Can I tell someone he is not saved?

[FNDRB58]

Can one tell another he is not saved?

I say no because only God can look into one’s soul and determine if someone is saved or not at a moment in time.

However, I suspect one could make the argument that it is the context that matters…like telling someone they are in the state of mortal sin (objectively) versus stating so in a divine sense.

Thoughts?

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

You are correct that we have no way of knowing the culpability or repentance of another person and therefore cannot judge the state of their soul.

We can, however, know that some things are objectively gravely sinful and *if *the person is culpable and unrepentant they would be in mortal sin. If we are considering telling someone that they could be in a state of mortal sin we need to be sure that our motives are based on love and charity and not judgmental-ism, anger, or pettiness.