Is this a mortal sin?

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Hey guys, so I was driving home from a job site I was working at and I decided to take a new route. I came across the intersection and did not see the stop sign, so I just kept going and turned. I did not know the stop sign was there Behind me, 1000 feet away I saw a police car patrolling. I don’t know if he saw me or not, but I turned and drove into a neighborhood just in case. Was my action to avoid the law enforcement in this instance a mortal sin?
 
No. Look up the circumstances to have a mortal sin. If worrying about things like this is a regular issue for you, speak to a priest or therapist about scrupulocity.
 
jackofalltopics said:
Hey guys, so I was driving home from a job site I was working at and I decided to take a new route. I came across the intersection and did not see the stop sign, so I just kept going and turned. I did not know the stop sign was there Behind me, 1000 feet away I saw a police car patrolling. I don’t know if he saw me or not, but I turned and drove into a neighborhood just in case. Was my action to avoid the law enforcement in this instance a mortal sin?
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To be a mortal sin there are three requirements:

1: It has to be grave matter.
2: The person has to know it’s grave matter.
3: The person must willingly chose to commit the sin.

Avoiding law enforcement is not in-and-of itself sinful, and certainly not gravely sinful.

If these sorts of concerns are common for you, you might consider speaking to a priest. It sounds like you may have a bit of scrupulosity. If you don’t know what that is, it’s essentially the habit of blowing things our of proportion and thinking everything you do is a mortal sin. It can lead you to despair, and should be addressed.
 
I can’t think of a single time I’ve seen a thread on CAF where someone asked if something was a mortal sin and thought, “Yep, that’s a mortal sin, get to confession.” It’s almost always someone overthinking something incredibly mundane.
 
The three conditions for mortal sin: grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent. Rolling through a stop sign that you did not see is not a mortal sin, as it lacked the last two conditions. Avoiding a police car is not grave matter.
 
jackofalltopics said:
Could you please explain why?
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Yes. My guess is “talk to a priest” and “knowledge, freedom, and grave matter” are not very helpful. You really feel like you did something very wrong by RUNNING AWAY FROM A COP. Right?

First - You were probably acting on fear and likely did not think much at all about what you were doing. This could imply a lack of sufficient freedom.

Second - You did not know for sure if the cop was trying to pull you over. For evasion to become a crime, it has to be clear that they are trying to do so. This implies a lack of grave matter - or any matter for sin, and though you did not know this explicitly it is somewhat intuitive and therefore can form our practical judgment.

Third - Your real offense was an infraction, not a violation (misdemeanor/felony), so it only would have potentially (especially if it was your first offense) carried a small fine, the avoidance of which is hardly a serious injustice to the State. (Contrast this with years of tax evasion, for example.) This also implies a lack of grave matter.
 
jackofalltopics said:
Could you please explain why?
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Why don’t you start by explaining why YOU would be committing a sin in the first place, rather than asking those answering to explain theirs?

What moral principle would you be violating? What commandment? What precept?

What about your right under civil law to avoid self-incrimination?
 
jackofalltopics said:
Hey guys, so I was driving home from a job site I was working at and I decided to take a new route. I came across the intersection and did not see the stop sign, so I just kept going and turned. I did not know the stop sign was there Behind me, 1000 feet away I saw a police car patrolling. I don’t know if he saw me or not, but I turned and drove into a neighborhood just in case. Was my action to avoid the law enforcement in this instance a mortal sin?
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So if 20 people say it isn’t a mortal sin and 15 people say it is. What is the state of your soul?
  1. Educate yourself on the three qualifications for mortal sin. They have been posted here and are in the CCC
  2. If you identify with scrupulocity you will need a spiritual advisor, probably a priest. And you may also wish to explore psychological treatment
  3. Extend your question to its logical conclusion. You did something normal people do all the time, do you think they are in danger if eternal damnation!?
 
BoomBoomMancini said:
I can’t think of a single time I’ve seen a thread on CAF where someone asked if something was a mortal sin and thought, “Yep, that’s a mortal sin, get to confession.” It’s almost always someone overthinking something incredibly mundane.
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So true. And the opposite is true too.
It’s ok for me to break this moral rule because I’m the exception and it’s really really hard…
 
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