Abuse and Suicidal Ideation

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TotusTuusForever

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When a person has been abused and beaten down so much that they lose all hope that life can get better, is suicidal ideation/attempts etc. a sin?
I understand what the Church teaches about suicide, but if a person feels trapped by an abusive situation do they need to go to confession for wanting to die?

Please note that this does not pertain to a current situation.
 
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This person should be seeking the help of medical professionals. Especially those who are well versed in depression and abuse
 
That is happening, but does the Catholic Church teach that a person like this will go to hell if they don’t confess this?
 
TotusTuusForever said:
That is happening, but does the Catholic Church teach that a person like this will go to hell if they don’t confess this?
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Seems like it does pertain to a current situation.

Unless there is scrupoulisity involved I would recommend confessing it. The priest will be able to offer better guidance going forward.

To somebody nervous about confessing this to a priest that knows them, if they are able to travel they can go to a different parish.
 
From the Catechism

Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.
 
TotusTuusForever said:
That is happening, but does the Catholic Church teach that a person like this will go to hell if they don’t confess this?
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The person involved who has been abused and beaten down really needs to discuss this with their priest. It will be part of the healing and forgiveness process.

Only God decides who is in Hell and who is in Heaven. The Catholic Church is clear on Mortal Sin, but would not make statements about who is going to hell or not. This is because right up to our death we can ask for and be forgiven.

The Lord is merciful.

The person involved is in my prayers.
 
In the US, there are Child protective services, and also elder abuse/vulnerable adult services.

If you know someone being abused please call Childline or domestic violence abuse hotline.

You can do this anonymously.

First get this person safe.
 
I wish I could understand what this means. Does diminish mean the person doesn’t sin, or does it mean its a venial sin or is it just a lesser grave sin?

I just don’t want to be making up theology with my discernment of this situation. My conscience tells me that if a person is being severely emotionally abused (along the lines of being told they are a burden by their family, and being cursed at, and basically discarded for no fault of their own) that a suicide attempt/ideation, would not have been acted on with full deliberate consent. For instance, if the person was not in that situation they would never choose to kill themselves. And then throw in the component that they did not go through with the attempt, there seems to be not enough components to make it a mortal sin. But, I’m not a theologian, so I don’t know if I am missing something here.
 
You don’t have to be a theologian to know that a person who is abused is not able to consent.
 
Do you have someone you can discuss this with on greater detail in real life
 
It use to be that a suicide “went to hell” and was denied a Christian burial etc. I have been in the situation of attempted suicide and desiring of this. PERSONALLY, I believe in the mercy of God whatever the Church teaches, God alone can read ones heart. I have returned to the Faith and when I feel rotten which is rare now (praise the Lord ) I KNOW I wont go that road because of where I am now on my personal journey. The first thing is to keep this person safe from self harm, please, please get professional help…the suicidal thoughts are those of a SICK person who is not able to think logically, so they have a diminished responsibility. Be assured of my prayers.
 
A few thoughts:
  1. Feelings aren’t sins. Even feeling it’d be nice to be dead. Life can be really hard sometimes. Thoughts & feelings can come upon us unbidden. We aren’t responsible for that!
  2. Nursing our feelings, encouraging them, & growing them can be sinful. When the idea to do something wrong comes to us and we indulge it to the extreme… I expect sin could be involved there. It’s why lust (even without action) is a sin.
  3. Just wishing for death without making a plan to bring it on… can even be an act of Faith. Longing for eternity and the happiness of heaven where “every tear shall be wiped away”… where is the wrong in that? It is an acknowledgement of the reality that our future life WILL BE better (so long as we actually get to heaven of course!)
  4. Seek help. I believe you are more responsible if you do not seek help from a therapist, doctor, etc. In other words, if you end up despairing but have not sought help to avoid despair… whose fault is that??
  5. Last & highly important: GET AWAY from the abuser!!!
 
TotusTuusForever said:
I wish I could understand what this means. Does diminish mean the person doesn’t sin, or does it mean its a venial sin or is it just a lesser grave sin?
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I believe this would still depend on the specific situation. There are degrees of abuse or mental illness or whatever else is leading to suicidal ideation. In some cases, it might be very mild and the person would still be in control and capable of giving consent (and therefore of committing a mortal sin). In others, it can completely overwhelm the will and there would be no sin at all. That’s why this is a very difficult question to answer in the abstract.
 
Jen7 said:
whose fault is that??
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I understand your point, but depression is an illness that no one asks for and can effect a person’s ability to reach out for help. For the sake of potentially depressed people, I just wanted to point that out so they don’t feel even more depressed. I think healthy people should reach out to others who have disappeared more than anything. If someone is severely depressed they often don’t have the physical energy to do much and often go into hibernation mode.
 
TotusTuusForever said:
I understand your point, but depression is an illness that no one asks for and can effect a person’s ability to reach out for help. For the sake of potentially depressed people, I just wanted to point that out so they don’t feel even more depressed. I think healthy people should reach out to others who have disappeared more than anything. If someone is severely depressed they often don’t have the physical energy to do much and often go into hibernation mode.
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Outstanding point! I stand corrected!
 
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