Will people who commit suicide go to Hell?

Question I have a question that I've been holding onto for a while. I remember a while back at camp, when it was the 'question' part of mass, someone asked if suicide was wrong, and Father Paul said that yes, it was the worst sin you could ever commit. I'm not suicidal (not even close!), but I've had a couple thoughts about that. Like, if someone had lived a good christian life, but they struggled with depression or something, and couldn't see any way out other than suicide, would God send them to hell just because they weren't thinking clearly? To me, it doesn't seem to make sense. I've had some issues with depression, and I know how it can really cloud your mind and twist everything around, and I don't think God would do something that horrible to someone who just wanted an escape. what do you think?

Answer

Suicide is what is called a 'grave sin'- this means that it is a very serious sin, that if other conditions are in place, would make it a mortal sin. A mortal sin is a sin so serious that it cuts off your relationship from God. If you die in a state of mortal sin, you go to Hell. Of course suicide is not just a grave sin, but one that kills you as well, so it may be one that sends you straight to Hell.

In order for something to be a mortal sin, though, 3 conditions must be met. 1. It must be grave matter. 2. The person sinning has to have full knowledge of what they are doing. 3. The person sinning must have full control over what they are doing. (Full consent)

So if someone is intoxicated, or depressed, or something, they may not have full knowledge and full consent. Like you said, depression can 'cloud your mind and twist everything around', so while suicide would still be a grave sin no matter what, it may not be mortal sin. So probably not everyone who commits suicide goes to Hell. What we have to remember is that God is merciful, way more merciful than any of us would be, and that He sees all the details of the situation. So what we have to do is entrust people to his mercy.

Incidentally if you or anyone you know is ever considering suicide, the right thing to do in that case is to get help, even if it means compromising your friendship with the individual!

How do Protestants interpret the binding and loosing passage?

There are several ways of interpreting this passage. One is that priests have the authority to forgive sins. (Jesus was explicit in John 20:23 that Apostles have that authority). Another is the authority to teach- because if a rabbi 'bound' something, that meant he was making that the rule. If we bind and loose on Earth, then it is bound or loosed in Heaven- in other words, what the Church teaches as true actually is true. Another is the strange idea that the Church can distribute graces. It's like God gave the Church a storehouse of graces... so the Church can make a decision like creating indulgences, etc.

Another interpretation which would probably be more popular among protestants is the binding and loosing of demons. For a lot of protestants, demons are not just what you picture in exorcisms and stuff, but are actually the source of bad moods, inconveniences, anger, illnesses, etc. (Catholics tend to just attribute these things to nature). There is even a joke, how many pentecostals does it take to change a lightbulb? 5. 1 to change the bulb, and 4 to cast out the spirit of darkness. So you'll often hear proetstants binding and loosing' spirits- something you don't often hear Catholics doing.