《天主教教理》卷三之一、第一章、第八罪
《天主教教理》，在卷三之一、第一章、第八，也是最后一條里，談到「罪」。它根據天主教神學，把這話題分為五點討論，那就是︰一、天主的仁慈與人的罪，二、罪的定義，三、罪的分類，四、罪的輕重，五、罪的泛濫。
ARTICLE 8 SIN
CATECHISM OF
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
PART THREE LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION
ONE MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
CHAPTER
ONE THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
ARTICLE 8 SIN
一、天主的仁慈與人的罪
福音原是天主對罪人的憐憫。
1846 福音不是別的，只是在耶穌基督身上所啟示的天主對罪人的憐憫。天使早已向若瑟宣布了︰「你要給他起名叫耶穌，因為他要把自己的民族，由他們的罪惡中拯救出來。」耶穌自己也曾在建立聖體聖事時， 這樣聲明說︰「這是我的血，新約的血，為大眾傾流，以赦免罪過」。
承認自己的罪是蒙受天主憐憫的必要條件。
1847 聖奧斯定說得好︰「天主造人，毋庸人與其事，他拯救人，則非徵得人的同意不可。」換句話說，要接受天主的憐憫，人必須承認自己的罪。聖若望宗徒教訓我們說︰「如果我們說，我們沒有罪過，就是欺騙自己，真理也不在我們內。但若我們承認我們的罪過，天主既是忠信正義的，必赦免我們的罪過，并洗淨我們的各種不義」。
正如聖保祿宗徒所說的︰「罪惡在那里越多，恩寵在那里也格外豐富」。而恩寵的功用正是在揭露罪，為的是改化我們的心，「使我們藉著我們的主耶穌基督獲得永生。」正如醫生在敷藥之前，先診察傷口，同樣天主也以他的聖言和聖神，引導光照我們，使我們認識自己的罪過︰
教宗若望保祿二世說︰要悔改必須先認罪，要認罪則必須先有內在的良心判斷。良心判斷是真理之神在人心中活動的一種証實，同時也意味著天主正要賜給人他的聖寵與愛︰「你們接受聖神吧」。這樣，在「指証世界關於罪惡」這句話上我們看初一種雙重的恩賜﹔良心上的真理以及對於得救的確實肯定。真理之神也是一位護慰者。
I. MERCY AND SIN
1846 The Gospel
is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God's mercy to sinners.113 The angel
announced to Joseph: "You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his
people from their sins."114 The same is true of the Eucharist, the
sacrament of redemption: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is
poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."115
1847 "God
created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us."116 To
receive his mercy, we must admit our faults. "If we say we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness."117
1848 As St.
Paul affirms, "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more."118
But to do its work grace must uncover sin so as to convert our hearts and
bestow on us "righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord."119 Like a physician who probes the wound before treating it, God,
by his Word and by his Spirit, casts a living light on sin:
Conversion
requires convincing of sin; it includes the interior judgment of conscience,
and this, being a proof of the action of the Spirit of truth in man's inmost
being, becomes at the same time the start of a new grant of grace and love:
"Receive the Holy Spirit." Thus in this "convincing concerning
sin" we discover a double gift: the gift of the truth of conscience and
the gift of the certainty of redemption. The Spirit of truth is the
Consoler.120
二、罪的定義
由於天主的啟示以及歷代神學家們的詮釋，天主教會對罪具有更明晰和更完全的觀念。《天主教教理》在對罪下定義時，既說︰罪是相反理性、真理及正直良心的一種過失。又說︰罪是由於偏愛某些事物而忽略對天主和對人的真正的愛的一種缺點﹔罪損害人的本性，破壞人類的團結。最后，更結論說︰一言以蔽之，罪是違犯永恆法則的思、言、行為。「永恆法則」是聖奧斯定的說法，意思是︰天主所制定的宇宙間的自然法則。它表現天主的旨意，所以人都有遵守的嚴分。
1849 罪是相反理性、真理及正直良心的一種過失。是由於偏愛某些事物而忽略對天主和對人的真正的愛的一種缺點。罪損害人的本性，破壞人類的團結。一言以蔽之，罪是違犯永恆法則的思、言、行為。
罪又是對天主的一種凌辱。
1850 罪是對天主的一種凌辱。聖詠上說︰「我得罪了你，惟獨得罪了你，因為我作了你視為惡的事。」罪摒棄天主對我們的愛，使我們的心遠離天主。創世紀記述原祖的犯罪，說「原祖違背天主的命令，妄想「如同天主一樣知道善惡」。因此，聖奧斯定說「罪是愛自己以致輕視天主」。這樣的驕傲自大與完成救世工程的耶穌的謙遜服從正好相反。
在耶穌受難時，耶穌克服了罪，我們也認出了罪的凶惡及其形形色色的面目︰
1851 是在耶穌受難時，基督的憐憫克服了人的罪，也是在耶穌受難時，我們認出了罪的凶惡及其形形色色的面目︰猶太首長和民眾的不信，憎恨、冷言嘲笑，比拉多的欺善怕惡，羅馬軍人的殘忍，猶達斯的出賣耶穌，伯多祿的否認耶穌，以及宗徒們的離棄耶穌。然而恰好是在那世界的首領來到的黑暗時期中，基督十字架上的祭獻成為赦免我們的罪的源源不竭的聖寵的泉源了。
