Understanding Scrupulosity: 3rd Edition of Questions and Encouragement

by Thomas M. Santa

Many people, at one time or another, struggle with faith issues about sin, guilt, punishment, and hell. But a small few, particularly Catholics, so fear offending God—or fear never being forgiven by God—that they are unable to participate in daily life without experiencing severe doubt and anxiety. Rather than experiencing faith as a source of peace, their faith causes them to dwell on or second guess every decision they make.

These people have scrupulosity. Sometimes called the doubting disease. Many Redemptorists believe their founder, Alphonsus Liguori, struggled with scrupulosity all his life. Because of this, Redemptorists have a special charism for compassionately helping those with this disease achieve peace of mind in their day-to-day struggle.

Based on a half-century of questions and answers published in the Scrupulous Anonymous newsletter, Understanding Scrupulosity: Questions and Encouragement addresses concerns related to sin, thoughts, dreams, fantasies, and sexuality, as well as confession, self-worth, prayer, and God’s grace.

This third edition of Understanding Scrupulosity includes new chapters on identifying and understanding behaviors associated with scrupulosity, and explains the medical breakthroughs of the past decade on how to treat it.

Genres: Catholic, Religion, Psychology, Nonfiction, Theology, Spirituality, Christianity

370 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1999

About the author

Father Thomas M. Santa, C.Ss.R. was professed as a Redemptorist in 1973 and ordained a priest in June of 1978. He is a graduate of Holy Redeemer College in Wisconsin and the State University of New York - Mount Saint Alphonsus.

He is the priest director of the Scrupulous Anonymous newsletter, and an associate faculty member and former director of the Redemptorist Renewal Center in Tucson, Arizona. He has also served as pastor of St. Michael Parish in Old Town, Chicago, and as President/Publisher of Liguori Publications.

Reviews

[Kevin W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some helpful insights, but I’m sure there could be better resources out there. Some of his responses to questions on scrupulous matters seemed oversimplified or even, from my perspective, sometimes incorrect. I did love the “Ten Commandments for the Scrupulous” section- that information was very practical and helpful.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is Catholic-based, but most of the ideas translate well to my religion which is also a very rule-based faith. Our bishops sometimes play a similar confessor-based role as a priest does. There can be a similar guilt response to worrying about partaking of the sacrament worthily, which is sort of like communion. There are fundamental differences to my faith, but enough similarities to make this book very relevant. I purchased this book because it wasn't available from my library. I'm glad we own it.

Most of the book is in the form of questions by people who have scrupulosity and answers from a few priests, including the author. Many of the questions are repeated in different forms. That feels a little tedious and repetitive at first, but there are subtle differences in each question that add a little more understanding. Father Santa also adds some of his own observations, explanations, and suggestions throughout the book.

I like how this book describes people who have scruples as those with a "tender conscience." These are good people who are trying so hard. There seems to be paranoia about super small mistakes. There's a lot of trouble making decisions for fear of making the wrong decision. There's so much guilt. I like how this book says that the person with scruples needs to trust in God and His love.

I really like this quote "From the Philippines" in Chapter 15 which lists things that have helped others who deal with scrupulosity. The individual quotes something their confessor said that helped them: "Believe that even if your heart condemns you, God is greater than your heart."

I truly believe that God is full of perfect compassion and patience. He neither condemns nor condones. He loves us. It's okay to be imperfect. We're here to learn. It's okay to fail and make mistakes. It's part of that learning process. We can grow grace by grace. Because of grace, we can also activate grit and diligence to keep moving forward. It's the direction we're headed that matters, not where we are on the slope toward God.

I have a child who has been dealing with scrupulosity for years. As a parent, it was important to me to get as much information as possible about this challenge. That's why I wanted to read the book. Scrupulosity ought to be more understood here in Utah than it seems to be. With my child, it went so far that the scrupulosity led to anorexia, catatonia, and hospitalization.

At first, we had no idea what was happening. I was calling it religious anorexia for a while. Now I understand it's probably more related to OCD. This child was mistakenly diagnosed as having schizophrenia and put on some heavy-duty medications. It became clear the medications weren't helping. Months of extensive out-patient therapy followed the hospitalization. Since the medications weren't helping and our child is an adult and didn't want to take them, they stopped taking them. The child has done much better without the medications.

