Moral Theology Part 123

(a) Chast.i.ty in its strictest sense is a virtue that moderates or chastens through reason venereal pleasure, chiefly as to its princ.i.p.al or consummated act (i.e., intercourse, semination) or as to its princ.i.p.al bodily centers (i.e., the genital organs). Hence, there is a twofold chast.i.ty, conjugal and celibate: conjugal chast.i.ty abstains from unnatural pleasure, and uses the natural reasonably in marriage; celibate chast.i.ty abstains from all venereal pleasure, as being unlawful in the single state.

(b) Decency (_pudicitia_) in its strictest sense is a virtue that moderates by the sense of shame venereal pleasure chiefly in its secondary or non-consummated external acts (e.g., looks, conversations, touches, embraces, kisses), which are related to the princ.i.p.al act as being an enticement to it, its preparation, or its external sign and accompaniment. The conjugal act, though lawful, occasions a feeling of shame, and the same is true of the non-consummated acts; but decency is especially concerned with these latter, because they are usually more openly performed than the consummated act. Decency means, then, that manifestations of carnal desire should be conducted with a sense that this desire arises from a lower and rebellious pa.s.sion, removed in itself farthest from reason, and not more suited for unrestrained expression or public exhibition than other lower animal acts. The sense of shame and decency is a protection to the virtue of the unmarried and the married, restraining the former from the unlawful and holding the latter to moderation in the use of the lawful.

2487. Chast.i.ty and decency are not separate virtues; rather decency is a circ.u.mstance of chast.i.ty. (a) Thus, chast.i.ty moderates also the secondary acts, for reason must chastise the pleasure that is taken in these acts, if this pa.s.sion is to be kept in due bounds, (b) Decency moderates also the primary act, for in the use of marriage there should be nothing unworthy, nothing to bring a blush of confusion.

2488. Virginity.--The highest form of chast.i.ty is virginity, which is a purity unblemished that retains the bloom of its original innocence.

Conjugal chast.i.ty uses venereal pleasures moderately and virtuously; virginity abstains from them entirely and virtuously. Virginity is threefold.

(a) Virginity of body is freedom from corruption in the genitals, which means that a male has never had s.e.xual intercourse, that the hymen of a female is inviolate. This physical purity belongs to the virtue of virginity accidentally, seeing that it is the result or indication of the virtue; but it does not belong to the virtue essentially, since virtue is in the soul, not in the body. Hence, one may be virginal in body without the virtue of virginity (e.g., a new-born infant), or vice versa (e.g., a woman vowed to virginity who has been raped).

(b) Virginity of the lower part of the soul (the pa.s.sions) is freedom from venereal pleasure voluntarily experienced. Primarily, this refers to pleasure in consummated acts, secondarily to pleasure in non-consummated acts and internal acts of thought and desire. This kind of purity belongs to the virtue of virginity essentially, since s.e.xual pleasures are the material element or subject-matter of virginity, whose office it is to exclude all indulgence of them. Hence, a person who has had even one voluntary experience of these satisfactions, lawful or gravely unlawful, has lost virginity permanently, though the virtue of chast.i.ty may remain or may be recovered. For virginity cannot continue when its subject-matter has been removed. It should be noted that involuntary pleasures, as in nocturnal pollution or in rape or in pa.s.sive spermic discharges, are not detrimental to the virtue of virginity.

(c) Virginity of the higher part of the soul (the mind) is the intention to abstain from every venereal act in the future. This purity of soul also belongs to the virtue of virginity essentially, being its formal element, since acts of the sensitive appet.i.tes are made moral and virtuous only from the direction and influence of reason and will.

Hence, one who has had no experience of voluntary carnal pleasure, but who intends to marry and use its rights or to act unchastely, has not in the first case the virtue of virginity, or in the second case the virtue of chast.i.ty.

2489. Loss of Virginity.--Physical or bodily virginity once lost can never be recovered, for this virginity means that a certain bodily action or pa.s.sion has not occurred, whereas the loss means that such action or pa.s.sion has occurred. Of course, a miracle could restore bodily integrity. But a more important question is this: is moral virginity, or the virtue of virginity, also irrecoverable?

(a) If the virtue has been lost as to its chief material element, it cannot be recovered. This material element (i.e., the absence of all voluntary seminal experience) cannot be restored, for even G.o.d cannot make what has been experienced a non-actuality. However, it should be noted once for all that loss of virginity does not necessarily imply loss of conjugal chast.i.ty, and that lost chast.i.ty may be recovered by repentance.

