Salvation of a person who committed suicide

[CatholicZ09]

What is the salvation of a person who committed suicide? Someone who just couldn’t handle life anymore, and just decided to kill themselves. What is their salvation?

 

[shondrea]

The church use to teach that suicides were almost guarenteed damnation, but that is not the case anymore. WE can not know what was going on in a persons heart and head when they took their own lives. While taking ones own life is a grave matter, the circumstances surrounding the tragic event can dampen their culpability. Many people who kill themselves are severely mentally ill, may not be thinking clearly, may be too lost to understand anything anymore. God sees and feels their pain and how lost they are. I cannot, not one can, guarentee anyone’s salvation, and suicides are tricky, but I believe God sees what’s in their hearts, knows their suffering and pain, and I’m sure many people who have taken their lives are in heaven, free from the pain they had on earth.

 

[presidentjlh]

Indeed, shondrea. We cannot presume that all suicides are in Hell, for, when you think about it, how often are people that commit suicides in a state of normal mental health? Many people that have committed suicide have suffered from depression, schizophrenia, psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, among many, many other disorders. Sometimes suicides are committed in a blaze of feelings that the person has no real understanding of.

 

[fugadux]

As the previous respondents have said suicide is grave matter and thus objectively a mortal sin, but the culpability is perhaps diminished by grave mental illness. But I can say from personal experience and based on research that the Church’s firm resolution against suicide is in itself a dampening factor to the suicide rates of a country. Where it is firmly believed that suicide is a grave moral evil the suicide rates are lower. So, we should keep saying that it indeed is very grave and also do the spiritual work of mercy: consoling the sorrowful. Even if the sin is not mortal for the individual’s soul, I would suspect that the person would spend quite some time in Purgatory, due to the severe consequences of his actions so praying for the repose of his soul should be a daily duty…

 

[Newbie2]

Excellent responses. (insert tip of the hat animated smilie here)

It seems that in light of updated knowledge on the “reasons” one may have for suicide, there is a more understanding view than condemning view by the Church on the person’s culpability.

We and the Church can speculate about it, but ultimately, their salvation or not is up to that person and the Almighty.

 

[Ron_Conte]

Certainly, some suicides are lessened in culpability due to factors that reduce freedom of choice, such as psychological disorders, or due to a lack of knowledge that suicide is always gravely immoral. If the reduction in culpability is sufficient to make the act merely an objective mortal sin, and not also an actual mortal sin, even if culpability to the extent of a venial sin remains, then the person who commits this sin may perhaps go to Heaven by way of Purgatory. But even if the culpability is reduced to less than an actual mortal sin, if the person who commits suicide was not in a state of grace at death due to other unrepentant actual mortal sins, then he is still condemned to Hell. Therefore, suicide is particularly dangerous to the salvation of souls.

 

[Bookcat]

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Suicide

2280 Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.

2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.

2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.

Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.

2283 We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.

vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a5.htm#I

 

[Bookcat]

Of course…we should be on the look out and help those who struggle with such temptations…getting them the help to see the good of life

…and of course if anyone out there is thinking of doing this…don’t! God loves you and your life is a gift. One cannot presume it will work out for you if you do…

get help! and know that God loves you…and gives you the gift of your life!

 

[mdgspencer]

Suicide is a mortal sin.
Realizing this clearly can be helpful. I know someone who wanted to commit suicide and was reminded in strong terms that it is a mortal sin, which probably helped prevent it. I expect this realization has prevented it in many cases that we don’t know about.
I recall when I was younger, forty or so years ago, that the movie star Marilyn Monroe committed suicide by overdosing on pills when she was alone at night in her bedroom. When the question about this being a mortal sin came up, a priest columnist advised that between the time she took the pills and died, she may have repented of her action. I never forgot this advice.

 

[Black_Rose]

In another thread, I argue that God’s justice must be accompanied by mercy. Perhaps, God would be merciful to those who committed suicide and allow they to stay in purgatory.

 

[presidentjlh]

Of course…we should be on the look out and help those who struggle with such temptations…getting them the help to see the good of life

…and of course if anyone out there is thinking of doing this…don’t! God loves you and your life is a gift. One cannot presume it will work out for you if you do…

get help! and know that God loves you…and gives you the gift of your life!

100% this. Suicide is never the right choice. It’s a permanent solution to temporary problems.

 

[shondrea]

Of course…we should be on the look out and help those who struggle with such temptations…getting them the help to see the good of life

…and of course if anyone out there is thinking of doing this…don’t! God loves you and your life is a gift. One cannot presume it will work out for you if you do…

get help! and know that God loves you…and gives you the gift of your life!

for someone so depressed they’re thinking of suicide, telling them God loves them isn’t going to do a darn BIT of good. Trust me on this.

 

[fugadux]

@shondrea: Trust me, it does help. I have myself a unipolar depressive disorder and have had three episodes so far. Knowing that God loves me helped me through the last one (during the two first ones I was an atheist), knowing that suicide is a mortal sin helped me resist the thoughts that passed through my mind when I was deeply depressed. Even though I couldn’t feel God’s love, knowing that God is there even when I don’t feel His presence, knowing that He loves me and wants me to live and live to the fullest, helped me cope with the sufferings I went through. Since I have also worked in psychiatry for several years, giving the depressed person some sort of hope is essential, pity and false compassion only seems to enforce the mental state. Of course medical assistance is of the utmost importance when it comes to any sort of clinical depression.

 

[Black_Rose]

@shondrea: Trust me, it does help. I have myself a unipolar depressive disorder and have had three episodes so far. Knowing that God loves me helped me through the last one (during the two first ones I was an atheist), knowing that suicide is a mortal sin helped me resist the thoughts that passed through my mind when I was deeply depressed. Even though I couldn’t feel God’s love, knowing that God is there even when I don’t feel His presence, knowing that He loves me and wants me to live and live to the fullest, helped me cope with the sufferings I went through. Since I have also worked in psychiatry for several years, giving the depressed person some sort of hope is essential, pity and false compassion only seems to enforce the mental state. Of course medical assistance is of the utmost importance when it comes to any sort of clinical depression.

What type of stressors trigger suicidal tendencies – are they related to one’s economic struggles or relationships? Can they be attenuated?

 

[Inwe86]

for someone so depressed they’re thinking of suicide, telling them God loves them isn’t going to do a darn BIT of good. Trust me on this.

Amen to this! I’m speaking from experience here. I suffer from severe depression and have had suicidal thoughts. People have told me during my suicidal moments how much God loves me, and like Shondrea so wisely said, it does not do a darn bit of good. It’s very hard to feel any love whatsoever when you’re in the heat of the moment. Your adrenaline starts rushing and your head becomes completely fogged. You can’t possibly think in a rational manner and have to have someone else talk you out of it. That’s how it is for me anyway.

 

[Inwe86]

Suicide is a mortal sin.
Realizing this clearly can be helpful. I know someone who wanted to commit suicide and was reminded in strong terms that it is a mortal sin, which probably helped prevent it. I expect this realization has prevented it in many cases that we don’t know about.
I recall when I was younger, forty or so years ago, that the movie star Marilyn Monroe committed suicide by overdosing on pills when she was alone at night in her bedroom. When the question about this being a mortal sin came up, a priest columnist advised that between the time she took the pills and died, she may have repented of her action. I never forgot this advice.

It may sometimes work, but sometimes one will try to justify their action by saying that God knows how much they’re suffering and couldn’t possibly send them to Hell. It’s definitely worth reminding someone of the fact that it is objectively a mortal sin though. It’s just that it may not always be enough to stop them.