II. THE DEFINITION OF SIN
1849 Sin is an
offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine
love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It
wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as
"an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law."121
1850 Sin is an
offense against God: "Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done that
which is evil in your sight."122 Sin sets itself against God's love for us
and turns our hearts away from it. Like the first sin, it is disobedience, a revolt
against God through the will to become "like gods,"123 knowing and
determining good and evil. Sin is thus "love of oneself even to contempt
of God."124 In this proud self- exaltation, sin is diametrically opposed
to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our salvation.125
1851 It is
precisely in the Passion, when the mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it,
that sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms: unbelief,
murderous hatred, shunning and mockery by the leaders and the people, Pilate's
cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers, Judas' betrayal - so bitter to
Jesus, Peter's denial and the disciples' flight. However, at the very hour of
darkness, the hour of the prince of this world,126 the sacrifice of Christ
secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our sins will pour
forth inexhaustibly.
三、罪的分類
罪的種類很多，又有不同的分類標准。《天主教教理》援引聖保祿宗徒，提出以下的罪的目錄︰
1852 罪的種類很多。聖經上列有好幾個目錄。在寫給迦拉達信友的書信中，聖保祿宗徒把本性私欲的作為和天主聖神的效果對立起來，說︰「本性私欲的行為是顯而易見的，即淫亂、不潔、放蕩、崇拜偶像、施行 邪法、仇恨、競爭、嫉妒、忿怒、爭吵、不睦、分黨、妒恨、凶殺、醉酒、宴樂，以及與這些相類似的我以前勸戒過你們，如今再說一次︰做這種事的人，決不能承受天主的國」。
罪的分類的不同標准
1853 罪可以不同的標准來分門別類，可像一般行為一樣以其對象來分別，可以其或過分或不及所相向的德行來分別，也可以其所觸犯的誡命來分別。有關於對天主、別人或自己的罪，有精神或肉體方面的罪，有思、言，或行為上的罪，更有該做而不做的罪。罪的根源是在人的心中，在人的自由意志上，正如耶穌所說的︰「由心里發出來的是惡念、凶殺、奸淫、邪淫、盜竊、妄証、毀謗，這些都使人污濁。」心是愛德所在處，是良善純清的行為的出發點，罪戕賊人的心。
III. THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SINS
1852 There are
a great many kinds of sins. Scripture provides several lists of them. The
Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the
Spirit: "Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity,
licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger,
selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like.
I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not
inherit the Kingdom of God."127
1853 Sins can
be distinguished according to their objects, as can every human act; or
according to the virtues they oppose, by excess or defect; or according to the
commandments they violate. They can also be classed according to whether they
concern God, neighbor, or oneself; they can be divided into spiritual and
carnal sins, or again as sins in thought, word, deed, or omission. The root of
sin is in the heart of man, in his free will, according to the teaching of the
Lord: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication,
theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man."128 But in the
heart also resides charity, the source of the good and pure works, which sin
wounds.
