Question: Is masturbation a mortal sin, according to the Catholic Church?
Answer: Masturbation is objectively a grave sin, but due to its addictive nature and other factors, it likely does not constitute a mortal sin in every case. First, I will explain what a mortal sin is. Then, I will analyze how the conditions that make a sin mortal apply to pornography. Finally, I will finish with a word of encouragement to those of our readers who are struggling with a habit or addiction of masturbation.
When it comes to sin, the Catholic Church distinguishes between two types of sin: mortal and venial.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives the conditions that must be in place for a sin to be mortal in paragraph 1857. It states: For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.[1]
In simple terms, this means the sin committed is serious, and the person who commits the sin does so, knowing that it is a serious sin yet chooses freely to do it anyway. When those conditions are all fulfilled, the sin committed is a mortal sin. If a sin that is committed does not meet all three of those criteria, the sin is venial.
So how does this apply to masturbation? The Catechism defines masturbation as the deliberate stimulation of the genital organs in order to derive sexual pleasure. It clarifies that this pleasure is sought apart from the normal sexual relations between husband and wife. The Catechism also states that Masturbation is objectively a grave sin when it says:
“Both the Magisterium of the Church, in the course of a constant tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful have been in no doubt and have firmly maintained that masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action.”[2]
Any sexual act that is committed outside of marriage and apart from its procreative and unitive purposes (even among spouses) is wrong because such an act goes against God’s purposes for our sexuality. Masturbation is wrong, then, regardless of whether it is committed by oneself or with or by another, even within marriage.
However, when sexual pleasure is experienced connected to its procreative and unitive purposes, it fulfills the purpose of the pleasure itself, which is to incline the married couple to procreate and to bond the couple further to each other as to reinforce the vows they made on their wedding day to stay married to each other as long as they both shall live.
When masturbation is engaged in with full knowledge and deliberate consent, it is a mortal sin. However, the Church understands that masturbation it may not constitute a mortal sin in every case because various factors can mitigate the freedom required for deliberate consent. The Catechism says in paragraph 2352 about masturbation:
“To form an equitable judgment about the subjects’ moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety, or other psychological or social factors that lessen or even extenuate moral culpability.”
[3] For anyone in this situation, regularly going to confession to the same priest can help the person get a clear picture of his/her moral culpability.
What’s important to remember, though, is that even if someone gets to a place in his/her life where each instance of masturbation is not a mortal sin due to diminished freedom, each instance still is objectively serious because it is harmful to the user’s soul and brain, and it is harmful to the people being used in the accompanying pornography or in the thoughts of the person who is engaging in masturbation. It is also harmful to the loved ones of the user because that person is being less than they can be for their loved ones, their family, and their community.
The great Christian writer C.S. Lewis said of masturbation:
“For me the real evil of masturbation would be that it takes an appetite which, in lawful use, leads the individual out of himself to complete (and correct) his own personality in that of another (and finally in children and even grandchildren) and turns it back; sends the man back into the prison of himself.”[4]
So even if mortal sin is absent in certain cases, the love of God, neighbor, and self that we are called to must inspire us to work to eliminate masturbation from our lives. Those of us who work to help people recover from stop the behavior of masturbation understand that we need to balance the truth of the sinfulness of masturbation with compassion for the person. We are here for you, and may God Bless you in this important journey.
[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1857
[2] CCC 2352
[3] CCC 2352
[4] CS Lewis, as found in this article: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/c-s-lewis-on-lust-women-and-masturbation
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