Apologetics 101

Any time the Church exerts Her authority on a moral issue that can be in the least way construed as discriminatory, someone will offer the canard that Jesus ate with prostitutes and tax collectors. Indeed He did, but after their encounter with Christ, the sinners underwent conversion, they did not continue their sinful ways, and this is what we need to remind the critics. The Church invites everyone to encounter the same Christ, who forgave the most wretched creatures in society, so that they too can be transformed in His love. At the same time, the Church has a responsibility to speak out against evils that will imperil us to eternal damnation. Sometimes it's uncomfortable to talk about these evils for the risk of offending someone. To paraphrase a priest blogger, we can be sure Hell will be very, very offensive. True Christian charity compels the Church to speak out against evils despite what public opinion demands.