Solitary Sex
- GRACE MACKINNON
Dear Grace, What is the Catholic Church's teaching on masturbation? Is it viewed as a mortal sin or as a venial sin? Could it prevent us from getting into heaven?
In
1975, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a Declaration on Certain
Problems of Sexual Ethics, and it is this document that the Catechism of the
Catholic Church quotes regarding this issue. "Both the Magisterium of the
Church, in the course of a constant tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful
have been in no doubt and have firmly maintained that masturbation is an intrinsically
and gravely disordered action" (CCC# 2352). Whatever the motive, solitary sex
in itself contradicts the meaning of human sexuality, which is meant by God to
be shared between a man and a woman in marriage.
You ask if masturbation
is viewed as a mortal or venial sin. Remember, that for a sin to be mortal, three
conditions must together be met. It has to be a very serious and grave matter,
which is committed with full knowledge and with deliberate consent. What we are
saying is that for it to be mortal sin, it would have to be done deliberately,
knowing that it is not what God wishes for us and without any regard for that.
In order to judge the morality of a human act, certain conditions have to be considered.
The Church recognizes, for example, that in the practice of masturbation, psychological
factors including adolescent immaturity, lack of psychological balance, and even
ingrained habit can influence a person's behavior, and this could lessen or even
eliminate moral responsibility.
The condition that many persons claim
for their innocence regarding masturbation is habit, and we certainly know how
difficult habits are to break. We must keep in mind, however, that habit does
not completely destroy the voluntary nature of our acts. As Christians who are
going to be held accountable for our actions, we must strive to unite ourselves
to the Lord and, therefore, do all we can to curb or eliminate all habits that
detach us from Him. So, if a person is masturbating and knows fully that it is
wrong, and does it willingly without doing anything to resist, then he or she
is guilty of grave sin.
The best thing a person can do if they are in
doubt about the morality of any sexual activity is to talk to his or her confessor,
a priest. After listening to all of the circumstances and conditions surrounding
an individual's actions, he will make a judgment and give the proper guidance.
Sometimes, professional help will have to be sought. But we should be careful
with this because some professionals will actually encourage masturbation, and
this would be wrong. God knows that we will sometimes fail but He does expect
us to do our best to live according to His ways. He knows when we have done all
we can to resist sin. If we have done that and have acknowledged and confessed
our sin, then we can rest in the knowledge that we will enjoy a glorious happiness
with Him in heaven one day.
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Acknowledgement
Grace D. MacKinnon "Solitary Sex." Catholic Exchange (July, 2002).
Reprinted with permission of Grace MacKinnon.
The Author
Grace MacKinnon is a syndicated columnist and public speaker on Catholic doctrine. She is the author of Dear Grace: Answers to Questions About the Faith published by Our Sunday Visitor. Order online by e-mail at osvbooksosv.com or call 1-800-348-2440.
Readers are welcome to submit questions about the Catholic faith to: Grace MacKinnon, 1234 Russell Drive #103, Brownsville, Texas 78520. Questions also may be sent by e-mail to: grace@deargrace.com.
You may visit Grace online at www.DearGrace.com.