Is masturbation a mortal sin in need of confession?

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

As a general rule and supposedly I'm told that there are exceptions, the question is " Is masturbation a mortal sin in need of confession?" And what are the parameters to what makes it not a sin or is a sin. I've asked 4 priests about this and 2 say yes mortal, 1 says can be and can't be it depends on circumstances and the 4th one says no definitely not. By the way where is the unity of priests in my diocese?

[Theologian in Training]

First off, it helps to understand a few terms. 

Mortal sin is a sin of grave matter, it is a sin committed with full consent and knowledge knowing it is, indeed, a sin, and it is committed deliberately, in spite of knowing the consequences of that sin. Mortal sin by nature inflicts a "mortal wound" upon our soul, hence the reason it is known as mortal. What that means is that it has the tendency to cause our death, not physically, but spiritually. A priest once explained it as jumping off a building, knowing we may or may not die, but willing to take the risk anyway. 

Given that, some priests will argue that since the nature of masturbation and / or porn is addictive that the "full consent of the will" is not necessarily there since it is more dealing with an addiction than it is dealing with a sin, and that is the stance, as far as I know, of the Church as a whole. 

While that is true, the fact of the matter is that masturbation has one purpose and while addictive, as I have heard many confessions about this, it does not take away the culpability of the sinner. We can justify it as much as we want, but, at the end of the day, the guilt that results and the lust that it incites only reaffirms the dangerous nature of the sin. 

Therefore, it is considered a mortal sin, many saints dealt with by doing extreme things, like St. Francis and St. Bernard, can't remember who did which, but in order to control their lust, they jumped in an icy pond or a thorn bush. They recognized the power that that sin has and saw its detrimental nature, which is why they fought to make sure they would avoid that sin at all costs. Hebrews 12:4 comes to mind: "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." It is a powerful sin, but that does not make it any less dangerous or any less mortal, it just means you have to fight all the more. When people confess this sin, I usually encourage them to practice some form of mortification, be it fasting, giving something up that you like, or doing something else that you like in order to avoid committing that sin. I believe it was St. Josemaria Escriva who said: "One has to give the body a little less than its due. Otherwise it turns traitor," which is why some type of mortification helps. 

I am sure I gave you more information than needed, but this has become a very common sin, unfortunately, in the confessional, and, therefore, I have prayed a lot about it and have tried helping people understand the seriousness and the gravity of the sin, in spite of "addiction" or "culpability." 

Hope that helps.

God bless,

Fr. Brian