Suicide and venial sins

[AHelpingHand]

Hello. I was talking with a friend on the topic of suicide (as he mentioned that his cousin had killed himself before), and he was wondering if their souls went to Purgatory or Hell. I know that the Church teaches that there is right hope in believing that the individual repented and/or went to Purgatory. However, this raises the question: if the individual does not have a correct understanding of the action, are they stained with venial sin? I know that they are culpable, as suicide is inherently evil, but does that mean that they sinned (for they didn’t fully understand the action of suicide)? What is sin?

 

[Kei]

Sin is “missing the mark”. It is doing something offensive to God.
Having only partial knowledge diminishes our culpability. I believe it may be possible to be without sin if you are lacking reason (say, if he was severely mentally handicapped and really didn’t know he’d die if he did X).

 

[RolandThompsonGunner]

What is sin?

Sin is basically doing something offensive to God that He has proscribed.

In the case of suicide, it is objectively grave matter, meaning it could be morally sinful if done with full knowledge and deliberate consent. But, of course, people who kill themselves are almost by definition not in their right mind, so it’s very possible that they didn’t “deliberately consent” to the act. If they did what they did not out of a free, conscious choice but in response to some overwhelming psychological or physical pain, that’s going to mitigate their culpability. Doesn’t make the act any less wrong, just affects the degree to which they should be blamed for it.

 

[JerryZ]

The reason suicide is a mortal sin is that it is killing a human being which we do not in normal circumstances have a right to.
So 1 of the 10 commandments is “Thou shall not murder”
Murder is taking the life of a human being that you do not have the right to do.
Different from taking a human life in a war where you are defending yourself or your country.
Why we do not have the right to take our own life? because we do not own it.
It is gift from GOD and in due time HE will take it from us. By deciding ourselves to ending we are basically taking GOD’s place.
When can we be less culpable of this mortal sin?
If our intellect is impaired by something then it might constitute a lessening of culpability.
In any case we are not to judge the person as lost to hell but we need to pray for them since only GOD can judge what was on the heart and mind of that person.

Peace!

 

[Tis_Bearself]

In order for a sin to be mortal, three elements must be present:

1. Grave Matter: The act itself must be seriously evil and immoral.
2. Committed with Full Knowledge: The person must know that the sinful act is seriously evil and immoral at the time they commit the act.
3. Committed with Deliberate Consent: The person must freely choose to commit the sinful act, and not be pressured into it or have it happen accidentally, etc.

Killing yourself is a seriously evil act, so element 1), Grave Matter, is satisfied.

If the person somehow doesn’t realize that killing themself is seriously evil and immoral - for example, if they never received any training from their parents, from their religion etc that suicide was wrong - then it may be that element 2) is missing, in which case the sin would be venial. It’s still a grave sin (Element 1 is met), but the person’s culpability for the act is lessened, the same way as a court might find someone guilty of a lesser crime of manslaughter rather than murder.

Likewise, if the person doesn’t freely consent to killing themself because they were under great emotional pressure or they were in a state of psychosis or they changed their mind at the last minute when it was too late to stop themself falling off the bridge, etc then element 3 might be missing in which case the sin would be venial. Again, the suicide is still a grave sin (Element 1 is met), but the person’s culpability for the act is lessened.

As you know, venial sins should be avoided because we always avoid all sin, but a venial sin does not totally sever the relationship with God and does not take the person out of a state of grace, thus it is more likely that a person who dies in a state of venial sin can be saved and not go to Hell (though they might go to Purgatory).

I hope this makes it more clear.

 

[FiveLinden]

Non-believers often have problems with Christian beliefs about the fate of those who suicide because of the distress such beliefs cause to those left behind. But the vast majority of modern Catholic comments on the subject I have seen have been kind and calculated to cause minimal distress. The worst example I have seen is a particularly unpleasant and cruel Chick tract aimed at teenagers.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

The worst example I have seen is a particularly unpleasant and cruel Chick tract aimed at teenagers.

Just in case the OP or anyone reading isn’t familiar with Chick tracts, Chick tracts are not Catholic and in fact are vehemently anti-Catholic, written by Protestant fundamentalists. I know you didn’t mean to suggest they were Catholic, but your post could be read that way if somebody didn’t already know what a Chick tract is.

 

[FiveLinden]

Thanks Bear. I assumed they were famous! Or infamous.