SPLIT: moral culpability

[ForwardProgress]

Originally Posted by Mattapoisett64
Actually, the Church would seem to be more merciful - and understanding - than some here:

“To form an equitable judgment about the subjects’ moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety or other psychological or social factors that lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral culpability.”

Mercygate, thanks for your personal interpretation of that part of the CCC. I have yet to meet a confessor that dismisses that paragraph as irrelevant as you seem to be implying that we need to do. All sin should be avoided, yes, grave matter especially. But to dismiss that paragraph as the WORST when it comes to mortal and venial distinction can cause many emotional people to really despair, as some people have very little or no control of their will when it comes to sins that are habitual or deal with an addiction. When they commit an act out of weakness, despite praying their heads off, reading scripture, avoiding sinful situations etc…and they look for advice and people tell them they have commited mortal sin because they ‘did it anyway’, you really can wreck their worlds. It is a delicate topic to be handled with much understanding and mercy, rather than condemnation without knowing the interior battles a person may face. It can lead to unhealthy self-loathing. I know personally. I once wished God would call me home immediately after a good confession because of this. My pastor was very concerned about my attitude about this…and I have even gone to 5 different priests who have NEVER said that I chose hell when I have made decisions in weakness.

 

[bugz2007]

I don’t think Mercygate was saying that we had to consider such as mortal sin…I think the point was just this: that just because a sin of grave matter isn’t a mortal sin because of lack of full knowledge or lack of consent, doesn’t mean it doesn’t do damage to an individual or others. All sin hurts.

 

[Dan_Michael]

Hi,

From what I know, addictions are ‘at first’ with our will… but they soon turn to against our will, even in the inability to stop it, by our own means. It is here we have to ask for help in whatever manner we can. Even nice pass-times can soon turn into bad habits, in the over-spending; too much chocolate and not enough meat and potatoes; in the getting away from it all to being neglectful of our other responsibilities; etc. Most all of these ‘start out’ innocent enough but soon turn on us. There is nothing wrong with having a glass of wine, or a piece of chocolate, or taking a walk in the park… only when we can no longer control going to excess, or we use it for avoiding what we should be doing. I look at any addiction as where one seeks pleasure from, more-so then following the 1st Commandment. Most serious addiction is a Soul Sickness… where is a Soul Doctor? It is in that weakness and helplessness that we can seek help to overcome and restore us to a more willful sanity, but we have to do the leg-work, the rest comes from on High. Then, with full knowledge of what it does to us, dare we try it again? Willfully?
When one is up to their neck in the middle of quicksand and someone throws them a rope… They have to grab and hold tight to the rope to be pulled out. Same is true with addictions.