Is suicide really a mortal sin?

[eric3141]

I already know that most people will say it’s a sin. But “most” people believe all sorts of things that aren’t necessarily true. What I’m wanting to know is if there are authoritative sources that say that suicide is a mortal sin. I’m not looking for someone’s opinion (though you may post that if you like) - rather I’m looking for official answers from the Church.

 

[Eileen_T]

Only God can judge as only He knows what is in a person’s heart. Obviously, there may be mental illness that causes a person to despair and this may be a mitigating circumstance in God’s eyes.

On the other hand the mental illness may have had its roots in sin of some sort and the suicide could have been averted in the sin had not been committed. Only God knows, that’s why He gets to judge.

Suicide is the most deadly of sins because it alone cannot be repented of. IMO it would be a mortal sin if committed with full awareness of what one is doing.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2280) teaches that it is not morally licit to commit suicide: “We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us, it is not ours to dispose of.”

Historically, suicide was considered a crime and an unpardonable sin, and those who completed suicide were denied Christian burial.

 

[cialovesyou]

Lets start at the beginning.
Evil is something which contradicts the Divine mind. For instance, killing oneself is objectively evil. That is, the act itself is seen to contradict the will of God, which is that we should love God.
Catechism 2281 “Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.”

Now, we need to access if this is a serious matter, which we call a “grave” matter. Now, I think you can grasp yourself that this is a serious, or grave matter, but just to be sure what the Church teaches…
Catechism 2281"It is gravely contrary to the just love of self"
In other words, God wants us to love ourselves, and this is “gravely” contrary to that will.

So, now we can say that suicide is a grave matter.

Now, a mortal sin is grave matter, with deliberate consent, and full knowledge.
Catechism 1857 “Mortal sin is a sin whose object is a grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent”

OK, now we know we are dealing with a grave matter, but to make it a mortal sin we also need “deliberate consent” and “full knowledge”.
We understand these days that most of the people who commit suicide are mentally ill. For instance, scizophrenia, and depression are often the key causes.
In such a case there is a question over someones deliberate consent for a start. Often people with mental illnesses are compelled to act in ways which often bizarre, and sadly, some times even take their own life.Even if this is only a partial removal of their consent, it stops being deliberate. They have restricted freedom because they are not fully in control of their actions.
Secondly, in regards to full knowledge one must not have a distorted view of reality, such as someone who is having delusions, or someone who see’s the world in depression. Such people may not have an accurate view of reality, and so they do not have full knowledge.

For this reason the Church teaches…
Catechism 2282 “Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide”

So, the answer to your question is, it may be, but we hope it is not, and so we should commit that person to God’s loving arms. This is because we have no idea on the deliberate consent, or the full knowledge issues.

As the Church teaches
Catechism 1861: “However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgement of persons to the justice and mercy of God.”

I hope this answers your concerns.

 

[gradstud35]

I’m not qualified to judge what a mortal sin is and is not.

However, the commandment is Thou shall not kill. That certainly applies to ones self. Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself. The last part of that commandment being to love yourself. Not in an egotistical sort of way of course. Suicide negates this part of the commandment.

Of couse there are always those who are caught in the throes of mental illness. I think that from that perspective, it’s like losing someone to cancer. Some cancers have an 80% cure rate yet 20% of the patients die from them. With depression, some patients end up dying, i.e. being lost to suicide.

If you know of anyone who has committed suicide, you should pray for them daily. I had a friend who committed suicide, I prayed for her daily, and then after five years she appeared to me in a dream. So I took it to mean she was okay. I knew from the dream that she had gone to heaven.

It is always good when you say your daily prayers to pray for people who are considering suicide. I consider it just as important to pray for these people as it is to pray to stop abortion and so on. It is very easy to sink into despair into today’s society. When you become disconnected from God, suicide seems a good way out because you have lost hope. So it is very important to pray for these people. There are millions of people who need help. You never know who your prayers may help. It could even be someone in your own family.