what is the Roman catholic views on suicide?

Question

one of the commandments is "thou shalt not kill", does that include killing yourself??

(this is a serious question!!)

Answer 1

Catholics believe suicide when committed in full knowledge and deliberate consent is a complete turning away from God (a mortal sin) and will send a person to hell.

There are 3 conditions of a mortal sin: grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent.

While suicide (or any kind of murder) is always a grave matter, people who commit suicide may not always have full knowledge of what they're doing. Drugs can definitely impair one's thinking, as can other things, such as diseases, intense pain, or anguish.

Therefore, suicide is not automatically treated as a mortal sin.

We are commanded by Christ not to judge others so we leave final judgment to God who alone knows each person's heart.

The Code of Canon Law does not list suicide as a reason to deny a person a Catholic funeral. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4C.HTM

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
On mortal sin, paragraphs 1857-1859: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect1chpt1art8.htm#1857
On suicide, paragraphs 2282-2283: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect2chpt2art5.htm#2282

With love and prayers in Christ.

Answer 2

It doesn't really matter what the Catholic Church says. The leaders have no concept of the emotional pain and depression of someone who commits suicide. It really is common sense to realize that someone does not committ suicide unless they feel they have no other choice. To say or think someone is going to hell for committing suicide is ridiculous. A good god would not do that.

Answer 3

The Roman Catholic Church remains firmly opposed to both suicide and euthanasia as moral options. The Catholic Encyclopedia entry on "suicide," published in 1912, describes suicide as a grave sin against God. It gives several reasons for this conclusion: Suicide implies the person is master of his body instead of God, shows a lack of charity for oneself, often leads to failures in parental or social duties or charity towards others, and is contrary to the natural instinct of all creatures for self-preservation. "That suicide is unlawful is the teaching of Holy Scripture and of the Church, which condemns the act as a most atrocious crime and, in hatred of the sin and to arouse the horror of its children, denies the suicide Christian burial." {7}

In the most recent version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2003), all forms of suicide and euthanasia remain strictly prohibited, but questions of moral culpability and eternal salvation are left open

Answer 4

Suicide is considered as a mortal sin. I'm a roman catholic.
Suicide is also an act of killing. Furthermore, We Catholics considers ourselves as temple of God, and therefore it must be taken cared of, preserved, and respected.

Answer 5

nicely, curiously you pass to hell in case you commit suicide. for my section, as a Catholic, the God i think in, pondering the guy's feeling of helplessness and their psychological state at that element, does not deliver somebody to hell for taking their own existence. i think of that, for each little thing we ought to go through in existence, our advantages is larger... human beings do no longer commit suicide except they are fairly previous a element the place they see any form of return to their existence, and, the God i admire, does not condemn somebody so ill, he'd forgive them... nicely it fairly is the way i'm hoping it fairly is besides....

Answer 6

It is considered a sin and you will spend eternity in hell. Consider your body a temple. Would you strike down a temple? Respect yourself.

Answer 7

Catholics consider suicide to be an unforgivable sin because you cannot be forgiven by Christ without going to Confession. Hard to get to Confession if you're dead.

Answer 8

Suicide is a sin. I think that ALL Christians - Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox - share that belief.

CCC - 2280 : "Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.":
http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect2chpt2art5.htm

EDIT: It is not necessarily unforgivabe: It is possible that a moment before the person dies they will see that what they did is wrong and sincerely repent with their last breath. That probably doesn't happen much, but it is possible.

Answer 9

I think their ideas are not worth knowing. They understand nothing about pain and suffering. They have an arrogant view about what man should be that they themselves cannot follow...

Answer 10

It's an unforgivable sin in the eyes of Catholicism.