四、罪的輕重
罪有輕重的區別
1854 罪更有輕重的區別，聖經上已隱約說起歷代的教會曾加以闡發一般人的經驗也都予以証實了。
1855 大罪是嚴重地違犯天主的誡命，它毀滅人心中的愛德，使人由於貪求小小的利益，而背離天主，失落人生的終向和真正幸福。小罪相反愛德，損害愛德，但并不毀滅愛德。
大罪毀滅愛德
1856 愛德是我們超性生命的根源，大罪毀滅愛德，所以人犯了大罪必須痛悔改過，通常要在告解聖事中，重新領受天主的憐憫。
聖托馬斯說︰『愛德指引我們人歸向我們的最終目的。如果決定我們意志方向的一樁事物本身相反愛德，不論是相反愛天主，譬如褻聖或違背誓言，或是相反愛近人，譬如殺人或通奸，那麼它引誘我們所犯的罪，就其對象而論，就有了構成大罪的成分。相反，如果引誘我們去犯罪的那樁東西像說閑話或瞎笑，雖說缺少節制，卻并步相反愛天主和愛近人，那樣的罪算是小罪』。
構成大罪的三個條件︰
1857 構成大罪的條件有三個，教宗若望保祿二世，在他的《論和好與懺悔》勸諭中，重申教會的傳統訓導說︰大罪是「指它的對象是重大的實質，且是明知故意所犯的罪」。
1858 所謂「重大的實質」，就是耶穌對一個富有的少年所說的︰「不可殺人，不可奸淫，不可偷盜，不可做假見証，不可欺詐，應孝敬你的父母」，天主十誡所指示了的那樣事情。大罪也有輕重的分別，殺人要比偷盜嚴重。此外也要顧到受損害者的地位︰對父母施行暴力當然要比對外人所施行的更嚴重
1859 犯大罪也必須出於明知故意。那就是說:第一、要知道那行為是罪，是違犯天主的誡命﹔第二、知道以後，仍自主地做出那行為。 假裝不知和心硬不理會，不但不減輕人的罪，而且更加重了他的責任。
1860 不故意的不知才能夠減輕甚至抵消人的責任。但是，一般而論，倫理上的基本原則是寫在人心中的，沒有人可以說不知道。此外，情欲，外來的強迫或心理的不正常也可以影響罪的輕重，出於惡意，故意去犯的罪，是最大的罪。
大罪導致人失落聖寵
1861 大罪好比愛，是人自由意志的徹底抉擇，其結果是失落愛德、喪失聖寵，如果不改過而獲得天主寬赦，便不能進天國，而要下地獄﹔因為人的自由意志原來有作出決定性的、不能挽回的抉擇的能力的。但是， 我們雖然可以斷定某一行為是不是大罪，我們卻不可以判斷做出這行為的人，而要讓天主的公義和憐憫去審判他。
小罪使愛德衰弱
1862 小罪是在小事上不遵守倫理法則的規定，或在大事不明知故意違反倫理法則。
1863 小罪的結果是削弱愛德，縱容偏情的滋長，阻礙靈魂在修德為善的道路上的進步，要受一段時期的懲罰。故意犯小罪，或犯了不知悔改，會導致人犯大罪。但是小罪并不逼人與天主敵對，并不斷絕人與天主之間的盟約關系。在天主聖寵的輔助下，小罪所造成的災殃是人的能力還可以補救的，用當今教宗的話來說︰「小罪沒有剝奪人的寵愛，與天主的友誼、愛德，及永遠的真福。」
褻瀆聖神的罪
1864 「誰若褻瀆了聖神，永遠不得赦免。」天主的仁慈原來是無限無量的，但是人若不懺悔，故意不肯接受天主的憐憫，他的罪自然不得赦免，靈魂上也便得不到天主聖神帶來的救恩。這樣的心硬固執，至死不知悔改，終於遭受永遠的災禍。
IV. THE GRAVITY OF SIN: MORTAL AND
VENIAL SIN
1854 Sins are
rightly evaluated according to their gravity. The distinction between mortal
and venial sin, already evident in Scripture,129 became part of the tradition
of the Church. It is corroborated by human experience.
1855 Mortal sin
destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it
turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by
preferring an inferior good to him.
Venial sin
allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.
1856 Mortal
sin, by attacking the vital principle within us - that is, charity -
necessitates a new initiative of God's mercy and a conversion of heart which is
normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation:
When the will
sets itself upon something that is of its nature incompatible with the charity
that orients man toward his ultimate end, then the sin is mortal by its very
object . . . whether it contradicts the love of God, such as blasphemy or
perjury, or the love of neighbor, such as homicide or adultery. . . . But when
the sinner's will is set upon something that of its nature involves a disorder,
but is not opposed to the love of God and neighbor, such as thoughtless chatter
or immoderate laughter and the like, such sins are venial.130
1857 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."131
1858 Grave
matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of
Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not
steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your
mother."132 The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver
than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against
parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.
1859 Mortal sin
requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the
sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God's law. It also implies a
consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and
hardness of heart133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary
character of a sin.
1860
Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave
offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral
law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of
feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the
offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed
through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.
1861 Mortal sin
is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the
loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state
of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes
exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom
has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although
we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment
of persons to the justice and mercy of God.
1862 One
commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe the
standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a
grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent.
1863 Venial sin
weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes
the soul's progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the
moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin
disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not
break the covenant with God. With God's grace it is humanly reparable.
"Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship
with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness."134
While he is in
the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not
despise these sins which we call "light": if you take them for light
when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects
makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a
heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession.135
1864
"Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but
the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven."136 There are no
limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his
mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation
offered by the Holy Spirit.137 Such hardness of heart can lead to final
impenitence and eternal loss.
