Occasions of Sin
Occasions of Sin are external circumstances--whether of
things or persons--which either because of their
special nature or because of the frailty common to
humanity or peculiar to some individual, incite or
entice one to sin.
It is important to remember that there is a wide
difference between the cause and the occasion of sin.
The cause of sin in the last analysis is the perverse
human will and is intrinsic to the human composite. The
occasion is something extrinsic and, given the freedom
of the will, cannot, properly speaking, stand in causal
relation to the act or vicious habit which we call sin.
There can be no doubt that in general the same
obligation which binds us to refrain from sin requires
us to shun its occasion. Qui tenetur ad finem, tenetur
ad media (he who is bound to reach a certain end is
bound to employ the means to attain it).
Theologians distinguish between the proximate and the
remote occasion. They are not altogether at one as to
the precise value to be attributed to the terms. De
Lugo defines proximate occasion (De poenit. disp. 14,
n. 149) as one in which men of like calibre for the
most part fall into mortal sin, or one in which
experience points to the same result from the special
weakness of a particular person. The remote occasion
lacks these elements. All theologians are agreed that
there is no obligation to avoid the remote occasions of
sin both because this would, practically speaking, be
impossible and because they do not involve serious
danger of sin.
As to the proximate occasion, it may be of the sort
that is described as necessary, that is, such as a
person cannot abandon or get rid of. Whether this
impossibility be physical or moral does not matter for
the determination of the principles hereinafter to be
laid down. Or it may be voluntary, that is within the
competency of one to remove. Moralists distinguish
between a proximate occasion which is continuous and
one which, whilst it is unquestionably proximate, yet
confronts a person only at intervals. It is certain
that one who is in the presence of a proximate occasion
at once voluntary and continuous is bound to remove it.
A refusal on the part of a penitent to do so would make
it imperative for the confessor to deny absolution. It
is not always necessary for the confessor to await the
actual performance of this duty before giving
absolution; he may be content with a sincere promise,
which is the minimum to be required. Theologians agree
that one is not obliged to shun the proximate but
necessary occasions. Nemo tenetur ad impossibile (no
one is bound to do what is impossible). There is no
question here of freely casting oneself into the danger
of sin. The assumption is that stress of unavoidable
circumstances has imposed this unhappy situation. All
that can then be required is the employment of such
means as will make the peril of sin remote. The
difficulty is to determine when a proximate occasion is
to be regarded as not physically (that is plain enough)
but morally necessary. Much has been written by
theologians in the attempt to find a rule for the
measurement of this moral necessity and a formula for
its expression, but not successfully. It seems to be
quite clear that a proximate occasion may be deemed
necessary when it cannot be given up without grave
scandal or loss of good name or without notable
temporal or spiritual damage.
JOSEPH F. DELANY
Transcribed by Tomas Hancil
From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright � 1913 by the
Encyclopedia Press, Inc. Electronic version copyright �
1996 by New Advent, Inc., P.O. Box 281096, Denver,
Colorado, USA, 80228. (
[email protected])
Taken from the New Advent Web Page
(www.knight.org/advent).
This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia
Project, an effort aimed at placing the entire
Catholic Encyclopedia 1913 edition on the World Wide
Web. The coordinator is Kevin Knight, editor of the
New Advent Catholic Website. If you would like to
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