Is breaking laws always sinful? (Excluding contradicting laws)

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I want to start by saying I understand if a law goes against Church teaching, like requiring you to denounce Jesus as God or something, that is obviously not sinful to break.

Is breaking the law a sin in all other cases? Speeding for example. That’s breaking the law, would you need to confess that? Where is the line and how do we know?

I know this might be a dumb question, it’s just something I was thinking about the past couple of days.
 
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BensFaithJourney said:
Speeding for example. That’s breaking the law, would you need to confess that?
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Yes. If the speed limit was 60 and you willingly drove at 65 or 70 therefore above the limit, then you have broken the law and speeding should be confessed. If it was through a school zone, then that would increase the gravity of the speeding, and should also be mentioned.

CCC #1899& 1900

Render to Caesar what is Caesars and render to God what is Gods.
 
It may be a venial sin, you cant say that breaking the law is always a mortal sin that must be confessed. Speeding 100 miles an hour through a school zone, you would be putting yourself and others in danger, and may be mortally sinful, but going 65 in a 60 on the freeway, must that confessed? I don’t think so.
 
Obviously the authority of those in power should be respected so long as they aren’t totally immoral, but the people who insist that we must treat any arbitrary decision of some elected person as if it is just below divine authority (implying it’s somehow the indirect will of God that I brake 100ft before a stop sign rather than 80ft) is just silly. God isn’t going to bring me divine punishment if I put off getting my broken tail light fixed for a few days, or if I kill a squirrel on my property without buying a license.
 
I speed often. I don’t confess it. Because it isn’t a mortal sin.
 
CRV said:
Yes. If the speed limit was 60 and you willingly drove at 65 or 70 therefore above the limit, then you have broken the law and speeding should be confessed.
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I am scrupulous and even I do not think going 65 in a 60 mph area qualifies as grave matter.

Confession is needed for mortal sins. You can confess it, but unless there is more than just going 5 mph over the limit, there is, strictly speaking, no need to confess such a minor infraction.
 
BensFaithJourney said:
Speeding for example. That’s breaking the law, would you need to confess that? Where is the line and how do we know?

I know this might be a dumb question, it’s just something I was thinking about the past couple of days
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Excessive speed is specifically mentioned in the Catechism.

We are bound to obey all just laws. Speeding endangers oneself and other persons as well as property.
 
In Nazi Germany, it was against the law to hide Jews

I doubt this would’ve been a sin for the Catholics who did so.

Not all laws are moral, abortion comes to mind first off.
 
TheLittleLady said:
We are bound to obey all just laws. Speeding endangers oneself and other persons as well as property.
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You are providing logic to support this law. Logic doesn’t matter if your first statement is absolutely true.

There may be cases where failing to speed is more dangerous. But if we are bound to obey all just laws, we defer to the government all such judgements and appropriate actions.
 
Digitnomy said:
There may be cases where failing to speed is more dangerous.
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As someone who drives for a living and seen a lot of dangerous driving, I can tell you straight up that you are absolutely right. People understand the risk of driving fast-but they often don’t understand the danger of driving slow.
 
While I would never counsel anyone to speed under normal circumstances, and it certainly can be sinful, I think this is a bit extreme. I’m a police officer, and I can tell you that 70 in a 60 isn’t even going to get you stopped in most instances. We expect that most people will exceed the limit, as do the politicians who write the laws. There are of course aggravating circumstances, but going a few miles over doesn’t strike me as matter for confession.
 
I think the
CRV said:
If the speed limit was 60 and you willingly drove at 65 or 70 therefore above the limit, then you have broken the law and speeding should be confessed.
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Even if you didn’t will it, if you sped one could argue you committed a sin of omission by failing to prevent speeding.

I think this approach is infused with legalism that is typical of our Latin mindset. I doubt the Eastern approach is so strict (but I’m interested to hear).

I think it’s important to look at law not just as what is actually written on paper, but what is lived and accepted by a community or society.

