[Apologetics] The Catechism on Mortal Sins

[Art Kelly]

The Catechism on Mortal Sins

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 and deliberate consent." 

1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten
Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to
the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit
adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do
not defraud, Honor your father and your mother." The
gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is
graver than theft. One must also take into account who
is wronged: violence against parents is in itself
graver than violence against a stranger. 

1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete
consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful
character of the act, of its opposition to God's law.
It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to
be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness
of heart133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the
voluntary character of a sin. 

1860 Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even
remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one
is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the
moral law, which are written in the conscience of
every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can
also diminish the voluntary and free character of the
offense, as can external pressures or pathological
disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate
choice of evil, is the gravest. 

1861 Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human
freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of
charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that
is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by
repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion
from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell,
for our freedom has the power to make choices for
ever, with no turning back. However, although we can
judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we
must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and
mercy of God.

Art 



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