If a Catholic gets married while in the state of mortal sin, is the marriage valid?
If a student
cheats on an exam, is he required to later own up to the cheating to his professor?
The answer to this question can involve more complications than appear on the surface. Certainly, if the cheating results in someone else being deprived of a scholarship, higher mark, medal, admission to a professional school or college or honor of any type, the cheater must undo the injustice and make full restitution or the sin of cheating is not forgiven, even after confession. If this can only be done by telling the professor, so be it. If the cheating does not involve and injustice to a third party, it can be forgiven with repentance, confession, contrition and personal penance, but without telling the professor. Besides being a sin against the seventh commandment, cheating on a school exam can also be a sin against charity, because the cheater exposes himself to possible expulsion or other public penalties, causing harm to his reputation and that of his family. Cheating may also involve the additional sin of disobedience.
Reprinted from February 20, 1998
Is it a sin to use the "N" word for African-Americans?
It could very well be a sin against charity and, sometimes against justice.
Reprinted from April 24, 1998
If a person steals just small sums of money or goods over a number of years,
each of these thefts being a venial sin, is it true then that even if the
total amount is quite large, all these venial sins cannot add up to one mortal
sin?
Sin is in the will. If it is the intention of a person to steal a large amount of money or property, but to do this in small installments, the sin of such a person is undoubtedly mortal. However, it is true that there is no number of venial sins which can add up to a mortal sin, since these evils are of a different category. Remember, however, that all sins of theft cannot and will not be forgiven without just and complete restitution to the lawful owner of the money and property. Confession and absolution are needed for the pardon of such sins, but they are not valid unless restitution takes place. Venial sins of theft, when restitution is not made in this world, will be expiated in purgatory after death by the thief.
Reprinted from April 24, 1998
In an old catechism I saw that there are some sins crying to heaven for vengeance.
What are they?
Certain mortal sins are especially heinous and these are listed as "crying
to heaven for vengeance." They are: willful murder of the innocent, sodomy,
oppressing widows, orphans, or the poor, and cheating workers and laborers
of their just wages. Any sin will be forgiven by God if there is humble confession,
genuine contrition and resolve not to sin again, and a determination to make
restitution as soon as possible, followed by appropriate penance. Such penance,
of course, must go far beyond the merely symbolic or salutary penance imposed
in the sacrament of reconciliation by the priest-confessor
Reprinted from January 31, 1997
Did Martin Luther teach that all sins are equal?
Yes. He taught that everything a human being ever thought or did was a mortal
sin. Good works, in his view, are impossible for humans in the sight of God.
In this matter as well as in many others, Martin Luther contradicts the Bible
(1 John 5:16-17)
Reprinted from January 31, 1997
It is lying under oath. It is always a mortal sin. An oath is calling on God to witness the truth of what is said or written. Even if the matter of the lie is rather slight, the insult to God is great.
Reprinted from July 18, 1997
To tell a lie, that is, to express an untruth for the purpose of deception, is always a sin. It is inherently evil and can be either a mortal sin or venial sin, depending on various factors. To lie, however, should not be confused with a mental reservation (allowing someone to deceive himself) nor with entertainment, such as reading or reciting or writing fiction, nor with avoiding responding directly to questions, nor with refusing to give out confidential information to those who have no right to it.
Reprinted from July 18, 1997
What is the sin of calumny?
Calumny is an
unjust injury to the good name of another by imputing false defects to that
person. The sin of detraction is injuring the good name of another by revealing
true faults. Calumny can, in some cases, be mortal sin. In order to be forgiven,
calumny, like slander, requires the sinner to make restitution. Spreading
gossip can sometimes be a sin of either detraction or calumny. Journalists
also can sometimes commit such sins.
Reprinted June 20, 1997