Now, the child is simply trying to recover from that whole experience, but does seem to continue with some scrupulosity. "My only goal, every day, is to be nice to myself," the child said to me. There's not a whole lot of progress going on, but not a lot of abnormal behaviors anymore either. Thankfully, the anorexia seems to be gone. Even so, there is still suffering. If we had understood scrupulosity as this book describes, we probably would have avoided some of the past trauma and the misdiagnosis. Understanding scrupulosity will help me help my child.

[Kimberley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so glad I found this book. I’ve always struggled with religious scrupulosity and combined with OCD sometimes it’s been a massive struggle. This book gives great insight to all the questions the scrupulous might want to ask but don’t. I’m so grateful that you took the time to create this, Father. You have helped many with this, I am sure. The important thing to remember is that God is always there, waiting for you to come home to Him.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably a really good book for those who both suffer from "the doubting disease" as well as a good read for those who think that being religious intrinsically means being "scrupulous" and must have an unhealthy self-doubt, fear, and anxiety. As one who suffers from being Scrupulous this book I can promise you will either (1) Go a long way in treating your scruples or at the very least (2) point you in the right direction for further reading. However, for most I believe the former will be the case.

I especially loved the long organized series of questions to questions I to was troubled with, even the author recognizes what I have recognized since before reading this book, namely that improper or incomplete catechist and incorrect God-Image is responsible for the suffering over Scrupulosity. Most important to point out here of course is the recognition that Religious Scrupulosity is only a sub-category in a larger collection of sub-categories of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

After reading this, I can say that the best thing for any scruplous person to do is: Take a Chance out of Love for God and Neighbor, if you have a Spiritual Director obey his directives, until your scruples are gone. But most importantly, take a chance, your fears and anxieties are in large part unfounded and groundless phantasms. Courage is a Cardinal Virtue, and a Virtue needed in the Spiritual Life, see yourself as being Lovingly and Humbly Courageous.

[Peinumenchu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful in drawing the line between concepts

As blurring the line between different but related ideas is a big problem for people afflicted with scruples. Very comforted to know the difference between despair and the effect of scrupulosity. I moved on several occasions bey the references made to letters sent to Fr. Santa.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!!!

This book came to me at the exact, perfect time. All my life I’ve dealt with scrupulosity and never knew it! This book put a name to what I experience and has given me a brand new way to look at myself without fear.

[Chris Hulshof · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful…especially if the sufferer is Catholic. If not, the book still contains plenty of good advice and council. A worthwhile read for those who suffer from R-OCD regardless of denominational affiliation.

[Joseph Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical advice on how to handle scrupulous thoughts. The key takeway I had was, give it God and trust that He loves you. This release the anxiety. It works.

[Antonio Cabrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome !!!

This book help me to understand about scrupulosity and helped me a lot. Anyone dealing with scrupulosity I highly recommend this book.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book written by a Catholic priest who came to this topic via his experience with confessions: Scrupulosity is the concept, at least in the Catholic church, of people who have a true and weighty concern with mortal sin insofar as they fear doing something that could be sinful and fret over how to avoid such actions. Of course, we're not speaking here of sins such as theft or arson, but much more mundane things—things that most of us wouldn't even consider as "sins" even if we are devout Christians. An example provided by the author was a young wife who was worried she would select the "wrong" soup to cook for her family and that in doing so, she'd not be a faithful and helpful wife. This story, as silly as it sounds, illustrates perfectly the fulcrum of scrupulosity, which is the idea of failing to do something right (as opposed to actually doing something wrong) when with more effort, one could avoid such failings. The real sin is of course the lack of attention to right and wrong such a failing would entail. Father Santa does a great job of writing about the topic both from an exploratory viewpoint and, as far as his faith goes, a pragmatic one. That is to say, this book is written for both the scholar or interested party concerned with the topic but also with the person who suffers from the problem described in mind. Due to this approach, there are places where more scholarship and detail would have been welcome, but Santa is adroit at keeping the pace up while also making the book highly entertaining, even for a non-Catholic like myself. It's all in all a book I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in the complex basis of the very concept of sin in the Catholic church, which of course could lead to an examination of a whole host of other issues. As far as I know this is the only book on this topic aside from some highly specialized ones in the literature of canon law.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a Catholic struggling with fears over sin and the sacrament of reconciliation, this book provides solid advice and comfort backed by centuries of the teachings of the Saints.

[Ciara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about Scrupulosity as a person who can have this sometimes I find since reading this I feel a lot better.