Can A Sin Be Mortal If A Person Isn't Sure

[Tyler_Larew]

Question 1: So lets just say a person does something, but they are not sure if it is mortal or venial…or maybe even a sin at all. Can that count as them still committing a mortal sin, even if they were unsure.

Question 2: Now this question is very much like the last situation but a bit different. Now lets say the person had some sort of slight feeling, or knowledge before hand about how a sin they were about to commit were wrong, but was not sure if it truly was or maybe just did not know the gravity of the sin. Thus they are confused to what sort of sin they committed. In this situation could they be held accountable for mortal sin? (The second question is a little hard for me to explain but I hope you get what I am trying to say )

 

[Della]

For anyone to be culpable of comitting a mortal sin three criteria must be met:

1. The sin must be objectivly mortal in nature. Here we look to the Ten Commandments for our guide.
2. The person must know it is a mortal sin.
3. The person must deliberately/willing commit it knowing it is a mortal sin.

Now, weigh your examples against these criteria and decide for yourself if the persons in your scenarios are guilty of committing mortal sins or not.

 

[powerofk]

Question 1: So lets just say a person does something, but they are not sure if it is mortal or venial…or maybe even a sin at all. Can that count as them still committing a mortal sin, even if they were unsure.

Question 2: Now this question is very much like the last situation but a bit different. Now lets say the person had some sort of slight feeling, or knowledge before hand about how a sin they were about to commit were wrong, but was not sure if it truly was or maybe just did not know the gravity of the sin. Thus they are confused to what sort of sin they committed. In this situation could they be held accountable for mortal sin? (The second question is a little hard for me to explain but I hope you get what I am trying to say )

In a situation where a person isn’t necessarily sure if a sin is mortal, he/she should go to confession and confess the sin - it isn’t a mortal sin if you don’t know it’s a mortal sin, BUT the human psyche tries to justify mortal sins as venial sins (or as not even sins at all). In confession, if the person asks the priest if a sin is mortal, often the priest will say, “No, but next time, it will be.” This is saying that the sin was of grave matter, but the person didn’t know that before committing the sin - and next time, that cannot be used as an excuse.

There is such thing as invincible ignorance, but most ignorance is feigned (the person is just trying to convince him/herself that he/she didn’t know) or situations where he/she had the opportunity to know the gravity of a sin, and simply chose not to learn. In these situations, the person is as or even more guilty of a mortal sin than if he/she just admitted the gravity of the sin to him/herself.

 

[chefmomster2]

Question 1: So lets just say a person does something, but they are not sure if it is mortal or venial…or maybe even a sin at all. Can that count as them still committing a mortal sin, even if they were unsure.

Question 2: Now this question is very much like the last situation but a bit different. Now lets say the person had some sort of slight feeling, or knowledge before hand about how a sin they were about to commit were wrong, but was not sure if it truly was or maybe just did not know the gravity of the sin. Thus they are confused to what sort of sin they committed. In this situation could they be held accountable for mortal sin? (The second question is a little hard for me to explain but I hope you get what I am trying to say )

Della is right. Let me add this…

As a Catholic you have a responsibility to abstain from acts which you are unsure about. You must discover Church teaching and apply it. Refusal to become knowledgable of the Church’s teaching increases your guilt. You are not ignorant if it is purposeful. You are not ignorant if you “don’t understand” or “don’t agree”. Obedience of faith requires your obedience.

You don’t get a free pass if you create a situation where you render yourself unable to formally consent. Drunkenness or drug intoxication are grave also and they cannot remit guilt. We are required to maintain the ability to act in good conscience.

If you get into a situation where this sort of evaluation is impossible and you don’t know it’s a mortal sin, you are ignorant and this may minimize your responsibility.

 

[Pieman333272]

I have a similar question to this, if you don’t mind me asking in this thread. Yesterday I did something that may have been grave matter and considered that possibly but rejected it in my head based on arguments. A little after I did it I realized that the arguments I used didn’t work and the action may have been or was grave matter. However, I genuinely believed it wasn’t a mortal sin and it wasn’t out of disagreement with the Church but my belief it would not constitute the sin I later thought it would. Did I commit a mortal sin or did I lack full knowledge? This question has been worrying me since that time and this thread is suprisingly appropriate.

 

[theCrow]

Guilt is a horrible thing and sadly there are so many out there who will try and make you feel guilty.

Be kind and a good person, and love others as you want to be loved.

Love thy neighbor.

Judge not yest they be judged theyself

 

[chefmomster2]

I have a similar question to this, if you don’t mind me asking in this thread. Yesterday I did something that may have been grave matter and considered that possibly but rejected it in my head based on arguments. A little after I did it I realized that the arguments I used didn’t work and the action may have been or was grave matter. However, I genuinely believed it wasn’t a mortal sin and it wasn’t out of disagreement with the Church but my belief it would not constitute the sin I later thought it would. Did I commit a mortal sin or did I lack full knowledge? This question has been worrying me since that time and this thread is suprisingly appropriate.

Only God knows for sure. You may not have had sufficient knowledge, but there’s no reason to take any chances. It is best to confess it to a priest. They can advise you.

 

[Pieman333272]

Only God knows for sure. You may not have had sufficient knowledge, but there’s no reason to take any chances. It is best to confess it to a priest. They can advise you.

I was planning on that. I just wanted to know since it will be a few weeks until I can get to Confession, as I am travelling, but I will be attending Mass so I wanted to know if I could receive the Eucharist.

 

[Vico]

Question 1: So lets just say a person does something, but they are not sure if it is mortal or venial…or maybe even a sin at all. Can that count as them still committing a mortal sin, even if they were unsure.

Question 2: Now this question is very much like the last situation but a bit different. Now lets say the person had some sort of slight feeling, or knowledge before hand about how a sin they were about to commit were wrong, but was not sure if it truly was or maybe just did not know the gravity of the sin. Thus they are confused to what sort of sin they committed. In this situation could they be held accountable for mortal sin? (The second question is a little hard for me to explain but I hope you get what I am trying to say )

You can commit a mortal sin an be culpable for it, without even knowing that it is grave. That is because full knowledge does not refer to knowledge of gravity but to the teaching of the Church that it should not be done, and also to your own conscience, and also it is possible to be culpable through neglect to discover what is sinful. Here is something on it in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and from CAF.
“The kind of consent needed, more technically, is the degree of consent needed to make a fully human act. This does not mean saying, “Yes! I want to do something really evil!” and having no reticence about it. One can have misgivings, regrets, mixed feelings, et cetera and still give deliberate consent to an action. Similarly, one does not have to know with metaphysical certitude that a given act is gravely sinful. Lesser degrees of knowledge will also count—again, the degree of knowledge needed for an authentically human act is the key.”
catholic.com/quickquestions/if-someone-is-unsure-about-whether-a-sin-is-mortal-or-not-doesnt-that-mean-it-isnt-mo1790 A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself. Yet it can happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance and makes erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed. **

1791** This ignorance can often be imputed to personal responsibility. This is the case when a man “takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin.” 59 In such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he commits.

1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.