Not Sure of a Mortal Sin Means You Didn't Commit Mortal Sin?

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Antonius_Lupus

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This is an issue that has troubled me for years now. It has resurfaced yet again, and at the risk of turning this into a “is this a sin?” thread, I have to set the scene.

Basically, in my boredom and probably fatigue, I went looking for sexually exciting images on the web. I didn’t find any actual photographic pornography or anything like that, but I did find cartoons and such that were impure. Though I didn’t look at them for long, the fact that I went looking for them and saw them troubles me. I didn’t take it any further than that, if you know what I mean, but even still…my heart is troubled.

Yet, I was taught that unless one is absolutely certain that one has committed mortal sin, then one can be sure that one has NOT committed mortal sin.

Even still, that bothers me. Yes, I can’t swear on the altar that I committed grave sin, but I can’t swear that I didn’t either.

I am hoping to receive the Eucharist today, but I don’t want to ask the priest for confession before Mass unless I’m sure I have committed grave sin.

I guess what I am getting to is this: is it true that unless one cannot swear on a stack of Bibles that one is committed a mortal sin, then one is merely in venial sin???

I mean, I know other times when I cross the line into grave sin. When I used to deliberately lust after pornography or something like that, or when I abused myself (I hate the “m” word), or when I willfully entertained impure thoughts.

But I’m not so sure about other times…and the above is one of them.

Grrrrrrr!! :banghead:

Forgive a young fool…

[BIBLEDRB]John 6:56[/BIBLEDRB]
 
For a sin to be mortal it must be of grave matter, be done will full assent of the will and you must know it is wrong.

In cases like this, only God know. If it were me, I’d go to confession. Remember, that you should go to confession regularly, not just when in the state of mortal sin. This is nothing trifle, if you are not sure, go to confession.
 
Key Phrase in the OP:
…“I went looking for sexually exciting images on the web”…

You did not “happen upon them”, you deliberately went looking for them.
The fact that you did not find, “any actual photographic pornography”, means nothing. You went looking…In so doing you had already “sinned in your heart”.

I think you already know the answer to whether you should seek confession on this matter.

Peace
James
 
Antonius_Lupus said:
I guess what I am getting to is this: is it true that unless one cannot swear on a stack of Bibles that one is committed a mortal sin, then one is merely in venial sin???
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This is a good question as it gets to the heart of an important matter: If you are unsure of whether or not a certain action is a mortal sin, than it cannot be a mortal sin.

HOWEVER if you KNOW a certain action is a mortal sin, and are just unsure whether or not you committed that action, than that’s another story entirely. You may or may not be in mortal sin.

In your case, you KNEW looking at pornographic material was a mortal sin, so the rule of “if you don’t know it’s a moral sin, than it’s not mortal” doesn’t apply. The question is - did what you do count as looking at pornography since you had the desire even though you didn’t actually do it? This is very subjective and open to discussion. It depends entirely on your intention.

Hope that helps!
 
The impure cartoons are as pornogrpahic as actual persons’ photos.

Since you went in search of the images, you committed the sin, regardless of whether you found the photos of real people or depictions in the form of cartoons. And the sin is grave matter; so if you knew it was grave matter and chose of you own free will to do it, that is mortal sin.

And even if you are not 100% certain, it is better to be safe than sorry. Go to confession and confess it, and seek the Priest’s advice as well. Allow the Sacraments of Penance and Eucharist to heal your soul and free you from this sin.

ahs
 
Porn is a grave matter. You know it is a grave matter. You went looking for porn on the web. The fact that what you found was in cartoon style and not real human beings does not matter. I think you are sure, but are trying to justify what you did and want to us to tell you that it was ok. Go to confession and avoid this in the future. 🙂
 
I think the real question is “If you know something is wrong, but you don’t know that it is grave matter, are you sinning mortally by doing it anyway with complete consent?” Does “full knowledge” mean that you have full knowledge of the gravity of the sin, or just that you know it’s not right?
 
