If you do something you didn't know is wrong, or break a church rule you didn't know exists, is it a sin?

In civil law, we hear the phrase: ignorance of the law is no excuse. Yet in moral theology, nuances determine the amount of responsibility we have for rules and laws of which we may be unaware. Our ignorance is measured, and at some degree we do hold a certain amount of responsibility.

But first, let's consider what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about human freedom and responsibility in general. The culpability we hold for our actions is mitigated in many ways, including: "ignorance, inadvertence, duress, fear, habit, inordinate attachments, and other psychological factors." (CCC 1735) These factors spell out reasons we may be less guilty, or even absolved of guilt, based on the conditions under which we act. If we're honestly unaware of the moral value of what we do, we're much less liable for it. If we didn't intend to do the thing, or were forced to; if we operated under powerful influences like fear or outside pressure; if we've repeated the offense so many times we're practically compelled to it; or if we suffer from mental illness in a variety of forms—these conditions qualify our culpability to a great extent.

The question you're specifically asking is one of vincible ignorance: that which is not invincible, but can be readily overcome. How responsible am I for the ignorance under which I as a moral agent have operated? It depends on how easily I might have known or should have known that I did wrong. Vincible ignorance is defined in three degrees: simple, crass, and affected. Say, for example, you learned the holy days of obligation as a child, but missed Mass on the Assumption on August 15th. As a Catholic, it's your responsibility to observe the holy days but you were on vacation and just forgot. That's simple ignorance and it's not a serious moral failure.

However, it becomes a crass moral fault if you miss Mass every year on August 15th because you make no effort to re-educate yourself regarding obligatory holy days (Mary the Mother of God, Ascension, Assumption, All Saints, Immaculate Conception). And it becomes an affected or studied kind of ignorance if you refuse to acknowledge that the church considers these feasts to be significant and worthy of reflection in the life of the faithful and pay no attention to the liturgical calendar. Not knowing the holy days then becomes a morally weighty matter.

Scripture: Genesis 3:11-19; 4:10-15; 2 Samuel 12:1-15; Psalm 119:105-106; Sirach 15:14-15; Mark 7:18-23; Romans 1:18-21; 2:14-16; 6:17; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; 1 John 3:19-24

Books: The Call to Holiness: Embracing a Fully Christian Life, by Richard Gula, SS (Paulist Press, 2003)

Making Choices: Practical Wisdom for Everyday Moral Decisions, by Peter Kreeft (Servant Press, 1990)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.