The prohibition on adultery applies equally to males and females. If my husband cheats on me, he commits the grave sin of adultery. If I cheat on my husband, I commit the grave sin of adultery. It is not gender-specific.What does adultery means and if its about having relationship with other female apart from your wife then why is there no commandment for females and how sure is the community that females will never commit adultery. I’m Sorry if this Question hurts anyone’s feelings but my intention is not to do so, but I need a valid answer.
Many believe this; however, if two people are not yet married, then “adultery” is not yet going on in the eyes of the Church.Many even believe it is wrong to act in this way with someone who has lead another person to believe the couple was on a path to marriage, as an ethical matter.
Yes, at least one person needs to have made marriage vows in order for there to be adultery, although Our Lord did say that to look on a married person with lust constitutes adultery in the heart. In that sense, it is possible to stray into the realm of adultery without the married person actually failing their vows. (Strictly speaking, however, that usually falls under the category of the 9th Commandment, not the 6th, so you are 100% right.)Many believe this; however, if two people are not yet married, then “adultery” is not yet going on in the eyes of the Church.
If the member of the unmarried couple involved with the outside party is having sex with them or contemplating doing so, then that could be a serious sin of fornication or lust, as well as deception of the other member of the unmarried couple and a red flag that perhaps the marriage should not go forward. But in order to commit adultery, you need to be married. There are cases where Person A is “on a path to marriage” with Person B and realizes that it is a mistake and they really wish to be with Person C instead, or at the very least do not want to be married to Person B . In these cases, ending the engagement is not necessarily sinful, although it can be very upsetting to Person B.
Yes, I was going to say if a person outside the marriage is looking at a married person with lust, then it’s “coveting thy neighbor’s wife (or husband),” not adultery. The wife or husband being looked at may be doing nothing to encourage the behavior and not have any wish to cheat on their spouse, whereas in adultery the married person is actively participating in the sin and cheating.although Our Lord did say that to look on a married person with lust constitutes adultery in the heart.
Baltimore CatechismWhat does adultery means and if its about having relationship with other female apart from your wife then why is there no commandment for females and how sure is the community that females will never commit adultery. I’m Sorry if this Question hurts anyone’s feelings but my intention is not to do so, but I need a valid answer.
Q. 1281. What is the sixth Commandment?
A. The sixth Commandment is: Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Q. 1282. What are we commanded by the sixth Commandment?
A. We are commanded by the sixth Commandment to be pure in thought and modest in all our looks, words, and actions.
Q. 1283. It is a sin to listen to immodest conversation, songs or jokes?
A. It is a sin to listen to immodest conversation, songs or jokes when we can avoid it, or to show in any way that we take pleasure in such things.
Q. 1284. What is forbidden by the sixth Commandment?
A. The sixth Commandment forbids all unchaste freedom with another’s wife or husband; also all immodesty with ourselves or others in looks, dress, words, and actions.
Q. 1315. What is the ninth Commandment?
A. The ninth Commandment is: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.
Q. 1316. What are we commanded by the ninth Commandment?
A. We are commanded by the ninth Commandment to keep ourselves pure in thought and desire.
Q. 1317. What is forbidden by the ninth Commandment?
A. The ninth Commandment forbids unchaste thoughts, desires of another’s wife or husband, and all other unlawful impure thoughts and desires.
Q. 1318. Are impure thoughts and desires always sins?
A. Impure thoughts and desires are always sins, unless they displease us and we try to banish them.
**Q. 1324. In what does the sixth commandment differ from the ninth, and the seventh differ from the tenth?
A. The sixth commandment differs from the ninth in this, that the sixth refers chiefly to external acts of impurity, while the ninth refers more to sins of thought against purity. The seventh commandment refers chiefly to external acts of dishonesty, while the tenth refers more to thoughts against honesty.
They are both mortal sins, so in that sense “lesser” is splitting hairs. Yes, though: mutually violating purity would be a lesser offense than doing so with the added factor of violating a sacred trust and doing lasting harm to a marriage and perhaps destroying the possibility of the couple maintaining a common conjugal life. I suppose in that sense, adultery is even worse when one is a parent and also betrays one’s duty to one’s children and one’s ability to co-parent with one’s spouse.Does this mean that between Adultery and Fornication, Fornication is the lesser of the two evils?
The difference is important in the confessional, in order to tell the priest the nature of the sin more exactly, but it is still worth noting that Our Lord did not permit this kind of splitting of hairs:Yes, I was going to say if a person outside the marriage is looking at a married person with lust, then it’s “coveting thy neighbor’s wife (or husband),” not adultery. The wife or husband being looked at may be doing nothing to encourage the behavior and not have any wish to cheat on their spouse, whereas in adultery the married person is actively participating in the sin and cheating.
Of course you are right. If Sarah is trying to attract impure attention, that is her sin against her marriage whether or not she in fact lures anyone into sin. Likewise, just because someone covets her does not mean she has done anything wrong at all.Right, but my concern and why I posted is not to split hairs about whether the person outside the marriage has sinned. Obviously, they have. The issue is whether the married woman, “Sarah” in your example, has also sinned.
If Sarah is being a faithful spouse and is not doing anything to encourage the attention of the person outside her marriage, then she has not sinned - there is no adultery.
The OP’s post was concerned with whether women can commit adultery, which of course they can, but this is an illustration of why the Lord has the separate commandments for “adultery” and for “coveting thy neighbor’s wife” and how the two sins can be different. Adultery is always going to be 2 people’s sin. Coveting a wife may only be 1 person’s sin if the wife is not encouraging it.