Mortal sin?

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Ok this is kind of complicated. I work at an independent living facility and my boss has been SUPER unfair and biased about the schedule, giving one person the ideal schedule and everyone else long shifts, needless to say I’m very stressed and have been having stomach problems. I recently, at the request of a resident, gave her a PRN or ‘as needed’ sleep medication. The problem is that, without thinking to see whether or not she had already been given this pill, I accidently gave her one too many because she had already been given one earlier by another member of staff. So, the normal protocol is to fill out an incident report, take her vitals, and report the incident to my boss. Problem is, because my boss is so unfair I was scared of losing my job so I just made sure to take her vitals and didn’t report this. Is this a mortal sin?
 
Whether or not the first act was sinful, do not forget that sustained rebellion against the rules your boss established can be. It may or may not be here.

The broader question here is must we report every single shortcoming to our boss? I think the answer is clearly no - some are so trivial that reporting would just annoy and serve no useful purpose. Since it should be obvious that we should report some mistakes, the next question becomes which ones? what rule governs?

Unless there is a compelling reason not to, it would seem to me that you should report shortcomings of the type your boss asks to know about, as one category, and relevant here. Fear of job is not sufficient reason not to confess. He has a right to know, and not telling him would probably fall in a type of lying analysis.

Leave the rest in God’s hands. You might even lose your job, as you fear. Still, all works out for the best for those who act in Christ. God takes care of the sparrow, and will have a plan for you. It might mean staying at the job, it might not. The boss might appreciate your moral courage at self-reporting. I surely would. Good job on taking the time to ask here. Hopefully you’ll get a few more good responses.

I’m praying for you. God bless!
 
Hi. I would say no, not a mortal sin. There are 3 criteria for whatever the act was. This is from the Catechism of The Catholic Church:
IV. THE GRAVITY OF SIN: MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN

1854 Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. The distinction between mortal and venial sin, already evident in Scripture,129 became part of the tradition of the Church. It is corroborated by human experience.

1855 Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him.

Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.

1856 Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us - that is, charity - necessitates a new initiative of God’s mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation:
Code:
When the will sets itself upon something that is of its nature incompatible with the charity that orients man toward his ultimate end, then the sin is mortal by its very object . . . whether it contradicts the love of God, such as blasphemy or perjury, or the love of neighbor, such as homicide or adultery. . . . But when the sinner's will is set upon something that of its nature involves a disorder, but is not opposed to the love of God and neighbor, such as thoughtless chatter or immoderate laughter and the like, such sins are venial.130
1857 For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."131

1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother."132 The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.

1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.

1860 Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.
It would be good to reflect on this in light of reacting for fear of losing your job. How much time for reflection did you have?
I go to confession if i am in doubt, or if something keeps me up at nite. You can’t go wrong if you do. May the Divine Mercy of Jesus grant you His Peace.
 
I think that this should be discussed with your priest. Remember that you are responsible for the care of the residents.
 
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