It is often the law that pedestrians may not cross the road except at crosswalks, or if none are available, at intersections. It is also often the case that especially in rural areas mailboxes are across the street from their corresponding house.

A strict interpretation of the law would force Farmer Joe to walk five miles round-trip to the nearest intersection and back just to check his mail. No one with any sense accepts this.
 
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No, breaking a law is not only sinful, and contradictions with other laws are not the only reason for this. Even if we say, as some have, that all just laws must be followed there are a lot of reasons to say something is not a just law.

Laws are inherently coercive, so they must have proportionate reason in order to be considered just. Trivial and inane laws do not meet that requirement. Neither do laws that are either never enforced or only selectively enforced. Likewise, some things the government does not or should not have the power to affect, so any law it tries to pass along those lines is inherently unjust. We do not render unto Caesar things he does not (or should not) care about. We certainly do not render unto him things that are not his.

The way speed limits are handled gives a big indication of when following them is important. The government does not generally hand out tickets to people who are 5mph over the speed limit. Caesar doesn’t care, and given how hard it is to prove speeding at that level, he can’t enforce that part of the law even if he did.

It is also worth noting that the Catechism doesn’t say that the speeding is the sin, it says that putting people in danger through a love of speed is. It isn’t demanding unthinking adherence to the rules but thoughtful concern for those we might affect. This is unsurprising since we must always be able to judge the laws we are subjected to against our own conscience.
 
I did not write the Catechism, it talks about speed and safety.

2290 The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess : the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others’ safety on the road, at sea, or in the air.

Duties of citizens wrt laws begins here:

http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a4.htm#2238
 
Note, though, that it is the endangerment that incurs grave guilt and not the speed itself. And indeed speeding itself is only a violation of temperance when done out of excess.
 
Right and dangerous speeds are subjective based on each car and driver and conditions.

On the same federally funded interstate in three neighboring states with identical conditions the speed limit is 85 in one 80 in another and 60 in the third. Obviously going 85 in the 60 is not dangerous.
 
I did not state it was grave matter nor a mortal sin. The OP asked if speeding ie breaking the law a sin and would they need to confess that.

As venial sins can be confessed in the Sacrament of Confession and not just mortal sins, in my reply I said it should be confessed as speeding and using the example I gave I thought I illustrated the difference between venial (going 5-10 above) and speeding through a school zone which increases the gravity.

Yes, you are right that there isn’t any need to confess venial matters, but breaking the law including for example minor traffic infringements if deliberately done, are sins and can be confessed.

Apologies for not making that clearer.
 
Well I wish you lived in my parts. Around here it used to be generally know that there was a “grace space” of up to 5 over, but some years ago, that got tightened, and I know of one gentleman who got booked for going 1 over.

According to the CCC, God has placed these civil authorites and ie laws above us and we should obey them. Breaking any law deliberately is an occasion of sin and all sins can be confessed, including driving without due care and attention and failing to check ones speed - and I don’t mean obsessively either, but regularly to maintain an even speed.

I’ve confessed speeding or careless driving if I’ve driven between 5 and 10 over the limit (for which I’d get fined/receive a speeding ticket for breaking the law).
 
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Digitnomy said:
It is often the law that pedestrians may not cross the road except at crosswalks,
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In my city, people do get booked for jaywalking!
Digitnomy said:
Even if you didn’t will it, if you sped
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Some years ago after consulting my then parish priest I related one occasion and how I knew that due to roadworks the speed had been reduced in a particular section of road on a regularly traveled section, but as I was thinking of other things whilst driving I failed to remember or “see” the reduced speed sign, and didn’t remember until I’d passed through that section - therefore realizing that I’d been speeding for that distance.

His advice to me was that it was a sin because we are to drive with due care and attention.

The same for not watching my speed as in previous examples I’ve given - I’ve been told by two other priests it is confessed as careless driving.
 
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