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The Catechism’s three conditions

Is it a mortal sin? The Church’s three conditions, in a minute

A sin is mortal only when three conditions are present together: grave matter, full knowledge and deliberate consent (CCC 1857). If any one of them is missing, it is not a mortal sin. Go through them below, calmly.

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Go through the three conditions

Think of the act you have in mind, and answer as honestly as you can. If you can’t tell, “Not sure” is a true answer.

  1. Condition 1 of 3Is it grave matter: something serious against God’s law, as the Ten Commandments name it?

    The Catechism names, for example, murder, adultery, the theft of something of serious value, and deliberately missing Sunday Mass. See the grave matter the Catechism names

  2. Condition 2 of 3Did you know, at the time, that it was seriously wrong?

    What counts is what you knew when you did it, not what you have learned since.

  3. Condition 3 of 3Did you choose it freely, as a deliberate decision of your own?

    Fear, pressure, the force of habit and other psychological factors can lessen, or even remove, how free a choice was (CCC 1735).

Answer the three, and the Church’s teaching for your answers appears here.

Prepare what to say, privately

Describe it in your own words. Compass explains what the Church teaches about it, gives you an honest look at its seriousness, and helps you put it into words for the priest.

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The three conditions

  1. Grave matter. The act itself is seriously wrong: a grave violation of God’s law, as the Ten Commandments name it (CCC 1858).

  2. Full knowledge. You knew, at the time, that it was seriously wrong. Ignorance that was not your fault can lessen or remove the blame (CCC 1860); a pretended ignorance does not (CCC 1859).

  3. Deliberate consent. You chose it freely, as your own decision. Fear, pressure, habit and other psychological factors can lessen, or even remove, responsibility (CCC 1735).

All three must be present together. Grave matter on its own does not make a sin mortal (CCC 1857, 1862).