SECTION 2 



MORTAL AND VENIAL SINS 



I. Importance of the Distinction. — The 

 distinction between mortal and venial sins is of 

 great practical importance, especially for the 

 tribunal of Penance, where the sinner is obliged 

 to state the kind and number of his mortal trans- 

 gressions, which constitute materia necessaria 

 for the validity of the Sacrament. Venial sins, 

 on the other hand, are materia libera, i. e., they 

 need not be confessed, though to confess them 

 is useful and advisable. 1 



The teaching of the Church with regard to the dis- 

 tinction between mortal and venial sins is clear and defi- 

 nite. Nevertheless, the scientific demonstration of this 

 doctrine is one of the most difficult problems of Moral 

 Theology and has given rise to many heated controversies 

 (e. g., Kleutgen vs. Hirscher; Frick vs. Linsenmann; 

 Pesch vs. Schell, etc.) 



II. Proof from Sacred Scripture, Tradi- 

 tion, and Reason. — The distinction between 

 mortal and venial sins has a solid basis in Sacred 

 Scripture and ecclesiastical Tradition. 



1 Cone. Trident., Sess. XIV, De Poenit., cap. 5 and can. 7; 



Sess. VI, cap. 11. 



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