Expert: Fr. Timothy Johnson - 6/16/2010

Question
Dear Father,

I sometimes have a difficulty with scruples such that various daily situations seem to create a moral dilemma for me, and I am a bit lost about how to resolve them.  I hope it would be alright to ask about some of these below.  Since there are a number, I have tried to phrase them so that they would not require lengthy responses, or even that they admit of a “yes” or “no” reply.  If the reply is only “yes” or “no” I will try to take your word for it and try to act on that.  If time constraints allow you to reply to one or all, I very much appreciate the help.

1. If a person has received certain counsels in Confession, but may not be able to easily contact the priest who gave the counsels (e.g., the Confession was made in a distant, out-of-town location), and if a penitent does not recall or is not clear on whether or not those counsels bind under pain of sin, would they, in fact, bind under pain of sin?

2a. When reading Catholic apologetic or other readings, is it permissible to read portions where an author quotes or refers to words, objections, or serious errors and even blasphemous expressions of a heretic, atheist, or other enemy of the Faith (e.g., the objections which precede the articles in St. Thomas’s Summa, or St. Pius X’s exposition of modernist errors), assuming that the author normally proceeds to refute these errors?  
b. And would the preceding answer apply equally to listening, for instance, to sermons or conferences?  

3a. Regarding Fridays as penitential days, if someone passes some or all of a Friday without consciously adverting to the fact that it is a penitential day, and thus abstains from meat more from a sort of coincidence or unconscious habit rather than from a conscious effort to perform a penance, has he still fulfilled the requirement?  
b. Also, if abstinence is not a particularly severe penance for a given individual, since he or she does not eat meat frequently anyway, would this person be obliged to add an additional penance under pain of sin?

4. If a book, such as the life of a saint, for some reason lacks an imprimatur but does not seem to be unsound or authored by someone untrustworthy, can it still be read (and does the answer also apply to books written from 1917-1983, when the old 1917 Code of Canon Law was in force, which apparently required imprimaturs more strictly than the present Code?  E.g., I have a copy of Dom Scupoli’s famous Spiritual Combat, apparently republished in the 1970’s, but which if I recall has no imprimatur)?  

5. There are some public Catholic forums which I read, and I wished to try to perhaps post a query asking for some advice of the readers on some personal spiritual and temporal difficulties.  Would it be morally permissible for me to do so if, in the course of describing those difficulties, I felt it necessary to make mention of the moral wrongdoing of certain people related to me (assuming that the Internet provides sufficient anonymity that no one would be able to trace those details to the actual people I am referring to, and thus that I would not be engaging in public detraction)?  Or should I refrain if there is even the slightest chance that the identity of those referred to would be known?

I also have some questions about copyrights and the 7th Commandment.  I have come across many websites which offer good Catholic materials online for free (e.g., the Bible, St. Francis de Sales’ Introduction to the Devout Life, the Imitation of Christ, and others), some of which might be out of print and which I would like to read online.  However, I have worried that perhaps I would be committing an act of theft by reading these things while not sure if their copyrights have expired or not, and so of late I have suspended reading from these sources.  The questions are:

6a. Can I assume that if a book is provided online for free reading, or if it appears to have its copyright expired (e.g., it was published more than 75 years ago, or is offered on a well-known Catholic website), that it is licit to use it without searching to see if the copyright still exists or has been renewed?  
b. Supposing that the copyright had not expired or was renewed, would someone reading the book be guilty of sin by negligence/willful ignorance of stealing from the author/publisher if he had not taken further measures to check?  
c. Also, can one read online older versions of books (pending the answers to the above) for which there are or may be newer, copyrighted editions or reprintings (e.g., a 1920, non-copyright edition of St. Thomas’s Summa which was reprinted, under copyright, in 1974)?
d. Are any of the preceding answers altered if books, for instance, are read from sites which have faced lawsuits for copyright infringement on other books (e.g. the “Google Books” website)?  
e. And if material was photocopied or quoted from works still under copyright, for instance, for private reading, is it licit to retain and read that material?

7a. If someone has downloaded Gregorian chant and other sacred music which were freely available, can they be retained and listened to without sin (assuming the same doubts about copyright as noted for the books, e.g. one has no certainty about whether they are still copyrighted, but assumes that their free availability might indicate that their use is permissible)?  
b. Pending the answer to the above, can further such downloads be made?  
c. If any of the preceding is elsewhere offered for sale, does this change the answer (e.g., I have found a website which offers a number of Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s talks for free, but elsewhere these same talks seem to be for sale)?  
d. If any of the preceding was offered without clear indication of whether copyright still exists (e.g., recordings which someone made from the chants at a Mass, and then posted on the Internet), is someone obliged to delete it?  
e. And if one has made copies of any of the preceding, for the sake of personal use and not for distributing to others, should the copies be disposed of if one has a doubt about copyrights, etc.?  
f. Further, since some sacred music was composed around the time of the Protestant revolt (by composers such as Palestrina or Tallis), such that it may have been written or somehow altered to render it acceptable to heretical rulers (e.g. altered text which includes some theological error, at the order of Henry VIII or Elizabeth I, for example, since I believe the latter retained a well-known Catholic composer in her court), or if it was performed by Protestant or other non-Catholic choirs, or if in some non-Catholic service and/or building or setting…in any of these or similar cases, or if there is a suspicion or chance that any of these apply, is one obliged to refrain from listening?

8. Can one make use of Catholic reading materials found on websites which feature negative content (e.g., a sedevacantist website, or one which promotes false apparitions) elsewhere, provided one is making use of the legitimate materials, and not any of the objectionable content?

9. If one is estranged from certain family members (for what one believes to be legitimate reason), is one nevertheless obliged under pain of sin to contact them or send them a message for events such as birthdays, holidays, Father’s/Mother’s Day, etc.?  

10. With regard to all of the above questions, although I tried to phrase them to allow for nuances or details or exceptions, if something later occurs to me which might alter the nature of the answers, should I not act on any answer that is given?  Put more simply, the question underlying most of the above queries is “If there is a doubt about any moral matter, should one always suspend action, or can one go ahead if there seems to be no blatantly obvious problem?”

With apologies for the length, if time allows you to answer any or all, I greatly appreciate the help.  It may not be easy for me to find answers to these queries at some local parishes, so I am not sure how to proceed.

Answer
Dear Michael:

You are very restless in spirit, and this long list of minutiae and small details in little questions is alarming.
You ask me about how to resolve your scruples: I say, "Seek the Love of God the Father through His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by the Grace of the Holy Spirit in the full communion of the Holy Catholic Church."
My friend, I pray that you can experience the Love and Saving Power of God Who created you to know, love and serve Him in this world in order to be happy with Him in the next.
Take time to pray, and read the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the Code of Canon Law.  + God bless you...

Fr. Timothy Johnson