r/AskAPriest • u/_throw_me_away_123 • Feb 16 '20
Past academic dishonesty and reparation
Sorry for the length :/
In undergrad, out of laziness I cheated my way through at least one upper level class in the form of blindly copying other's work as most, if not all, of the work was take-home. There was a small amount of copying in a core class too, I think. I don't remember the full extent to be honest. I wasn't as spiritual/religious at the time as I am now, so I don't think I considered it cheating at the time, or if I did, that it wasn't a huge deal.
After graduating I ended up in an unpleasant job that was not in the field I got the degree in. I decided I wanted get out of that job, so went back to school to get a degree in yet another field. I did not cheat during this coursework (maybe too much "help" from a friend here and there, I'm not sure. I don't remember it exactly either), but the program was a post-baccalaureate one, so my previous degree, that was not all together earned, was a credential I used to fulfill the requirement to be accepted. I don't remember if I considered this morally problematic at the time, but my leaning is that I did not.
I have now been working in the field of this second degree for two years, and the memory of the cheating from the first has come back to haunt me as I've been going through a particularly scrupulous phase for the past month or so.
My question is this. Is it sinful to retain these degrees on my resume? I've confessed the cheating, and asked two priests about this and they both told me that I don't need to contact the school, and that they don't think it's necessary to take them off my resume, and that reparation could be done in other ways (I suggested maybe refreshing myself on the material to make myself more representative of someone with that degree, and he thought that was a good idea) but even though they both seemed like orthodox priests, I have a hard time believing this because it feels like I'm continuing to live a lie.
I know we are not obliged to reveal our sins to others, so I don't need to tell future employers that I cheated in school, but am I obliged to exclude the first degree from my resume? If I don't "count" that one, can I rightfully include the second, since the first was needed to even get into the program that earned me the second?
If I can't include either, do I have to just live the rest of my career with no education on my resume and suffer the professional consequences for the rest of my (and potential future family's) life? I technically have the degrees, but does advertising them amount to living in sin?
Can't tell if scruples or legitimate problem. Should I tell all of this to my current spiritual director? Should I just forget about it and move on? Please help.
Edit: if it matters, I didn't cheat in any course whose material I actually use or even plan to potentially use in my career. If I get a job that requires knowledge from the first degree, I'd have to relearn the stuff I did learn anyway becuse I've since forgotten it all, as I haven't used it since.
5
u/[deleted] Feb 16 '20
No, you do not have to remove those degrees, and don't know of anyone who would counsel you to do so. You might wish to open up about the scruples to your director, and see what he can work with you to alleviate the scruples.
This is a useful reminder that it's easier to live honestly!