No lust or arousal = No sin?

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I was sitting with my friend today scrolling through memes on instagram. I came across a picture where the joke revolved around a naked cartoon woman. I initially scrolled away, but I thought my friend would think it was funny. So I showed it to him while still feeling something telling me not to. I knew that pornography is a grave matter, but this wasn’t for arousal or lustful purposes. It still felt wrong though. I don’t want to go to confession again for a while because my family is starting to think I’m crazy and I went this past Saturday. As soon as I showed my friend the picture and he laughed and went back to his game, I felt horrible for what I had done. I don’t know what to do. I’m normally very indecisive like this and I need some guidance. I could also answer any questions to clear anything up.
 
This isn’t something you need to go to confession for.

But, in general, no lust or no arousal doesn’t necessarily mean no sin. In your case, I don’t know if what you did was a sin or not, but it certainly was not something requiring you to go to confession. It’s just juvenile behavior.
 
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Without having any in-depth details, I don’t believe that you would need to go to confession for this. If, for instance, you looked at the Venus de Milo or other similar sculpture of a nude or partially nude woman, you could appreciate the art without needing to go to confession. Of course, I don’t know the content of the meme, so perhaps the gist of the joke was somehow sinful or inappropriate, but the simple fact that it showed a nude woman is not necessarily grounds for it being of a sinful nature.
 
Ok well it was a woman about to engage in fellatio on a man and it happened to have the penis exposed as well. I only thought it was funny because it was the game we were playing. Could the fact that I didn’t go searching this picture out or really thought long and hard about the reprocussions of showing my friend the picture for purely humor purposes remove my culpability?
 
Hmmm. Honestly, I’d be more worried about the fact that it’s in a game you’re playing than about the cartoon itself, because it being a game implies animation of the act (correct me if I’m wrong, as I don’t know to which game you are referring and whether or not it is a video game). It’s hard to say for certain. Maybe talk to you priest about it, if you are feeling that concerned? He might be able to guide you and would be a far better authority to consult.
 
It was porn someone made of Fortnite that a meme page reposted and I showed it to my friend while he was playing that and he thought it was funny
 
You put your friend in an occasion of sin. That, by itself, is at least a venial sin.

I would also caution you that if you find a cartoon of a sex act about to be performed “funny”, you are clearly desensitized to the sinfulness of sexual acts which are done outside the context of marriage. You need to remember that sins of this kind are always grave matter, that is, they are gravely offensive to God. Through a variety of factors, you have been desensitized to this fact, which means that your culpability may be reduced, but you should be aware that this is a problem, and you should strive to increase your horror of these sins.
 
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So should I try to get to mass early to get a quick absolution before the Eucharist?
 
Well, you are only culpable of a mortal sin if you commit a grave act knowing full well the gravity and giving full consent. In this case, given the information I have, I think it likely you are only culpable of a venial sin. (The rule of thumb is that if you have a doubt about whether you knew it was mortal at the time of committing it, you’re not culpable for mortal sin).

That said, making it to confession after something like this is always a good idea. 🙂
 
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So I knew it was inherently wrong, but I wasn’t sure if doing it for a humorous matter was mortal. So if I didn’t know, then I’m fine?
 
Given those parameters, I would say that no, this was not a mortal sin for you.

I wouldn’t say that you’re “fine”, though. “Fine” in regard to not having committed a mortal sin, yes. But not “fine” in the sense that your soul is at risk for future mortal sins like this, sense you are so desensitized to them.

Take a few minutes to pray for the grace of purity.
Get a scapular, if you don’t already have one.
Say three Hail Mary’s every night, asking Mary to give you the grace of purity.
 
Even though I felt conflict inside of me before I did it? It’s still not mortal?
 
My friend, it is not possible for me to discern this for you. Notice in my posts that I have been careful to say “given the information I have” or “given those parameters” when I have made a statement regarding the severity of your culpability.

I can’t look inside you to know for sure how culpable you are. Truth be told, it’s difficult for one to do that even for one’s self. All I can do is give you guidelines for understanding culpability.

The point here is that you now know you committed a sin that was offensive to God, whether or not you knew it at the time. You should go to confession if you are having a debate with yourself about whether it was a mortal sin, if only to release yourself of that obsession. Moreover, you should start thinking more about how your sins offend God, and less about whether you managed to get away with the sin without being personally culpable.
 
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Frend said:
So if I didn’t know, then I’m fine?
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“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.” Phil. 4
 
Dont do it again! Delete it immediately. This joke was rather disgusting. And it maybe sinful yes, because you showed inappropriate image to friend. Do you know how did he react? I am very strict about it. Instagram can be used in good way but there is way too much disgusting content. I mean horrible. You dont take serious your sexuality if you watch these images so called memes, do you? I bet you will have have some flashbacks in your mind while playing this game.
It would be different if you saw this picture but scrolled immidiately.
 
Frend said:
I was sitting with my friend today scrolling through memes on instagram. I came across a picture where the joke revolved around a naked cartoon woman. I initially scrolled away, but I thought my friend would think it was funny. So I showed it to him while still feeling something telling me not to. I knew that pornography is a grave matter, but this wasn’t for arousal or lustful purposes. It still felt wrong though. I don’t want to go to confession again for a while because my family is starting to think I’m crazy and I went this past Saturday. As soon as I showed my friend the picture and he laughed and went back to his game, I felt horrible for what I had done. I don’t know what to do. I’m normally very indecisive like this and I need some guidance. I could also answer any questions to clear anything up.
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You deliberately went to the picture and deliberately showed it to you friend under the pretext of it being funny. You deliberately put yourself and your friend in a situation that could have led to a grave sin.
Personally, I think what you did was a sin but my opinion does not count.
Go to Confession and talk to your priest. He will tell you if what you did was sinful or not and even if not I’m pretty sure he will tell you not to do anything like that again.
 
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