Does suicide always lead to damnation?

[MetalMark]

I have been taught that if one commits suicide that they will be damned. I do not dispute that, (Thou shalt not kill), but does it always lead to damnation? What if the person was severely depressed or insane? What if the person wants to die to be in Heaven, and commits suicide to do so? What happens to him?

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi,

To commit suicide because one wants to go to heaven when one knows that God does not want us to, doesn’t make any sense. Besides, taking one’s own life goes against the very basic instinct that we all have to preserve our life. Self preservation is a biggie. When someone yells “Duck!”, we duck. We don’t stop to reflect on whether it seems like a good idea or not.

Taking one’s own life is actually a very difficult thing to do. When people actually do it, they have to be strongly motivated. Usually, that motivation is pain. It can be physical pain or more often, it is mental pain. The Church understands this and does not condemn such people.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.