Is Acting on Homosexual Impulses A Worse Sin Then Premarital Sex?

[deb1]

I am asking because I honestly don’t know. Is acting on homosexual impulses worse then having premarital sex or even adultery?

 

[St_Aloysius]

I shouldn’t see why…

If the homosexual person is in any way convinced the act he/she is performing is in some way immoral, it would (according to the Church, I admit I struggle with this area) constitute a mortal sin.

If the homosexual person is not convinced of this in any way, it may be venial, though once again, I can’t really say.

In the former case, I see no reason why homosexual acts should merit a harsher societal or religious response than premarital or adulturous acts. A mortal sin is a mortal sin before God, is it not? Just not before humans. This kind of thing makes me wonder why our society is so quick to penalize the homosexual and not the promiscuous heterosexual.

 

[deb1]

Thank you. I wondered if my question would get an answer. I agree with your line of thinking but I was not certain if I was correct or not.

 

[Deacon_Ed_B]

If each is a mortal sin, does it matter to what degree you have lost your soul if you die in that state.
Prayers & Blessings
Deacon Ed B

 

[bilop]

I am asking because I honestly don’t know. Is acting on homosexual impulses worse then having premarital sex or even adultery?

Yes. In the traditional teaching of the Church sodomy (homosexual sex) is one of the 4 worst sins.

Q: What are sins that cry to heaven for vengeance …?

A: Most Catholics are familiar with the term mortal sin. Mortal sins deprive the soul of grace. They are serious transgressions of God’s law, done freely and deliberately with a clear understanding of what they are. Their result is to deny a soul entrance to heaven.

There are particular mortal sins that are so evil that they are said to be sins that cry to heaven for vengeance: murder (Gen. 4:10), sodomy (Gen. 17:20-21), oppression of the poor (Ex. 2:23), and defrauding workers of their just wages (James 5:4).

catholic.com/thisrock/1992/9202qq.asp

Likewise, Aquinas ranks sodomy as the second most serious of the sins of lust, after bestiality. Simple fornication is the least serious.

While the most grievous is the sin of bestiality, because use of the due species is not observed. Hence a gloss on Genesis 37:2, “He accused his brethren of a most wicked crime,” says that “they copulated with cattle.” After this comes the sin of sodomy, because use of the right sex is not observed. Lastly comes the sin of not observing the right manner of copulation, which is more grievous if the abuse regards the “vas” than if it affects the manner of copulation in respect of other circumstances.

Wherefore simple fornication, which is committed without injustice to another person, is the least grave among the species of lust.

newadvent.org/summa/3154.htm#article11

Sodomy has generally been considered more serious b/c it is an unnatural act, whereas fornication is simply the misuse of a natural act.

God Bless

 

[deb1]

Thank you too, bilop.

I did not know that withholding just wages from workers was a mortal sin.

 

[bilop]

If each is a mortal sin, does it matter to what degree you have lost your soul if you die in that state.
Prayers & Blessings
Deacon Ed B

Deacon Ed,

You are completely right in regards to the effects if one dies in a state of mortal sin; it doesn’t matter which mortal sin.

Yet, Catholic theology has consistently ascribed different degrees of seriousness to mortal sins.

Why? Two reasons I think.

One, the damage done to others, in addition to our souls. Hence, adultery or rape is worse than fornication.

Second, the diffieculty of repentance. If one fornicates, you are likely to get married at some point and stop and repent. If one falls into a homosexual lifestyle, it will be harder to repent.

God Bless

 

[chrisb]

Thank you too, bilop.

I did not know that withholding just wages from workers was a mortal sin.

I think that’s kinda weird don’t you?

 

[bilop]

I think that’s kinda weird don’t you?

Why? It’s theft.

If someone works for you and you refuse to pay them what they’re owed, you’re stealing just as if you used a gun and a mask.

God Bless