Is sharing a bed always a sin?

[frangelico]

Fr. Vincent Serpa said:

It is not okay for anyone to receive Holy Communion in the state of mortal sin. Sharing the bed with your boy friend is a mortal sin.

I know a couple in a similar situation, where they routinely share a bed for the night but insist that if they are fully clothed and not having sex than it is not a sin. My conscience tells me otherwise but I can’t articulate a good reason besides it being an occasion to sin. Is the action of a couple routinely sharing a bed wrong in itself? Why or why not? Should they be refraining from receiving the Eucharist? Thanks!

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi Frangelico,

Often the expresion “sharing the bed” means having sexual relations. This is how I understood it in the question you mention. Nevertheless, for a young man and a young woman to sleep together with their clothes on would definitely be an occasion of sin for most heterosexual people—even if they managed to remain chaste. Further, such behavior could be the cause of scandal to others who might learn of it. Deliberate cause of scandal could very well be a mortal sin.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.