(b) If virginity has been lost as to its formal element, and the intention not to abstain was unlawful and naturally, though not actually, productive of semination (e.g., copulation of a completely aspermatic adult, or internal and intense libidinous sin from which accidentally pollution does not result), it seems that the virtue cannot be recovered. For in these cases the sinner wills, at least indirectly, the loss of the chief material element of virginity, and it seems repugnant to reason to ascribe the glory of virginity to one who has sinned in this way. Non expedit regulariter monere poenitentes de eorum virginitate irreparabiliter amissa, sed prstat qurentibus respondere omnia peccata remitti de quibus contritio habeatur.

(c) If virginity has been lost as to its formal element and the intention not to abstain was lawful (e.g., a maid not under vow decided to marry and have children, but changed her mind and decided to remain single), or was unlawful but neither naturally nor actually productive of semination (e.g., external unchast.i.ty of a child incapable through imp.u.b.erty of emissions, or internal and only mildly exciting unchast.i.ty of an adult), the virtue may be recovered, certainly in the first case and probably also in the second case. For the matter of virginity is certainly not taken away by the mere intention to have lawful venereal pleasure, nor probably even by pleasures that do not tend to semination. Recovery of virginity is made in the one case by the retractation of contrary intention and in the other case by repentance and renewal of good purpose.

2490. Conditions Necessary for the Virtue of Virginity.--(a) As to its manner, it seems more probable that this purpose must be expressed as a vow. The reason for this according to some is that virginity is a special virtue only because of the sacred character which religion gives it, and according to others also because of the unshakable renunciation which is conferred by a vow. But it is also held as probable that unvowed virginity may be called a lesser degree of the special virtue of virginity, At least, it is a higher degree of the virtue of chast.i.ty.

(b) As to its motive, virginity must be justified by an extrinsic reason. Chast.i.ty is justified by its own end, which is reasonable moderation. Virginity, on the contrary, is not self-justificatory, since in itself it is unfruitful and without advantage. Hence, it is not praiseworthy unless it serves some higher good than that of propagation, such as a good of the mind (e.g., Plato remained single for the sake of philosophy) or of the will (e.g., the New Testament recommends virginity for the sake of greater devotion to the things of G.o.d). Virginity that results from mere contempt for sensible pleasure would be an excess, and continence embraced merely to escape the burdens of marriage and to lead an easy, self-indulgent, irresponsible life would be selfishness; but virginity followed from an ideal of self-sacrifice which reason approves observes the golden mean (see Pius XII, _Sacra Virginitas_, March 25, 1954).

2491. The Excellence of Virginity.-(a) Virginity has the highest rank among the various forms of chast.i.ty. Every kind of chast.i.ty (pre-nuptial, conjugal, vidual) is of great importance, because to this virtue is entrusted the right propagation of the entire race and the moral and physical health of the individual in the most insistent of pa.s.sions. The material reproduction of the race is indeed a more urgent need than virginity, since without it the human species would die out; and if there were danger of race extinction, it would be more imperative to marry than to remain continent. But if we confine our attention to the ordinary course of things and compare virginity and non-virginal chast.i.ty from the viewpoint of n.o.bility, it must be said virginity is more valuable both to the community and to the individual than the other kinds of chast.i.ty. It is more valuable to the community, since the example of its excellence is a protection to public morals, and its permanence gives the opportunity for a more general and ready service of society. It is more valuable to the individual, since to be occupied with the things of G.o.d is better than to be engrossed in the things of the world, and the unmarried have the opportunity to devote more time with less distraction to higher things. Scripture affirms the superiority of virginity to marriage by its teaching (e.g., Our Lord in Matt., xix. 12, counsels virginity; St. Paul in I Cor., vii. 7 sqq., says that it is the better and more blessed state), by its examples (Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, St. John the Baptist, St. John the Evangelist, and in the Old Dispensation Josue, Elias, Eliseus, Jeremias), and by its promised rewards (Apoc., xiv. 4). A popular philosophy of materialism today makes repressed s.e.x-urges responsible for hysteria and other emotional disturbances, but experience proves that continence benefits both psychical and physical health.

