrid and sad affair has is just the kind of salacious news story which takes on legs in a culture which has lost its moral compass and makes sport out of men and women who\u00a0 self implode through what should be called what it is, sin. First, what Anthony Weiner did was an example of the merit behind the perennial Christian teaching concerning the effects of the original sin – when this proclivity to sin is not remediated by the grace of God.<\/p>\n

St Paul addressed this dilemma with the Christians in Rome when he acknowledged an experience which is common to men and women. There are times when we do not do what we know is right. When we choose what is wrong. Catholic theology uses the word \u201cconcupiscence\u201d to explain the disorder which is often at work, resulting in disordered appetites and passions. The choices we make when confronted with this problem are what determine the results. The Catholic Catechism explains:<\/p>\n

\u201cSt. John distinguishes three kinds of covetousness or concupiscence: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life. (1 John 2:16) \u2026Etymologically, “concupiscence” can refer to any intense form of human desire. Christian theology has given it a particular meaning: the movement of the sensitive appetite contrary to the operation of the human reason. The apostle St. Paul identifies it with the rebellion of the “flesh” against the “spirit.” (Gal 5:16,17,24; Eph 2:3) Concupiscence stems from the disobedience of the first sin. It unsettles man’s moral faculties and, without being in itself an offense, inclines man to commit sins.\u201d (CCC #2514, – 2516)<\/p>\n

However, Congressman Weiner\u2019s initial transgression and the pain which it brought to his wife and himself are not really what is most important about this ongoing saga. He sinned and he and he alone must deal with the consequences. It was his behavior after being \u201cfound out\u201d which is most instructive. He is a textbook example of what most of our mother\u2019s taught us in that old saying, \u201cOh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive\u201d.
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Anthony Weiner lied, plain and simple. And, after his lies were exposed, he lied again and again. Then, he finally \u201cfessed up\u201d, after it was clear that the lies were not \u201cworking\u201d. We should pray for him, his wife, the young women who were victimized by his immoral behavior, his family and those who will judge the ramifications of his abuse of office and render any appropriate sanctions.<\/p>\n

However, what actually makes this sad story worth reflecting upon is not the underlying facts and the salacious content. History is filled with similar stories. For the Congressman, what he says and does going forward will determine whether his immoral action becomes an occasion for his own redemption and amendment of life, thus becoming a tutor, or he choose to continue down the road of corruption, and his fall becomes a millstone. What makes it unique is that truth and the tangled web met twitter.<\/p>\n

In this world of \u201csocial media, we all need to remember that these communications tools are simply an extension of us. They, like every one of our modes of communication, have behind them a moral agent, a human person, you and me. They can be used for good, or they can be used for evil, because they are an extension of us and our capacity to choose. Only human persons can be moral agents.<\/p>\n

What we choose not only affects the world around us but changes us in the process. This entire matter should teach us again of our need for the Lord who is the Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life. (John 14:6) He is the One who not only reveals the truth to us but then makes it possible for us to choose it. Our freedom was fractured by sin and the cross is the splint which restores it.<\/p>\n

To end with some more insight from the Catechism, these words from the section on Man\u2019s Freedom:<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as freedom has not bound itself definitively to its ultimate good which is God, there is the possibility of choosing between good and evil, and thus of growing in perfection or of failing and sinning. This freedom characterizes properly human acts. It is the basis of praise or blame, merit or reproach.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to “the slavery of sin.”(Romans 6:17 \u2013 CCC # 1732, 1733)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just returned from what would have been a wonderful, hard, exhilarating and uplifting workout at the gym- but for \u201cWeiner-Gate\u201d. Most people reading this piece know what I am referring to. 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He is a widely recognized voice in the Catholic and broader Christian community. He is a member of the Clergy of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia. In his fifteenth year of service as an ordained Catholic Deacon, he is currently assigned to St Stephen Martyr Parish in Chesapeake, Virginia. He is also authorized to serve the Liturgy of the Greek Byzantine Melkite Catholic Church. Deacon Fournier and his wife Laurine have been married for 34 years and have five grown children and six grandchildren. Deacon Fournier holds his Bachelors degree in theology and philosophy from the Franciscan University of Steubenville (BA), his Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Theology from the John Paul II Institute of the Lateran University (MTS), his Juris Doctor Law Degree Law (JD) from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and is a PhD candidate in Moral Theology at the Catholic University of America where he is currently writing his Doctoral Dissertation. Deacon Fournier also holds two honorary Doctorates, a Doctor of Laws (L.L.D. 1994,Honoris Causa) from St. Thomas University - Given for pro-life legal contributions, and a Doctor of Divinity Degree (D.D. 2005, Honoris Causa ) from the National Clergy Council and the Methodist Episcopal Church for his contributions to authentic ecumenical efforts toward Christian unity. Attorney Fournier is a constitutional lawyer who appeared as co-counsel in cases before the United States Supreme Court on Pro-Life, Religious Freedom and Pro-family issues. He served as the first Executive Director of the American Center for Law and Justice for seven years. He then served as a public policy activist for the causes of life, marriage and family issues for a number of years. He has extensive experience in nonprofit and for profit leadership. He has taught at the College level and served in Academic administration. He was a Dean of Students and the Dean of Evangelization at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio. Deacon Fournier is, above all, a communicator. His faith informs his passion to share the fullness of life which he has found in the heart of the Catholic Church. He has written eight books on matters of faith, family and the Christian life and is widely published in the broader Christian community on matters of life, faith, family, and cultural and social issues. He hosted two daily national radio programs, Purpose for Living, and Millennial Moment. He hosted several television series on Christian family and contemporary faith issues on EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network). He is actively involved in preaching and teaching in the Catholic Church and the broader Christian community. In addition to serving as the Editor in Chief of Catholic Online, Deacon Fournier is the John Paul II Fellow and special counsel for the National Pro-Life Center in Washington, D.C. and is the president of Third Millennium, LLC, a communications and consulting company. He views his role on Beliefnet as an opportunity to share his Catholic Christian faith in what he calls a new areopagus. The areopagus is referred to in the 17th Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the Christian New Testament. Also called Mars Hill it was there where the Apostle Paul shared the Christian faith with the early Greeks in their temple.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/author\/deaconfournier"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":265,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257\/revisions\/265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}