Are vices mortal sins?

[Holly3278]

Hey everyone. Are the capital sins or vices mortal sins?

 

[AquinaSavio]

Hey everyone. Are the capital sins or vices mortal sins?

The capital sins are not always mortal sins. Mortal sin depends on the circumstances, what happened because of it, etc…

However, they are the chief roots from which other sins spring. St. John Vianney often said that pride (one of the capital sins) is the root of all sin. That is why they are called capital sins.

I hope this helps.

 

[Holly3278]

The capital sins are not always mortal sins. Mortal sin depends on the circumstances, what happened because of it, etc…

However, they are the chief roots from which other sins spring. St. John Vianney often said that pride (one of the capital sins) is the root of all sin. That is why they are called capital sins.

I hope this helps.

Yes, it does help. Thank you.

 

[psteichen]

Hey everyone. Are the capital sins or vices mortal sins?

I would say the answer above is correct concerning capital sins. Concerning vices, they are sins, but they are mortal sins only to the extent that you can control them. A mortal sin has to be “committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.” CCC 1857 If your vice has become so ingrained as to become a mental illness, and you no longer have any deliberate control over your actions, then it would be a venial sin.

An example could be smoking. If you have become so addicted to smoking that you loose control over your own mind to resist the temptation to smoke, it would be a venial sin. This is just an example, I don’t even know if smoking would count as “grave matter” to begin with, in which case it would always be a venial sin. But it certainly is a sin to deliberately harm your body to feed an addiction.

Another thought: No one else can tell you whether or not a particular sin is mortal or venial. We all like to judge and categorize things, but only the individual committing the sin really knows whether all three of the requirements have been met.

1. Grave Matter - which itself is a sliding scale, not definitive.
2. Full Knowledge
3. Deliberate Consent

Or maybe I should say only God knows, because some of us like to minimize the gravity of offenses we find convenient or enjoyable to commit. God will decide. And some of us like to pretend we don’t have enough information about a subject or feel that something or someone has pressured us, therefor not complete consent. Once again God will decide, but the CCC 1859 gives us a warning on this issue: “Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.”

Ever met someone who violates Church teaching, but claims they know better than the Church and its okay? That’s “hardness of heart”. Or someone who knew the Church forbade something, but they did it anyway because they didn’t understand how the Church could hold such a position? That’s “feigned ignorance”, because most of them haven’t bothered to investigate the finer points of the issue or have blown them off because they don’t want to know why it’s wrong.

Anyway, hope that helps