Was this porn/mortal sin?

[Mnhs10]

Hey everyone, basically I viewed these two youtube videos where the challenge was to keep staring into a woman’s eyes. The hard part being they were provocatively dressed. or in a bikini. During the second of these videos, I turned it off. After a little bit I started worrying that it was pornography, but was unsure, since I always thought of pornography as nudity/intercourse. Before and while watching I wasn’t planning on, or thinking that it was a mortal sin, but I know the gravity of pornography.

So, I was wondering if this would be pornography, and a mortal sin, or if it was pornography, but I didn’t know it was, so only venial.

 

[MarcoPolo]

In order for it to be mortal sin, you have to know in advance of committing the sin that it is a mortal sin. Here is how the Catechism describes mortal sin:*CCC#1857 For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge [of the gravity] and deliberate consent.”*I added the part in brackets, because as I understand, that’s what it’s referring to.

At any rate, if you feel you crossed the line in your thoughts in any way, even if it were venial, mention it at a confession and be forgiven with certainty.

 

[JacquesMaritain]

Hi Mnhs:

I don’t think it is pornography. Youtube’s own terms of use prohibit users from posting pornography, and even if they do, such videos get taken down right away (they’d get into a lot of trouble if they allowed pornographic movies, as so many children use the site). See here:

“YouTube is not for pornography or sexually explicit content. If this describes your video, even if it’s a video of yourself, don’t post it on YouTube. Also, be advised that we work closely with law enforcement and we report child exploitation. Please read our Safety Tips and stay safe on YouTube.”

youtube.com/t/community_guidelines

For any sin to be mortal, it must fulfill three conditions: It must be (1) a sin of grave matter; (2) committed with full knowledge of the sinner and (3) committed with deliberate consent of the sinner. It doesn’t sound like you had full knowledge, and even if you did, its not grave matter, as the Catechism defines (2354) pornography as consisting of “removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties.” As there is no sexual act here in the video, it isn’t porn, by definition.

Jacques

 

[Bellator]

Mnhs10:

While Youtube may claim that it does not permit pornography, such footage can be an occasion of sin. I agree with the general consensus; make a careful examination of your conscience in light of the aforementioned paragraph from the Catechism. If in doubt, confess it as if it was a mortal sin.

Sincerely,
Bellator