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Ignorance Can Be A Mortal Sin


mortify

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[quote name='mortify' post='1657601' date='Sep 17 2008, 06:38 PM']This is how one Catholic responded to my question,

[color="#0000FF"]"In my daily missal (1957) from Laverty & Sons, Leeds, UK - it says it would be a mortal sin for any Christian not to know the Pater, Ave, Gloria and Credo and their basic meanings in substance."[/color][/quote]

what the heck are these ? some catholics seem to be obsessed with mortal sin.
if this is true and it is a mortal sin i dont think many christains are going to heaven.

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rizz_loves_jesus

Well, I think the Ave is the Hail Mary and the Credo is the Apostle's Creed, and I'm assuming you know both of those. I'm just wondering what the other two are.

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Pater(noster)= Our Father
Gloria(Patri)= the Glory Be
Ave(Maria)= the Hail Mary
Credo=the Creed

if this were true, it would mean that fully willful ignorance of these things with full knowledge that it was wrong not to know them would be a mortal sin; not that the average person who has never heard a Hail Mary before is committing a mortal sin or that the Catholic in the pew who might get mixed up if he tried to say the Creed on his own is committing a mortal sin. You'd have to basically spit in God and the Church's face saying "I don't want nor need to know these prayers"[b][/b]

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[quote name='Delivery Boy' post='1657611' date='Sep 17 2008, 06:52 PM']what the heck are these ? some catholics seem to be obsessed with mortal sin.
if this is true and it is a mortal sin i dont think many christains are going to heaven.[/quote]

No worries, mate. I think a lot of times Catholics, at least online, will discuss or ask about mortal sin because it's hardly ever spoken of in a lot of churches.

One of the things that constitutes for mortal sin is deliberate or complete consent, so in this case I would think it would be willful ignorance of the basic prayers. Basically it would seem to tie into willful ignorance of the Catholic faith and truth itself as well. I think God would judge an upright, seeking, sincere church-going Lutheran differently than some indifferent or rebellious lapsed Catholic as far as the reasons behind someone not knowing prayers or fundamentals of the faith.

As I always say, "the damned just don't give a beaver dam."


ETA: ...."beaver dam" LOL....

Edited by Ash Wednesday
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Whoops, Aloysius beat me to it. He's, like, the smart school guy. I graduated school a long time ago, and it was art school. So listen to him. :D:

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[quote name='Aloysius' post='1657635' date='Sep 17 2008, 07:07 PM']Pater(noster)= Our Father
Gloria(Patri)= the Glory Be
Ave(Maria)= the Hail Mary
Credo=the Creed

if this were true, it would mean that fully willful ignorance of these things with full knowledge that it was wrong not to know them would be a mortal sin; not that the average person who has never heard a Hail Mary before is committing a mortal sin or that the Catholic in the pew who might get mixed up if he tried to say the Creed on his own is committing a mortal sin. You'd have to basically spit in God and the Church's face saying "I don't want nor need to know these prayers"[b][/b][/quote]

I honestly don't think it's restricted to "full willful ignorance." The responsibility to learn the faith stems from natural law, man has an obligation to seek the truth. Even if someone is poorly catechized that is not excusable, at some point which only God knows the soul is culpable for not learning his or her faith. One would actually have to give interior consent and disinterest to not learn the basics. The Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be are so basic and essential that it's hard for me to believe a serious Catholic would not commit them to memory and put some effort in understanding what they contain.

I think all the elements to constitute a mortal sin are present.

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A lay Catholic theologian responded to my question with the following:

[color="#0000FF"]"It would be objective mortal sin to be so negligent in learning about one's Faith that one did not know any basic prayers and at least one creed."[/color]

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