Whenever some new public blasphemy or obscenity occurs, the ordinary orthodox Catholic in the pew is outraged, but the progressive Catholic rationalizes the bad behavior and mocks the orthodox reaction, and a critical mass of clergymen urge prayerful restraint rather than actually doing anything to protest or stop future offenses. The second group’s faithlessness and the third group’s failure of leadership blunt any effect the first group might have, further and worse outrages follow, and the cycle repeats itself. These “do nothing” Catholics pretend to be avoiding sinful anger, but they forget that there is a vice of deficiency as well as a vice of excess where anger is concerned. As Aquinas teaches, “if one is angry in accordance with right reason, one's anger is deserving of praise,” because “without anger, teaching will be useless, judgments unstable, crimes unchecked” (Summa Theologiae II-II.158.1)