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All too often, we see people living out the error that modesty can change from person to person and generation to generation. People falsely believe that they can decide for themselves what is modest and what is not. Worse, those claiming to be Catholic, dress in a way that is not only offensive to Our Lord, but also bring scandal by representing the Church in a sinful display. So it is necessary that we are reminded of what it takes to maintain purity and have modesty in dress. It is a matter of saving our souls and the souls of others.
Here now is a letter on the topic of Modesty in Dress by Bishop Pivarunas.
Dearly beloved in Christ,
With the warmer weather of the summer months, it is not only appropriate, but also necessary for our priests to preach to the faithful about the spiritual dangers that are so prevalent today in the areas of modesty and chastity. This pastoral letter is intended to assist the priests in their moral responsibility to instruct their parishioners.
The principles of the virtues of modesty and chastity are based, first and foremost, on the Sixth and Ninth Commandments of God:
and
Furthermore, we read in the Gospel of St. Matthew how our Divine Savior Jesus Christ reiterated the Ninth Commandment when He said:
When we consider these matters, we are also reminded of some of the warnings of the Blessed Virgin at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917.
Nearly 80 years have passed since the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima and how prophetic has her message been! With modern technology — the television, the movies and videos, and now computers — our young people are daily exposed to pornography and immorality which destroy their moral fiber. The widespread effects of this moral destruction are so obvious — teenage promiscuity and pregnancy, abortion, the open promotion of artificial contraceptives and the rise of violent crimes against women.
How tragic to see so many young people live as if there were no God, no Commandments, no such thing as mortal sin, no such thing as death, judgment and eternity. As tragic as this is, it is even more tragic to see Catholic girls and women fall victims to the allurements of immodest styles and fashions, and by so doing, become the cause and occasion of sin for so many others.
Pope Pius XII lamented this sad and tragic spectacle on many an occasion. In 1954, the Pope sadly related:
On another occasion, Pope Pius XII addressed the Catholic Young Women’s Groups of Italy:
All of these considerations are fine and good, but they will remain meaningless if there are not some practical guidelines as to what exactly constitutes immodest dress for women and girls. Based on various excerpts from moral theology, the following general guidelines should not be too difficult for our Catholic women and girls to understand:
Here it may be asked about those particular occasions which seem to call for exceptions. What about extremely hot weather, or sports, or swimming?
A woman will have to use common sense in these cases and take some extra precautions, realizing she has a serious responsibility in this regard. In hot weather a woman can wear a dress or culottes that are loose, light and cool and yet still modest. At sports she can be innovative in order to be modest, depending upon the activity. For swimming she can wear some type of pull-over or cover-up garment except for the times she is actually swimming. Choice of a swimming suit for women today is extremely important. Most women’s bathing suits are grossly immodest. A woman may have to make or provide her own combinations that will be modest, but if that is what it takes to be modest she should do so.
For our Catholic women and girls, let them seriously reflect on their manner of dress and their moral obligation to refrain from any “styles and fashions which gravely offend our Divine Lord.” When we consider that the greatest of evils to befall anyone is the eternal loss of one’s soul to hell, how we should dread to be the cause or the occasion of sin for anyone!
With this in mind, let us conclude with a review of the instructions given by the Council of Vigilance found in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis (Acts of the Apostolic See) to the Bishops and Ordinaries under Pope Pius XI:
Lest anyone think that this difficult subject of modesty is an inappropriate or improper topic for our priests to address to their faithful, we refer to the closing statement from the Sacred Congregation of the Council:
In Christo Jesu et Maria Immaculata,
Most Rev. Mark A. Pivarunas, CMRI