(b) Virginity does not rank first among all the virtues. The theological virtues surpa.s.s it, being its goal; martyrdom and religious obedience are greater, because they sacrifice the superior goods of life and of the will. It may happen, then, that a person in the married state or a penitent (Luke, vii. 36 sqq.) is personally more holy than one dedicated to continence; a married person or penitent may surpa.s.s a virgin in faith, hope and charity, and may be therefore, simply speaking, more perfect.

2492. The Sin of Impurity.--This sin, which is also known as l.u.s.t, is an inordinate desire of s.e.xual pleasure.

(a) Its object is s.e.xual pleasure, that is, the sense of physical enjoyment in the bodily organs or of psychical satisfaction in the lower appet.i.tes of the soul derived from acts related to generation.

Hence, we should distinguish impurity from sensuality (which is an inordinate attachment to esthetic pleasure or other higher sense-pleasure), from luxury (which is an excessive desire of health and comfort), and from the vice called curiosity (which is an over-fondness for intellectual delights, see 2461). But it should be noted that sensual pleasure easily leads to venereal delight, and that intellectual curiosity about s.e.x matters is dangerous, and hence this sensuality and curiosity may be, and frequently are, a temptation to impurity (see below on Temptations to Impurity).

(b) Impurity is in desire, for the pa.s.sions in themselves are indifferent (see 121), and they become sinful only when their abuse is consented to by the will.

(c) Impurity is inordinate; that is, it takes pleasure against lhe dictate of reason. This happens when s.e.xual gratifications are indulged by the unmarried, or by the married in unnatural ways. It is a perversion and a sin to cheat the stomach in order to gratify the palate, because G.o.d willed that the pleasure of eating should serve the nourishment of the body, or, as the proverb has it, because man does not live to eat, but eats to live. Now, s.e.x pleasure has been ordained by G.o.d as an inducement to perform an act which has for its purpose the propagation and education of children, duties that cannot be rightly attended to except in the married state. Hence, those who seek venereal pleasure outside of matrimony, or outside the way intended by nature, act unreasonably, for they sacrifice the end for the means. Instinct guides the animal aright in these matters, but man is a n.o.bler creature and must guide himself by religion and reason.

2493. Kinds of Impurity.--(a) Impurity is consummated when the act is continued to its natural conclusion and complete venereal satisfaction is had. This occurs in semination, which is the termination of the process set up by the impure thought and desire and the realization of its full pleasure. Semination occurs either in the process of coition, or in extracoitional issues known as "pollution." Equivalent to semination, morally speaking, are other emissions or secretions that accompany complete or almost complete gratification, but in which the fluid is not prolific (e.g., the urethral emissions in boys who have not attained p.u.b.erty or in eunuchs, the v.a.g.i.n.al flow in women, urethral distillations). Consummated impurity is either natural (that is, suitable for reproduction, the end intended by nature), as in fornication or adultery, or unnatural (that is, not suited for reproduction), as in sodomy or pollution.

(b) Impurity is non-consummated when not carried to its natural conclusion of complete satisfaction and semination. There are two cla.s.ses of the non-consummated sins, namely, the internal (as in thoughts and desires) and the external or lewdness (as in words, looks, kisses). This happens without carnal commotion (e.g., when a frigid old man thinks with mental pleasure only on the wild deeds of his youth), or with carnal commotion, that is, with an excitement and stimulation in the genital organs that prepares the way for semination.

2494. Gravity of the Sin of Impurity.--(a) Impurity is a mortal sin, because it is a disorder that affects a good of the highest importance (viz, the propagation of the race), and brings in its train public and private, moral and physical, evils of the most serious kind. Man has no more right to degrade his body by l.u.s.t than he has to kill it by suicide, for G.o.d is the absolute Lord over the body and He severely forbids impurity of every kind. Those who do the works of the flesh, whether according to nature (e.g., fornicators and adulterers) or against nature (e.g., sodomites) or by unconsummated sin (e.g., the unclean, the impure), shall not obtain the kingdom of G.o.d (Gal., v. 19; I Cor., vi. 9 sqq.), nor have any inheritance with Christ (Eph., v. 5).

(b) Impurity is not the worst of sins, because sins against G.o.d (e.g., hatred of G.o.d, sacrilege) are more heinous than sins against created goods, and sins of malice are more inexcusable than sins of pa.s.sion or frailty. But carnal sins are peculiarly disgraceful on account of their animality (see 2464 b, 224), and in a Christian they are a kind of profanation, since his body has been given to Christ in Baptism and the other Sacraments (I Cor., vi. 11-19).