五、罪的泛濫
人越是犯罪，便越要犯罪
1865 犯了一個罪又犯一個罪。同樣的罪犯得多了，養成了壞的習慣，以致產生邪惡的嗜好，造成良心的麻木，影響人對善惡的具體判斷。因此，人越是犯罪，便越要犯罪，罪也便這樣繁殖和泛濫起來了。
所謂七罪宗，就是犯罪的壞習慣。
1866 犯罪的壞習慣，可以依照它們所相反的德行來分類，也可以依照我們向來所熟悉的七罪宗來分類，所謂七罪宗，就是驕傲、慳吝、迷色、忿怒、嫉妒、貪饕、懶惰。
對別人所犯的罪，我們也有應負的責任嗎？
1867 罪原來是各人自己的行為。但是在有些情況中我們也對別人所犯的罪負有責任。那就是︰
－當我們直接地并心甘情愿地參與別人的犯罪行為。
－當我們命令別人做犯罪的行為，給他出主意，稱贊他的作為，向他表示同意。
－當我們有責任檢舉和阻止別人的犯罪行為而不盡這份責任。
－當我們庇護犯罪的人。
1869 這樣說來，罪使人彼此成為共謀者，在他們中間散佈貪欲、暴力、不正義。罪是那些違反天主慈愛的社會環境和社會機構的起源。所謂「有罪的結構」其實無非是個人的罪的形跡與效果。這樣的結構一旦產生了，便促使受它們迫害的人也去犯罪。於是，便產生了一種所謂「社會的罪」。
V. THE PROLIFERATION OF SIN
1865 Sin
creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts.
This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the
concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and
reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root.
1866 Vices can
be classified according to the virtues they oppose, or also be linked to the
capital sins which Christian experience has distinguished, following St. John
Cassian and St. Gregory the Great. They are called "capital" because
they engender other sins, other vices.138 They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath,
lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia.
1867 The
catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "sins that cry to
heaven": the blood of Abel,139 the sin of the Sodomites,140 the cry of the
people oppressed in Egypt,141 the cry of the foreigner, the widow, and the
orphan,142 injustice to the wage earner.143
1868 Sin is a
personal act. Moreover, we have a responsibility for the sins committed by
others when we cooperate in them:
- by
participating directly and voluntarily in them;
- by ordering,
advising, praising, or approving them;
- by not
disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so;
- by protecting
evil-doers.
1869 Thus sin
makes men accomplices of one another and causes concupiscence, violence, and
injustice to reign among them. Sins give rise to social situations and
institutions that are contrary to the divine goodness. "Structures of
sin" are the expression and effect of personal sins. They lead their
victims to do evil in their turn. In an analogous sense, they constitute a
"social sin."144
內容要點
1870 一、「天主把眾人都禁錮在背叛之中，是為要憐憫眾人。」
1871 二、罪是相反永恆法則的一句話，一個行動，一個意愿，是對天主的一種凌辱，是對天主的不服從，與耶穌的服從完全相反。
1872 三、罪相反理性，損害人的本性，破壞人類的團結。
1873 四、罪的根源在人的心中，其類別及其輕重，主要是以其對象來決定。
1874 五、明知故意在大事上違背天主的誡命，相反人生的終向，是犯大罪，大罪毀了靈魂上的愛德，沒有愛德不能得救，所以誰犯了大罪，若不及時悔改，要下地獄受永罰。
1875 六、小罪是倫理上的錯亂，它并不毀了靈魂上的愛德，小罪的遺禍可藉著靈魂上的愛德予以補救。
1876 七、屢次犯罪，即使是小罪也會養成惡習，七罪宗就是這樣養成的。
IN BRIEF
1870 "God
has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all"
(Rom 11:32).
1871 Sin is an
utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law (St. Augustine,
Faust 22:PL 42, 418). It is an offense against God. It rises up against God in
a disobedience contrary to the obedience of Christ.
1872 Sin is an
act contrary to reason. It wounds man's nature and injures human solidarity.
1873 The root
of all sins lies in man's heart. The kinds and the gravity of sins are
determined principally by their objects.
1874 To choose
deliberately - that is, both knowing it and willing it - something gravely
contrary to the divine law and to the ultimate end of man is to commit a mortal
sin. This destroys in us the charity without which eternal beatitude is
impossible. Unrepented, it brings eternal death.
1875 Venial sin
constitutes a moral disorder that is reparable by charity, which it allows to
subsist in us.
1876 The
repetition of sins - even venial ones - engenders vices, among which are the
capital sins.
