Is suicide a sin?

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I recently watched a documentary about a man who jumped of the twin towers called “9/11 The Falling Man” where they interviewed this Puerto Rican Catholic family, and told them that a relative of theirs might have committed suicide and that girl they interviewed said they were afraid that their father might be damned because he committed suicide because they thought he might have gone to Hell.

What are your thoughts?
 
From the Catechism:

Suicide

2280 Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.

2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.

2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.

Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.

2283 We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.

In short, it is generally considered a grave sin, but ‘Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.’

Only God knows.
 
Wait. If the man had ‘stayed’ in the Twin Towers, would he not have died? :rolleyes:

He would have died, wouldn’t he? Been burned to death?

Now, a person jumping even 100 stories could have lived. Not very likely, but possible. There have been cases of people falling with defective parachutes for over 10,000 feet and living.

How dare these people imply that a man jumping from a burning building was trying to commit suicide?

Sheesh. Don’t you think he was more likely trying to get away from fire and hoping against hope that maybe if he jumped he’d somehow survive?

IOW, as he jumped I’m pretty sure this man was thinking, “God, I know I’d die if I stayed in this fire and I’ll probably die from this high a fall but you know I don’t want to die, I want to live! I’m not doing this because I want to die.”

What a terrible, hurtful, and insensitive thing it was (IMO) to imply to this person’s family that he WANTED TO DIE. I wonder if they, facing the same choices, would be thinking as THEY jumped, “Look, God, I’m jumping because I’d want to die instead of facing that life-filled alternative of the burning building. . .”🤷
 
in such a case where it was inevidable that he would die if he stayed put his chances of living were probably as good as if he jumped.Anyway a person scared for his life facing sure death I imagine the only thought was to get out of the heat and smoke.I wouldn’t consider it suicide.For suicide to be mortal one has to know first know it mortal.Man’s not allowed to destroy his life over problems that are not serious.That needs a little explaination.If a Nazi was going to torture him to death and he had a poison pill he may be allowed to take the pill.God doesn’t expect us to suffer needlessly.their has to be a good reason if he wishes to take the torture.then what is serious to one isn’t serious to another.Oftentimes suicide isn’t mortal because the person is just incapable of dealing with his particular problem.We all have different threasholds of pain.If some pain(problem)is just unbearable and sees absolutely no way out he may be excused for taking his life but we would consider this person having a severe mental depression.Bottom line.He has to know that He is offending God and he taking the easy way out.
 
YES. A life is a life. No matter who’s it is. By killing yourself, you are killing a human being.
 
Suicide is a sin because you’re cutting your life short. All the good works that you could have gone on to perform are left unperformed.

In his particular case, though, it seemed he was facing a choice: either die by burning to death in heat and burning jet fuel and suffocating smoke, or a quick death by jumping out a window. It’s not a choice I’d ever want to be faced with. What kind of person would ever judge someone who had to choose one or the other? But it’s also an important reminder to pray for something that’s often taken for granted: the grace of a peaceful death, and to avoid dying unprepared.
 
fermat said:
From the Catechism:

Suicide

2280 Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.

2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.

2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.

**Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.

2283 We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.**

In short, it is generally considered a grave sin, but ‘Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.’

Only God knows.
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The parts in bold are especially important in my view.

I did answer YES it is a sin but I think it is important to recognize that it is possible to be so deep in despair that one cannot be held responsible for such feelings or desires. The devil works in these ways and he delights in the despair of God’s children. He seeks to foster it, to nurture it, and to push one to act because of it. Our Blessed Lord knows this and His mercy is infinite. Archbishop Fulton Sheen has a wonderful talk on the devil and how he seeks to keep us in despair. Sheen even links this to increases in suicide rates.
 
It seems that this is a case by case issue. If one is of diminished capacity, mental illness, drug additction, etc, are they really responsible for their actions? Are they capable of cognitively making the decision? Only God knows.

How about someone who is facing an awful death due to disease and decides to end their life quickly? Sitting here in front of my computer I would say yes it is a sin. However, I have seen folks at this very point and I can say that I had nothing but compasion for them, definitely not judgment. It is very difficult to try to talk someone out of this course of action when they know what is coming. I am in NO way advocating purposefully ending one’s life for ANY reason, but judging it sin is above my pay grade.

OnEdit: Should someone contemplating the path of suicide walk up to me out of the blue I would do everything I could to convince them that this is merely a permanent solution to a temporary problem, and make sure they found the appropriate resouces.
 
