Venial sin
A venial sin ( Latin peccatum veniale ) is, according to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, a sin that differs in severity from a mortal sin . In contrast to mortal sin, which represents a serious offense against the law of God and therefore destroys love in the human heart, in venial sin this love remains, but venial sin violates it.
The venial sins impair the fellowship with God and man in such a way that they lead to the consequences of sins in temporal existence, which in the event of death require purification in purgatory .
Serious sin (mortal sin) - as a conscious turning away from the love of God - causes the loss of the state of grace before God. Turning to God through complete repentance is still possible in this case too. This repentance leads to the restoration of the baptismal grace. In any case, this requires a confession with absolution by the priest. In the sacrament of penance, the church also awards God's forgiveness to repentant sinner (through the priest who acts in persona Christi ) when there is no certainty about the perfection of repentance. This certainty cannot be obtained outside of the sacrament.
Although the Catholic Church does not regard the confession of venial sins as mandatory, it strongly recommends it:
"The regular confession of our venial sins is a help for us to form our conscience, to fight against our evil tendencies, to let Christ heal us and to grow in the spiritual life."
The Orthodox churches, on the other hand, see the distinction between venial sin and mortal sin as "irrelevant" for their practice of confession, since it is about healing a disease and about an inner change in which the confessor does not have the function of a judge but a doctor.
Individual evidence
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church - IntraText. In: www.vatican.va. Retrieved December 19, 2016 .
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1458