Question on Mortal Sin and Mitigation

[OnlySunshine]

I had a question that I was interested in finding the answer to.  I didn't post it in the Q&A because I wanted everyone's take on it - Catholics, most especially.

In regards to mortal sin, the Church teaches there are often mitigating factors in determining the severity of the sin committed.  Say, for instance, someone was under a great deal of stress with health problems and anxiety and watched pornography with the added sin of masturbation.  Obviously, pornography and masturbation equal grave matter according to the Catechism, but the stress and anxiety reduced the person's judgement.  Would this, then, be considered a venial sin?  I know addiction to pornography causes a person's free will to be lessened because it becomes a force of habit.  Would stress cause the same thing?

This has been a question I've had for a long time after coming back to the Church 9 years ago. 

[Nihil Obstat]

Careful in the phrasing of the question. There are certain factors which might mitigate one's culpability for the sin, but they do not mitigate the severity of the sin as such. That is an objective reality. 
With regards to whether or not it might be reduced only to a venial sin, the answer is always going to be "maybe." Since they are purely subjective factors, that will be something to be reflected on by the penitent in prayer and in consultation with his confessor and, perhaps, a spiritual director. 
With regards to stress, personally I do not see how simply being stressed could impede one's free will to the point that he has little to no control over the committing of grave sins. I can see how some kind of psychological addiction to sins of the flesh could be exacerbated by stress, but stress alone, I am more skeptical.
One should be careful not to use "force of habit" as a sort of free pass. Mortal sin requires grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent. Frankly, deliberate consent is not a terribly high hurdle. And it does great harm if we are led to think that mortal sins are rarer than they actually are, especially if we are thinking of our own personal sins.

[Amppax]

24 minutes ago, Nihil Obstat said:

Careful in the phrasing of the question. There are certain factors which might mitigate one's culpability for the sin, but they do not mitigate the severity of the sin as such. That is an objective reality. 
With regards to whether or not it might be reduced only to a venial sin, the answer is always going to be "maybe." Since they are purely subjective factors, that will be something to be reflected on by the penitent in prayer and in consultation with his confessor and, perhaps, a spiritual director. 
With regards to stress, personally I do not see how simply being stressed could impede one's free will to the point that he has little to no control over the committing of grave sins. I can see how some kind of psychological addiction to sins of the flesh could be exacerbated by stress, but stress alone, I am more skeptical.
One should be careful not to use "force of habit" as a sort of free pass. Mortal sin requires grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent. Frankly, deliberate consent is not a terribly high hurdle. And it does great harm if we are led to think that mortal sins are rarer than they actually are, especially if we are thinking of our own personal sins.

 

I think a better term than stress would be anxiety, in the sense of legitimate anxiety disorders. So, for example, someone who's anxiety is so bad that there are severe physiological symptoms (panic attacks and the like), I think there are cases where this *may be* a mitigating factor for culpability. 

[OnlySunshine]

35 minutes ago, Nihil Obstat said:

Careful in the phrasing of the question. There are certain factors which might mitigate one's culpability for the sin, but they do not mitigate the severity of the sin as such. That is an objective reality. 
With regards to whether or not it might be reduced only to a venial sin, the answer is always going to be "maybe." Since they are purely subjective factors, that will be something to be reflected on by the penitent in prayer and in consultation with his confessor and, perhaps, a spiritual director. 
With regards to stress, personally I do not see how simply being stressed could impede one's free will to the point that he has little to no control over the committing of grave sins. I can see how some kind of psychological addiction to sins of the flesh could be exacerbated by stress, but stress alone, I am more skeptical.
One should be careful not to use "force of habit" as a sort of free pass. Mortal sin requires grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent. Frankly, deliberate consent is not a terribly high hurdle. And it does great harm if we are led to think that mortal sins are rarer than they actually are, especially if we are thinking of our own personal sins.

This is a purely hypothetical question, not something that has actually happened, so please don't think I am trying to get away with something.  I am aware that Confession is the best course of action if the individual is unsure if the sin was mortal or venial.  It was simply a question of whether stress could reduce free will to the point that the grave sin committed was lessened.  God, of course, is always the final judge. 

2 minutes ago, Amppax said:

I think a better term than stress would be anxiety, in the sense of legitimate anxiety disorders. So, for example, someone who's anxiety is so bad that there are severe physiological symptoms (panic attacks and the like), I think there are cases where this *may be* a mitigating factor for culpability. 

I tend to agree with this because I have had anxiety disorder from the age of 16.  It takes over everything to a point where you can even become disabled emotionally and not be able to think straight.  I had "black out" periods where I don't remember certain things - the only reason why I know this is because family members have told me about things that have happened and I absolutely do not remember it at all.  Depression can cause the same thing, too (which I also have), and can cause mood swings that are uncontrollable unless you are under the right treatment.  Any psychiatric disorder that causes impaired judgement or memory would lessen culpability from what confessors have told me.

