Did Jesus Really Say, "Who Am I to Judge?"

By Fr. Tom Collins

One of the great perversions offered by secularized Christianity is the excuse for pastoral negligence
provided by the mantra, "Who am I to judge?". This is supposedly a paraphrase of the words of Jesus,
"Judge not, lest you be judged" (Matt 7:1). 

The fact of the matter, though, is that this is a distortion of Christ's teaching. More accurately, the teaching of Jesus is that we are not to condemn sinners, but rather assist in converting them away
from sin into the gracious and healing mercy of God. Since none of us can fully appreciate the effects
of the personal history and dynamics of a soul trapped in sin, we are unable to determine for certain
the degree of that person's culpability for the sins that distort his perspective and enslave his life.