Q :
When a person has severe mental health issues and cannot control hurting and harming himself , like addiction or attempt suicide …, is he committing a sin? What does Catholicism say about mental health?
【 Question from 】 Canada 加拿大
Fr. Francis :
For an act to be a sin, the person needs to know the action is wrong, and has the freedom to choose. So depending on the severity of the mental illness, it may range from the person having no knowledge or freedom to control himself at all, to either his knowledge or his freedom being significantly minimized. In the former case, it is obviously not a sin at all, and the latter, his culpability significantly reduced.