[Guest]

Addiction can decrease culpability to nill. So can passion. Don't look for the answer on the internet. Talk to your Priest in Confession. Always confess your grave sins even when you're unsure if they have become mortal. 

[Nihil Obstat]

Certainly, I am speaking hypothetically as well.

[philothea]

I, personally, would only consider stress a mitigating factor for reactions to unavoidable or unexpected elements of my environment, like being cranky with family member, or eating too many cookies when someone offers them to me. Something like watching porn requires planning and action. (I sure hope so, at least! I'd hate to think it's just playing in the environment...  )

[OnlySunshine]

5 hours ago, Josh said:

Addiction can decrease culpability to nill. So can passion. Don't look for the answer on the internet. Talk to your Priest in Confession. Always confess your grave sins even when you're unsure if they have become mortal. 

As stated, the question was hypothetical. 

4 hours ago, philothea said:

I, personally, would only consider stress a mitigating factor for reactions to unavoidable or unexpected elements of my environment, like being cranky with family member, or eating too many cookies when someone offers them to me. Something like watching porn requires planning and action. (I sure hope so, at least! I'd hate to think it's just playing in the environment...  )

Adding to the question, what if someone stumbled upon some inappropriate material and, instead of turning away from the occasion of sin, continued to indulge?  That would lessen the planning and action.  I've read stories from people with pornography addictions that, when tempted, it's difficult to turn away, even if they didn't go looking for the material.  It, apparently, was due to the fact that the addiction desensitized them. 

Edited January 1, 2017 by OnlySunshine

[Guest]

Just now, OnlySunshine said:

As stated, the question was hypothetical. 

Original post didn't state that but I now see your second post did. My bad. 

[philothea]

2 hours ago, OnlySunshine said:

Adding to the question, what if someone stumbled upon some inappropriate material and, instead of turning away from the occasion of sin, continued to indulge?  That would lessen the planning and action.  I've read stories from people with pornography addictions that, when tempted, it's difficult to turn away, even if they didn't go looking for the material.  It, apparently, was due to the fact that the addiction desensitized them. 

I don't claim to be any kind of expert, but I feel like the opportunity to recognize a temptation and resist it is important to actually consenting to sin. So yes, if it just shows up to someone already prone to indulge, I think that would be a mitigating factor.

But I find that more serious overall, not less. An individual incident might not be much cause for guilt, but to have lost that degree of freedom is very concerning. 

[Jack4]

10 hours ago, Nihil Obstat said:

One should be careful not to use "force of habit" as a sort of free pass. ... Frankly, deliberate consent is not a terribly high hurdle. And it does great harm if we are led to think that mortal sins are rarer than they actually are, especially if we are thinking of our own personal sins.

I second this. It took me months to make myself accept this, but the effort was worth it. 

[Guest]

In the case of discerning for some reason, not simply debating or discussing the subject, the only way to be confident is through Confession.  Even if one simply wants to be clear on a moral matter, one can ask a question of a priest in Confession or simply making an appointment with a priest to discuss the matter and be advised about it    As an aside, especially on the internet, one can become more confused due to posts/responses that present different points of view and concepts. 

On ‎1‎/‎01‎/‎2017 at 8:31 AM, OnlySunshine said:

It was simply a question of whether stress could reduce free will to the point that the grave sin committed was lessened.  God, of course, is always the final judge.

Yes it can on the first point.  Agreed on the second point.

If we are going to evangelise on a certain level, we need to have some grasp of moral theology in order to convey some understanding of sin.  A very important point indeed to understand.

I think that those along the road somewhat of holiness may not find the subject under discussion difficult to discern personally, while newbies might very well do so.  It is always possible too to backslide from "along the road a bit" to "at the beginning" almost or even fully.  We are weak and sinful creatures.  St Teresa of Avila warns about false confidence on a few levels.

Grave sin can itself cannot be lessened - grave matter remains a point of grave matter (objective).  However, personal culpability for grave sin (subjective) can be mitigated due to those factors stated in the CCC and why it is covered in the CCC (see http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a8.htm "Mortal and Venial Sin".

It is on the subjective level we will be finally judged.

For some too, discernment of personal culpability can be a complex matter due to circumstances.  In fact, many consider grave matter itself as always mortal sin, totally unaware of those factors which can mitigate culpability.

Personally, where grave matter is involved, I would always confess it along with any potentially mitigating factors subjectively.  The priest in Confession will advised, especially if asked, if it is mortal or venial sin.

The Catechism is clear that there are mitigating factors which CAN mitigate, not WILL mitigate, personal culpability, which is why I would always confess it with the circumstances.