What is meant by "full knowledge"?

[miketheo]

Hi: I am actually a high school religion teacher who is teaching about mortal sin. The Church teaches there are three conditions to mortal sin: grave matter, full knowledge and full consent of the will. The question I have is about the second condition–full knowledge.

Question: Does a person have to have full knowledge of the gravity of the sin or just full knowledge that the sin is wrong? I have heard it stated both ways in various resources. The catechism does not seem to require full knowledge of the gravity of the sin. Can you point me to other church resources that would clarify this? Thanks so much,

Miketheo

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Dear Mike,

Full knowledge means that the person must be aware of the gravity of the action. They don’t have to know the term “grave matter,” but they do have to know that the action is a serious wrong.

For more, see this:

Sin

and scroll down to:

Conditions of Mortal Sin

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.