LaSainte said:
I think the real question is “If you know something is wrong, but you don’t know that it is grave matter, are you sinning mortally by doing it anyway with complete consent?” Does “full knowledge” mean that you have full knowledge of the gravity of the sin, or just that you know it’s not right?
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Full knowledge doesn’t mean you have to have quantitative certainty as to just “how wrong” something is. If you just have a vague idea that something “isn’t right” then you likely don’t have full knowledge as long as it’s not something you should have known or that you don’t know through your own efforts.

You would have to know it was wrong enough to mention it in Confession. If you find out after the fact that something you did was wrong, and it triggers contrition, it would be good to confess it anyway but you probably didn’t have full knowledge.

For example, killling rattlesnakes is illegal in Arizona (or at least it was when I lived there). If you kill a rattlesnake and didn’t know it was illlegal, you didn’t sin. If you kind of sorta heard something about not killing snakes but you weren’t sure it was rattlesnakes but you killed one anyway, maybe a sin - could you have easily found out? If you are from Alaska and never heard it was illegal to kill any kind of snake - no sin. Still illegal but not sinful.

(I know killling snakes is not usually grave matter but since we are talking about endangered species, I think it would be in this case)
 
LaSainte said:
I think the real question is “If you know something is wrong, but you don’t know that it is grave matter, are you sinning mortally by doing it anyway with complete consent?” Does “full knowledge” mean that you have full knowledge of the gravity of the sin, or just that you know it’s not right?
Click to expand...
I was taught that if you deliberately do something you’re not sure is a sin, the very fact that you’re willing to offend God renders the sin a mortal one. It doesn’t matter whether you believe its serious or not. The mere fact that one is willing to offend God is grave matter.

Now I found this article from Catholic Answers which states that you have to believe that what you intend to do is a mortal sin and go ahead and do it anyway for it to be mortal. What is purported in this article appears to defy reason and only confused me. Which is it, do you have to believe what you intend to do is a serious violation against God? It seems to me that if you’re not sure and do it anyway, it is a mortal sin irregardless of whether the matter is in actuality grave or venial.

catholic.com/quickquestions/would-i-be-committing-a-mortal-sin-if-i-believed-an-act-to-be-gravely-wrong-even-if-i
 
Antonius_Lupus said:
This is an issue that has troubled me for years now. It has resurfaced yet again, and at the risk of turning this into a “is this a sin?” thread, I have to set the scene.

Basically, in my boredom and probably fatigue, I went looking for sexually exciting images on the web. I didn’t find any actual photographic pornography or anything like that, but I did find cartoons and such that were impure. Though I didn’t look at them for long, the fact that I went looking for them and saw them troubles me. I didn’t take it any further than that, if you know what I mean, but even still…my heart is troubled.

Yet, I was taught that unless one is absolutely certain that one has committed mortal sin, then one can be sure that one has NOT committed mortal sin.

Even still, that bothers me. Yes, I can’t swear on the altar that I committed grave sin, but I can’t swear that I didn’t either.

I am hoping to receive the Eucharist today, but I don’t want to ask the priest for confession before Mass unless I’m sure I have committed grave sin.

I guess what I am getting to is this: is it true that unless one cannot swear on a stack of Bibles that one is committed a mortal sin, then one is merely in venial sin???

I mean, I know other times when I cross the line into grave sin. When I used to deliberately lust after pornography or something like that, or when I abused myself (I hate the “m” word), or when I willfully entertained impure thoughts.

But I’m not so sure about other times…and the above is one of them.

Grrrrrrr!! :banghead:

Forgive a young fool…

[BIBLEDRB]John 6:56[/BIBLEDRB]
Click to expand...
A useful rule of thumb a priest taught me:

No intention + no consent of the will = no sin.
No intention + some consent of the will = venial sin.
No intention + full consent of the will = mortal sin.
Intention = mortal sin.

You intended to find pornography, therefore you sinned, at least by this rule of thumb. Say an act of contrition and go to confession as soon as possible.
 
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