Will my confession be invalid by something I cannot control?

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IWant2Sleep

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So, I want to go to confession to confess viewing pornography. However, I unfortunately have nude images on my computer because a friend sent them to me and discord does not allow for one to delete another person’s messages. Is it a sin if they remain on my computer even if I do not want to look at them? Unfortunately there is no way to get rid of them unless I block my friend or delete my account entirely.
 
You are not forced to view pornogrophic images. If your friend is sending them, tell him to stop or report it. You can simply unfriendly him or delete the service. You also can delete any chat or messages in discord. There are tutorials online to help you.
 
IWant2Sleep said:
Unfortunately there is no way to get rid of them unless I block my friend or delete my account entirely.
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Then that’s what you need to do. Block or delete your account.
IWant2Sleep said:
Is it a sin if they remain on my computer even if I do not want to look at them?
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Don’t “want” to look at them. I see you didn’t say “don’t look at them.” Seems to me you have a serious temptation to sin here. A good confession includes contrition and firm amendment of purpose.

Get rid of these pictures and go to confession.
 
Well I think that’s just semantics. Either way I don’t want to see the images nor do I intend to look at them, I just can’t remove them from my computer because discord does not allow for one to clear another person’s messages as far as I can tell.
 
IWant2Sleep said:
Either way I don’t want to see the images nor do I intend to look at them, I just can’t remove them from my computer because discord does not allow for one to clear another person’s messages as far as I can tell.
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then delete the account/app.
 
On my phone, when I delete an account it asks if I want to delete all the posts as well.

If your phone does the same, then you could delete the account, get rid of the pics, and then restore the account.

On my phone, to delete messages I go to the thread itself, then click the upper right corner where the three dots are. That lets down a menu which allows me to delete individual posts, either under delete or edit.

Ask your friend not to send you those images any more and tell him you will have to block him permanently if he does not stop.
 
Just to be clear: this is absolutely something you can control.

To position this as outside your control is just deluding yourself and rationalizing on your part.
 
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I think the main issue here is just that you’re not completely aware of the situation. My friend does suffer from depression and has suicidal tendencies, and recently had a family member die, so I’m trying to not just abandon them during this time. I don’t want to give them another reason to feel upset or feel as though their world is falling apart. That’s why I was trying to see if there was another alternative. I am not “deluding” myself as you claim. I just don’t want to make another suffer if there’s another way to fix it. Next time I’d encourage you to ask for more details before drawing conclusions.

For more info, we currently live in separate states and they do not have a phone at the moment so discord just happens to be the platform we use to communicate with.
 
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It is highly commendable to support someone in that position. However, supporting someone in that way does not mean you have to just do anything. There are limits that you can draw.

There is no way a depressed and suicidal person has a need to send you pornographic images. Indeed, if you find them offensive, a depressed and suicidal individual has no right to send you things that you would find offensive.

You appear to be stretching things beyond the bounds of reasonableness to claim you need to keep these images for the sake of another person. Unfortunately, it is not fooling people. You need to get rid of those images if they are harming you spiritually, i.e. leading you into the occasion of sin.

Your friend’s rights do not trump yours no matter their particular situation. Nor do their rights need to include sending you images or any other material that you find offensive, which you know is a sin, and may also be illegal or infringing the terms and conditions of use of whatever platform you are both using.
 
They’re not continuing to send me these images. They’re buried in the chat and aren’t popping up anymore and I have no intention of going back to ever look at them. I’m just curious if keeping them buried far away enough is adequate or if I have to delete the account entirely.
 
I could be wrong but if you ask your friend to delete the messages on his end, will that remove them for you too?
Also, if you’re struggling with pornography I highly recommend getting accountability software. Covenant Eyes is the best. If you have a porn addiction you will find it very hard to beat it on your own if you’re a regular internet user - it’s just too widespread.
God bless bro.
 
Good idea, I’m not sure why I did not consider that earlier. Thank you.
 
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