sins

[shy1]

I unknowing committed sins when I was younger. I am still unsure whether they are mortal or not.
Do I have to confess them still?

 

[YoungTradCath]

If you didn’t know you committed a sin, then it cannot be a mortal sin.

Mortal sins:

1. Must be a grave matter
2. You must know they are a grave matter
3. You must give full consent.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

A sin cannot be mortal if you didn’t realize the issue was grave and you didn’t give your full consent.

Were these things that happened before you became Catholic? If you hadn’t been baptised yet at the time, any sins (mortal or venial) were washed away in your baptism.

If you are now a confirmed Catholic, you can speak to your priest about those actions. Even if you don’t *have to *confess them, it may make you feel better to do so. If these are things that still tempt you, yor priest can also give you advice to avoid the temptation.

 

[Nelka]

If you didn’t know you committed a sin, then it cannot be a mortal sin.

Mortal sins:

1. Must be a grave matter
2. You must know they are a grave matter
3. You must give full consent.

Can only Catholics commit mortal sins?

An atheist would never think whether something was a sin or not.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Can only Catholics commit mortal sins?

An atheist would never think whether something was a sin or not.

Yes, an atheist can commit mortal sin. Grave matter - adultery, theft, and the like - are things recongized even by atheists to be wrong. Someone deliberately setting out to rob a bank for example, knows that it is wrong, but chooses to do it anyway. Either simply because they can, because they think they are above the law, because they want to be rich, any of those reasons.

Now how culpable someone is for the sin they do, is a debateble issue and only God is the final judge.

 

[Vico]

If you didn’t know you committed a sin, then it cannot be a mortal sin.

Mortal sins:

1. Must be a grave matter
2. You must know they are a grave matter
3. You must give full consent.

Also mention: being ignorant of the Church’s teachings through personal neglect makes one culpable.

 

[Joan_M]

I unknowing committed sins when I was younger. I am still unsure whether they are mortal or not.
Do I have to confess them still?

As others have pointed out, you cannot commit a mortal sin without the knowledge that the sins are mortal.

However, if these sins are still on your mind, the simplest thing to do is to confess them and receive absolution. They will no longer bother you.

Two rules to follow for your own peace of mind -

1. If you are unsure of the seriousness of a sin, don’t commit it! And,
2. Whatever the sin, if it is bothering your conscience, confess it.

 

[shy1]

Thanks for the responses and I hope to confess the sins at my next confession.

 

[puzzleannie]

I unknowing committed sins when I was younger. I am still unsure whether they are mortal or not.
Do I have to confess them still?

if it bothers you enough to ask, then go ahead and confess them
if you are not sure if they are mortal, ask the priest
if you have received good instruction on the subject of mortal and venial sin, and still don’t know if what was a mortal sin, then it probably isn’t because that requires full knowledge and full free will consent and intention to commit mortal sin.

There is no law you know that says we cannot confess venial sins. Personally I think the exercise of determining which of the things we have done is mortal and dropping the rest from our confession is not productive.

If you have never received good instruction on morality and sin, seek it now as it is your duty. Start with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.