Is it a sin to ignore a USCCB rating?

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Angel7

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If I view a movie rated A-III (adult) but am not an adult is it a sin?
 
It is if you are watching it for the specific reason that it is adult and giving in to lust. If you think you will be tempted it’s best to avoid it.

At the very worse it is venial, not a mortal sin— because you didn’t know.

Hope that make sense. Someone will probably correct me if I’m inaccurate in any way.

In response to your similar thread temptation isn’t sinful in any respect unless you purposely immerse yourself in it and know you can’t handle it.
 
I have not recently seen even a “G” rated movie that does not have some form (however mild) of crude or vulgar language in it, or some form of behavior that is less than acceptable - and this is on the part of the supposed heros or heroines. For this reason, and others, I generally do not watch movies, as I do not like paying $$$ just to cringe at what I see and hear.

As to “adult” movies, you may not be emotionally or morally prepared to view them. Again, there is a thing known as the “near occasion of sin”. That is a circumstance (such as watching a movie with sexual or other morally objectionable content) that might lead you into temptation. If you accidentally see something like this, it is not a sin. If you purposefully watch such a movie, yes, it can be a sin. Excellent subject to discuss with your priest.

Christ’s peace be with you.
 
I honestly couldn’t care less about their dumb ratings. I may be religious, but I don’t care about some religious groups movie ratings. I mean, they gave the new Harry Potter movie an adult rating. Seriously? I saw it, and it’s more of a family film to me

Trust me, if you’re under 18 and see a film the Bishops call an adult film, just disregard what they say and use your own judgment. Remember, the Bishops are just humans and not God
 
The best way to get a young person to buy something is to call it adult and try to restrict their access.
You want to know what it means to be an adult? Forget the dirty movies ( they are really just for kids and losers) and get a job
 
If you understand Catholic teaching well enough (particularly on violent behavior, on sexuality, and on respect for God), you won’t need to consult the USCCB ratings- you’ll be able to discern for yourself what is and is not appropriate. Not everyone understands the Faith enough to be able to discern this on their own- they should consult the USCCB ratings (and learn more about the Faith! Learning about the faith is like unfolding a fine drawing that has been folded up- the more one unfolds, the more they realize how beautiful the drawing inside is, and because it’s been folded more times than mankind can even imagine, there is always more to learn- there is always more beauty to experience).

Movies with “O” ratings are either very sexually explicit, extremely blasphemous, or they glorify particularly brutal violence. Even some of the movies marked one rank better (A-III) aren’t what someone striving for holiness should want to watch.

It would be a sin to ignore a USCCB rating and see a movie that causes you to think impure sexual thoughts or to desensitize yourself to extremely brutal violence or blasphemy. It would also be wrong to support the filmmakers who promote those things. As far as I can tell, the ratings are generally reasonable, and as bishops, they deserve our attention when they warn against things that may be spiritually unhealthy.
 
Angel7 said:
If I view a movie rated A-III (adult) but am not an adult is it a sin?
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The ratings are advisory only, to my knowledge. By that I mean that they do not bind under pain of sin. So, the basic answer to your question is no.

However, you do have an obligation to try to pick decent films to see, and to be responsible about it, and it sounds like you are thinking about that very thing. 👍 For example, it would be wrong to pick a film because you thought the previews made it look like the movie would be a sexual turn on, so don’t pick it hoping that will happen. If you don’t have a more reliable way to pick, you could use the ratings to help you pick movies.
 
Schindler’s List is an R-rated movie; it has sexual scenes. That being said I think every adult should see it. It all depends on why you’re watching the movie. If I watched Schindler’s List because I really liked the sex scene then yeah it would be a sin but watching Schindler’s List is not a sin.
 
The USCCB movie reviews are done by two lay staff members that work at the USCCB (within the Catholic News Service office). Those reviews are not morally binding on anyone, nor do they reflect the opinion of the bishops as a whole (nor any bishop for that matter). They are intended as a guide to help Catholics make an informed decision about what movies they choose to watch. They do not replace personal discernment.

There is another thread over in Popular Media that recently asked a similar question. Here’s an excerpt from my post:

The “USCCB” does not always refer to “the unanimous agreement of every bishop in the United States.” Really, there are two ways of thinking of the USCCB, which formerly was better signified in the separation between the NCCB (National Conference of Catholic Bishops) and the USCC (United States Catholic Conference). The USCCB in the NCCB sense refers to the whole group of bishops in the U.S. The USCCB in the USCC sense refers to the various offices and staff (primarily lay staff) who work in Washington, DC at the USCCB headquarters.

The USCCB movie reviews are written by two of the lay staff members of the USCCB. They were formerly part of the USCCB’s Office of Film and Broadcasting, but the 2007 restructuring of the USCCB has placed them into a “Media Review Office” as a subset of Catholic News Service.

Their movie reviews are useful (IMO) but they most certainly are not morally binding proclamations. They do not represent the opinion of any bishop let alone all of them. The bishops have their hands full with their own dioceses. Frankly, they don’t have time to review every single movie and offer some sort of authoritative guidance. Thus, they have passed that off to some competent (or incompetent, depending upon your view ;)) lay staff members. Note, that all staff hirings at the USCCB are also not representative of some unanimous consensus of the U.S. Bishops. Perhaps one bishop who oversaw that particular office at the time made the final stamp of approval to hire them (based upon the recommendations of other USCCB staffers) but that would be about it.
 
Angel7 said:
If I view a movie rated A-III (adult) but am not an adult is it a sin?
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I just noticed the “am not an adult” portion of your post. If you are not yet an adult, you should talk this over with your parents.
 
Well I wanted to watch the new Harry Potter movie. Being a slight fan.
However, when I checked the USCCB reading for it, it was A-III. And it said what was wrong with it.

2 big ones for me I think were:
  1. A scene related to sex. (I would look away or ignore it and replace it with something of my imagination which was morally acceptable.)
  2. There was a joke in the movie which I think is innapropriate and might keep me from watching it.
During the movie someone got hit with a spell or whatever.

He said “I’m a saint. I’m Hole-y Get it?”

Is the joke THAT bad?
 
Angel7 said:
Well I wanted to watch the new Harry Potter movie. Being a slight fan.
However, when I checked the USCCB reading for it, it was A-III. And it said what was wrong with it.

2 big ones for me I think were:
  1. A scene related to sex. (I would look away or ignore it and replace it with something of my imagination which was morally acceptable.)
  2. There was a joke in the movie which I think is innapropriate and might keep me from watching it.
During the movie someone got hit with a spell or whatever.

He said “I’m a saint. I’m Hole-y Get it?”

Is the joke THAT bad?
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Another issue here is whether your parents allowed you to see the movie. You said you’re not an adult but I don’t think you mentioned your age.

To answer your question directly, we aren’t bound under pain of sin to always follow the USCCB movie rating guidelines. On the other hand it could be a sin to subject ourselves to movies that could be near occasions of sin, or could harm our faith. Also if you don’t have a good reason to question the judgement of the reviewers, then why would you?
 
The saint joke sounds like something an eight-year-old would delight in telling, like if they accidentally ripped a bunch of holes in their shirt while playing and then they try to tell their mom that now the shirt is Holy, so she ought not get too mad…

But I didn’t see the movie. Presentation can mean a lot with jokes. Context changes everything. It can go from funny to mockery in a hairsbreadth.
 
Angel7;7323661 said:
Did you read the book? Or see the movie? In the context of either, the joke is completely not offensive, religiously. You only need to hear or read it for yourself, in the actual context.
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