Norms of Catholic Orthodoxy - Rule 10

As I was reading "All My Liberty" by Fr. John Hardon, I was particularly struck by the rules of St. Ignatius on having the true sentiment which we should have as part of the Church Militant. In particular, reading Rule 10 provided a wake up call to me...How should this be applied today? Am I guilty of violating this rule? How does one, in today's culture, follow this? It seems to me that detachment and obedience are the keys...

Tenth Rule.
We ought to be more prompt to find good and praise as well the Constitutions and recommendations as the ways of our Superiors. Because, although some are not or have not been such, to speak against them, whether preaching in public or discoursing before the common people, would rather give rise to fault-finding and scandal than profit; and so the people would be incensed against their Superiors, whether temporal or spiritual.

So that, as it does harm to speak evil to the common people of Superiors in their absence, so it can make profit to speak of the evil ways to the persons themselves who can remedy them.

In a certain sense, many have heard something somewhat similar in the expression of our mothers - "If you can't say anything good about so-and-so, don't say anything at all".

While the statement is, no doubt, praiseworthy and one to which one should adhere, the rule surpasses it. How difficult is it to find some good in one of our priests or bishops rather than focusing on and drawing attention to a particular fault or inclination? It's, most likely, not difficult at all. There is the added benefit of being advised to discuss the problems, not with others, but with those who can have some influence on correcting the problems.