Critical comments

[Antonio5]

Is it a sin to say to someone you are working with that the work they have produced isn’t very good?

As me and my friend were working on a school assignment and what we had produced wasn’t that great. So I asked if I could format it and gave the reason (I think) that it wasn’t very good. I said this to my friend and in front of another person.

And now looking back I think I may of been uncharitable and because I pointed out his faults in front of another person. Does this sound like a mortal sin? I don’t think it is but my examination of conscience says: “Am I critical, negative or uncharitable in my thoughts of others?”

 

[Hokomai]

Is it a sin to say to someone you are working with that the work they have produced isn’t very good?

As me and my friend were working on a school assignment and what we had produced wasn’t that great. So I asked if I could format it and gave the reason (I think) that it wasn’t very good. I said this to my friend and in front of another person.

And now looking back I think I may of been uncharitable and because I pointed out his faults in front of another person. Does this sound like a mortal sin? I don’t think it is but my examination of conscience says: “Am I critical, negative or uncharitable in my thoughts of others?”

I don’t think you would be interested in my view of whether or not it is a sin, since I do not think there is such a thing, but you might care to consider this, because I know something about the meaning of words. Your examination of conscience is about your thoughts of ‘others’, that is, people. The views you expressed were about an assignment, not a person.

 

[bmullins]

I think it could have been a sin, but likely a venial sin. Only you and God know your heart. If you were just speaking out of turn, and being honest (though in maybe an uncharitable way) then it was probably not the right thing to say. If you were doing it out of spite, in order to hurt the person or in order to purposely make them look bad out of jealousy then it could be mortal. One can be honest and still be tactful.

 

[JRKH]

I largely agree with bmullins above…

Remember that you cannot accidentally commit a mortal sin…so you need to recognize the reasons that you said what you said, when you said it.

Without having been there personally, to me it sounds as though you were in conversation about the project with your partner and someone else was there - perhaps also talking about the assignment…You made a comment about how to improve the work (formating). So far so good…
Now - it may be that you didn’t express yourself in the most charitable manner in front of the third party. But it doesn’t sound like you were trying to be malicious. More like you were just thinking more about the quality of the output than the manner in which you were expressing yourself.
I would suggest apologizing to your partner. If possible, do it in front of the same third party. Then confess your unthinking and uncharitable tongue - the next time you go to confession.

BUT - Do a careful and prayerful examination of conscience first. Understand why you said what you said, and also how you might have said it better (or at a different time). Learn from this so that you grow in holiness.

Peace
James

 

[Antonio5]

I largely agree with bmullins above…

Remember that you cannot accidentally commit a mortal sin…so you need to recognize the reasons that you said what you said, when you said it.

Without having been there personally, to me it sounds as though you were in conversation about the project with your partner and someone else was there - perhaps also talking about the assignment…You made a comment about how to improve the work (formating). So far so good…
Now - it may be that you didn’t express yourself in the most charitable manner in front of the third party. But it doesn’t sound like you were trying to be malicious. More like you were just thinking more about the quality of the output than the manner in which you were expressing yourself.
I would suggest apologizing to your partner. If possible, do it in front of the same third party. Then confess your unthinking and uncharitable tongue - the next time you go to confession.

BUT - Do a careful and prayerful examination of conscience first. Understand why you said what you said, and also how you might have said it better (or at a different time). Learn from this so that you grow in holiness.

Peace
James

I did not say it out of malice. And after I had said it I felt bad. But it wasn’t like I planned it out methodically like so: I know saying these words will cause me to mortally sin but I’ll say them anyway.

Here is another example of not thinking things through: I was browsing this website and saw a thread on sacrilege. I was curious and wanted to know what someone had done or was doing. Once I opened the page I thought about why I was reading this, so I could help the poster out? No because I wanted to know what was going on and who was doing something wrong. I then closed the thread.

I don’t think this example is a mortal sin, do you?

But it is an example of how we don’t necessarily think things through.

 

[JRKH]

I did not say it out of malice. And after I had said it I felt bad. But it wasn’t like I planned it out methodically like so: I know saying these words will cause me to mortally sin but I’ll say them anyway.

Here is another example of not thinking things through: I was browsing this website and saw a thread on sacrilege. I was curious and wanted to know what someone had done or was doing. Once I opened the page I thought about why I was reading this, so I could help the poster out? No because I wanted to know what was going on and who was doing something wrong. I then closed the thread.

I don’t think this example is a mortal sin, do you?

But it is an example of how we don’t necessarily think things through.

 

[Luvtosew]

I don’t know how many threads here I open out of curiosity sometimes, and to find out its not what I"m interested in, so I don’t feel any of your above actions are mortal sins, glad you apologised to your friend. We all say things without thinking at times, and well sometimes things come out wrong,(not what we intended to mean) so we should watch ourselfs more in that area.

You don’t sound like you were being malice to your friend, intentionally trying to hurt him.

 

[Catholic90]

No, you did not sin. You are trying to maintain a high standard, and there is nothing wrong with that.

I am a teacher, and I always tell my students to do their best. Now what some kid works for hours and hours on may not be as good as another kid who only works for a short time, often due to art ability, intelligence, ability, etc. I would NEVER tell a student who worked for hours and hours that his or her end result was bad if I knew they put in the time and effort. However, if I know I have a particularly intelligent student and have seen quality work in the past, and they suddenly turn in some shoddy project, I will pull them aside privately and speak with them. If I discover through our conversation that they threw it together at the last minute (and the student is usually quick to admit this), I tell them I know they are capable of much better and have them re-do it.