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Credo Catholic
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| Joined: | Sat May 5th, 2007 |
| Location: | Greenville, South Carolina USA |
| Posts: | 1212 |
| First Name: | Marsha | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Baptist, Catholic |
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Posted: Mon May 28th, 2007 10:56 pm |
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| Is there a church position on the destiny of the mentally handicapped? I am thinking in particular of a neighbor who is 39 yrs. old but has the mental capacity of a child. She seems to have a concept of right and wrong but it varies from day to day. I don't know if she was ever baptized. Also, my eldest grandson has autism. At age 7 he is amazingly advanced in math and "concrete" areas of thinking but not so good in abstract areas. I have tried to teach him to pray at bedtime but I don't think he does it when I'm not there visiting. My daughter did overhear him one night saying "God bless A, God bless B, God bless C, etc!" He loves to do things by rote such as counting, alphabet, etc. He was baptized in the Community Church of Christ by his father's family. I think I heard Fr. Groeschel say on his program that mentally handicapped persons are also considered innocents. Any comments would be reassuring! Last edited on Mon May 28th, 2007 10:56 pm by Credo Catholic
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David W. Emery
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 1715 |
| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Mon May 28th, 2007 11:18 pm |
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I think I heard Fr. Groeschel say on his program that mentally handicapped persons are also considered innocents. Any comments would be reassuring!
Yes, you heard him correctly, and this is the Church’s position. The destiny of the innocent but unbaptized soul is the topic of another ongoing thread in this same area of the forum. We commend them to God and trust in his love and mercy. My personal belief is that such persons are accepted into heaven since God himself is not bound by the sacraments to which he has bound the Church.
David
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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 4981 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Mon May 28th, 2007 11:44 pm |
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Credo Catholic wrote: I think I heard Fr. Groeschel say on his program that mentally handicapped persons are also considered innocents. Any comments would be reassuring!
Let me comment for clarification. There are many levels of mental handicap. The mentally challenged are normally ranked by the age at which they function. I believe those who function at a pre-school level are certainly considered innocents, but many of the mentally challenged function at relatively high levels and are capable of distinguishing right from wrong. You will often see them working at places like McDonald's. I know one young man who is definitely mentally challenged but has held a full-time job at Wal-Mart for years, is a member of our Knights of Columbus, and is an usher at our church.
So I don't think it's possible make a blanket statement that all "mentally handicapped" individuals would be considered innocents, but the ones who are truly not capable of distinguishing right from wrong certainly are.
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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Steven Barrett
Member
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Posted: Tue May 29th, 2007 02:43 pm |
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Given the society we live in, I'd like to add "spiritual leaders" to "innocents."
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For anyone suffering from a mental illness or has a loved one with a mental illness, my book "Lead kindly Light: A Devotional For The Mentally Ill" might be of some help: http://www.lulu.com/ (Use search box at the top of page.)
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