Is this a Mortal Sin, a Venial Sin, or No Sin? We are Releasing a New Document on Marital Chastity that Has an Answer for You!

We have created a clear moral theology chart for marital chastity that distinguishes between acts that constitute mortal sin, venial sin, or no sin at all. Drawing from traditional Latin moral theology manuals, this resource provides precise guidance on concrete questions while helping Catholics avoid both genuine moral error and unnecessary scrupulosity.

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One of the most frustrating realities facing Catholics who sincerely desire to live out the Church's teaching on marriage and chastity is how difficult it can be to obtain clear and precise answers to concrete moral questions.

The general principles of Catholic sexual morality as well as the primary sins against marriage are well known. But when it comes to applying those principles to more concrete circumstances of married life, Catholics can notoriously struggle to find comparable clarity. Beyond issues such as contraception, questions still arise about the precise moral status of particular sexual acts within marriage, which of these acts are sinful, and if sinful, whether they are mortally or venially sinful, and the answers given can sometimes vary dramatically depending upon whom one asks.

This is precisely why we have undertaken a project that has required a great deal of painstaking research and translation: we have constructed a comprehensive document providing clear moral classifications for sins against chastity within marriage.

Rather than relying upon the opinions of contemporary internet personalities who like to push for the most rigorous opinion they can find, we went back to the sources themselves. We have translated and consulted the Latin moral theology manuals of the past, examined how the recognized moralists actually treated these questions, and organized their conclusions in a way that makes them accessible to ordinary Catholics. 

The goal is simple: to provide Catholics with the moral clarity that is so often lacking when these questions are discussed.

Clarity Is a Weapon Against Scrupulosity

There is an important pastoral reason for undertaking this work.

When a person sincerely wants to avoid sin but cannot determine whether a particular action is mortally sinful, venially sinful, or not sinful at all, uncertainty can become fertile ground for scrupulosity.

And unfortunately, the internet has made this problem considerably worse.

There is a clear discernible difference between what is certainly sinful, what is probably sinful, what is the subject of legitimate theological dispute, and what is permitted. Understanding those distinctions matters enormously, especially when the question concerns whether a person has committedmortal sin.

Our purpose in compiling this document is therefore not to encourage Catholics to look for loopholes or to minimize the demands of chastity. Quite the opposite.

We want Catholics to have the confidence that comes from knowing what the moral tradition actually says.

Doing the Difficult Work of Going Back to the Sources

One reason these questions can be so difficult to answer today is that much of the relevant moral theology is contained in Latin manuals that are no longer readily accessible to the average Catholic.

That is where we have attempted to do some of the hard work for you.

We have spent considerable time locating, translating, comparing, and organizing the relevant material from the traditional moral theology manuals so that their distinctions and classifications can be understood without requiring the reader to read Latin or sift through hundreds of pages of technical theological literature.

The purpose here is to recover the actual tradition of Catholic moral theology and make its conclusions accessible.

Where the moralists were in agreement, we want to make that clear.

Where there was disagreement, we want to distinguish the common teaching from the more rigorous or more lenient opinions.

And where a particular question does not admit of the kind of certainty that some modern commentators imply, we want to say that plainly as well.

A Resource for Catholics Who Want to Know Where They Stand

The result is a practical resource designed to answer the questions that Catholics actually have.

It provides moral classifications concerning sins against chastity within marriage, helping the reader distinguish between mortal sin, venial sin, and acts that are not sinful according to the relevant moral-theological tradition.

How to Access the Document: Become a Supporter or a Patron for at least $10 a Month!

This resource is available to those who support our work.

You can access the document by becoming a Supporter through our websiteor by becoming a Patron on Patreon. We appreciate your generosity!

Your support does more than give you access to this particular resource. It enables us to continue doing the kind of painstaking research that makes projects like this possible: locating the primary sources, translating difficult Latin texts, comparing the opinions of the moralists, and turning that material into resources that ordinary Catholics can actually use.

There is an enormous amount of valuable Catholic moral theology sitting in old Latin texts that has become practically inaccessible to most Catholics.

We believe that tradition deserves to be recovered.

And, especially in an age of online controversy and increasing scrupulosity, Catholics deserve the clarity that comes from knowing what the tradition actually teaches.