If suicide were not a sin, wouldn’t it make sense to kill yourself after a perfict confession?
 
Howver, the prospect of burning alive would probably be considered grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture. He probably gets a pass.
 
as well as the taking of ones own life in miserable circumstances, there is also heroic ones where for the life of a comrade a solider might give up his life.

“Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friend.”

Indeed, there are Biblical accounts, even of a soliderly death where voluntary lifegiving also involved the destruction of the enemy eg Samson, who loved his enemy by telling the boy to run also accomplished more Philistine deaths with his own death as he had in entire life.
 
no suicide is not a sin becuse it does not exist. Since the soul is immortal created in the image of god it can not be destroyed or die therefore death does not exist and since it does not exist it can not be a sin.
 
vikingwarlord77 said:
no suicide is not a sin becuse it does not exist. Since the soul is immortal created in the image of god it can not be destroyed or die therefore death does not exist and since it does not exist it can not be a sin.
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The Fifth commandment outlaws murder of the mortal body, not the soul. When one kills themself, they are violating this commandment. Based on one’s state of mind and motivation, this can be a sin.
 
followingtheway said:
I recently watched a documentary about a man who jumped of the twin towers called “9/11 The Falling Man” where they interviewed this Puerto Rican Catholic family, and told them that a relative of theirs might have committed suicide and that girl they interviewed said they were afraid that their father might be damned because he committed suicide because they thought he might have gone to Hell.

What are your thoughts?
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First, suicide is always gravely immoral. The question of whether or not it’s a SIN (or, more specifically, a MORTAL SIN) is entirely different because moral culpability makes the sinfulness of a specific action subjective to the situation itself. These factors for culpability are:
  1. Grave matter
  2. Knowledge of the wrongness of an action
  3. Free will decision to do it anyway
So the answer to the survey, in my mind, is that suicide is always gravely immoral, and only God knows if it was specifically sinful in a given circumstance.

As a side note, I would argue that a person trapped above four floors of burning building with no hope of rescue or escape rightly suspects that they are going to die while being consumed by fire. Such a person might throw themselves from the building hoping against hope to survive by SOME means and as such their action is not suicide but rather a final, desperate attempt to live. Even if it was to kill himself, it’s highly probable he was not in a state of free will. We simply cannot know, and therefore it is gravely wrong for people to assume that said falling man wanted to commit suicide or that he is in hell.
 
vikingwarlord77 said:
no suicide is not a sin becuse it does not exist. Since the soul is immortal created in the image of god it can not be destroyed or die therefore death does not exist and since it does not exist it can not be a sin.
Click to expand...
Surely you believe in the death of the body?We all know the body turns to dust after a time in the earth.
 
99.9% of the time, when someone kills themselves, it’s due to some underlying mental disorder/condition or faced some extraordinarily, overwhelmingly severe situation. For something to be a mortal sin, it HAS HAS HAS to be committed with full knowledge. These circumstances can go so far as to make a person completely free of culpability for committing suicide. Survival is our most basic instinct, so suicide requires some pretty extraordinary circumstances to make it the “best” option, ESPECIALLY when you’re faced with certain death like the man who jumped from the towers. The Church has come to recognize this, and thus allows people who committed suicide to have a Catholic funeral.

Thus, I voted “Only God knows,” because only He knows the person’s mental state.
 
I don’t see a question of mortal sin in the title. So I think it is obviously a sin. Mortal sins are something between the sinner and Christ at judgement time.
 
Didn’t Samson commite suicide ?

Judges 16:30-31

And shouted "let me die with the Philistines! He pushed with all his might and the building fell down on the five kings and everyone else. Samson killed more peaple at his death then he killed during his life 31 His brothers and the rest of his family came down to get his body.

I also voted “no”.
 
I love your answer, Valentino.
Short, sweet, and to the point. We don’t like pain.

But there are painless ways of killing yourself
(( I AM NOT ADVOCATING SUICIDE !!! )),
such as by carbon monoxide poisoning: you just go peacefully to sleep.

Is suicide a sin? A Mortal Sin?
OBJECTIVELY speaking, yes, it is, most definitely.

But, because of many extenuating factors,
SUBJECTIVELY speaking, the person who suicides may not
be guilty of a sin at all. Depends on how much pure mental hell
he or she was going through. Only God knows.
But still, it’s best not to take the chance…
 
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