(c) Impurity is one of the seven capital vices. The capital sins have a preeminence in evil, as the cardinal virtues have a superiority in good. The preeminence in evil is due, first, to some special attractiveness of a vice that makes it an end for the commission of other sins, which are used as means to it or are incurred for its sake; or, secondly, to a power and influence that is so strong as to hurry those under its sway into various kinds of sin. Now, impurity is a moral disease that ravages every part of the soul, its deadly effects appearing in the reason, the will and external speech; for the more one subjects oneself to the dominion of pa.s.sion, the less fitted does one become for the higher and n.o.bler things of life; and the more ign.o.ble the inner life, the more vulgar, cheap and degrading will be the conversation.

Hence, the Fathers trace back to impurity the following sins of imprudence in the mind: wrong apprehension, about the end or purpose of life, and precipitancy in deliberation, thoughtlessness in decision, inconstancy in direction, in reference to the means to the end (see 1693 sqq.). They also trace to impurity the following sins in the will: as to the end, voluptuarism (which subordinates all to fleshly pleasure) and hatred of G.o.d (which abhors the Supreme Lawgiver who forbids and punishes l.u.s.t); as to the means, love of the present and horror of the future life (since the carnal man revels in bodily pleasures and dreads the thought of death and judgment). Finally, they trace the following sins of the tongue to the vice of impurity: the subject of the lewd man's talk is filthy, for out of the heart the mouth speaketh (Matt., xii. 34), the expression itself is foolish, since pa.s.sion clouds his mind, the origin of his talk is emptiness of mind which shows itself in frivolous words, and his purpose is unsuitable amus.e.m.e.nt, which leads to farcical or vulgar jokes.

2495. Evil Fruits of Impurity.--In addition to these moral consequences, impurity is also prolific of many other evil fruits.

(a) Thus, for the sinner himself it is like a cruel goad that constantly annoys him and takes away his peace (St. Ambrose), like a sword that kills the n.o.bler instincts (St. Gregory the Great), like a descent from human dignity to a condition below the beasts (St.

Eusebius of Caesarea).

(b) For society it is disastrous in many ways, since it propagates dread mental and physical diseases, disrupts the peace of families, brings disgrace and dest.i.tution on innocent children, eats away fortunes and leads up to innumerable crimes of injustice and violence.

2496. Is Impurity Ever a Venial Sin?--(a) By reason of the imperfection of the act, impurity is venial when there is no sufficient deliberation or consent. Invincible ignorance in reference to the sixth commandment itself sometimes happens, especially in reference to internal sins of thought, to external sins of pollution if the person is young, and to other external sins when there is some complication of circ.u.mstances (e.g., kissing and other intimacy by engaged persons, onanism when married persons are poor or the woman sickly); and more frequently there is invincible ignorance about details of the sixth commandment (e.g., about the precise theological or moral malice of what is known to he sinful).

(b) By reason of the matter, impurity according to the common teaching is always mortal if directly willed, but sometimes venial if only indirectly willed. Impurity is directly willed when one posits an act intending to obtain from it unlawful venereal delectation, or perceives that such delectation is already present and consents to it. No matter how brief this voluntary a.s.sent, no matter how slight the commotion of the animal nature, no matter how far from the consummated is the impure act in question, there is always a serious injury done to a great good or at least (exception is made for the case of married persons) the proximate danger of such injury, and hence mortal sin (see 260). That even slight yielding to impurity is a serious peril is the teaching of Scripture (which declares that l.u.s.t has killed even the strongest, Prov., vii. 26), of the Church (which condemns the opinion that libidinous kisses are not dangerous, see Denzinger, Enchiridion, n.

1140), of theology (which reminds us that by original sin reason has been darkened, the will enfeebled and the pa.s.sions strengthened), and of experience (which shows that those who expose themselves to pa.s.sion's flame will be burnt). A small spark of fire is not trivial in the vicinity of a powder magazine, a minute flaw in a machine is not unimportant if it may bring on disaster, a first step is not safe if it is made on a slippery downward declivity.

(c) Impurity is indirectly willed when deliberately and without sufficient reason one posits an act which is not venereal pleasure (whether the act be good, such as a prayer made with great sensible fervor, or bad, such as gluttony, or indifferent, such as reading a book, looking at a picture, taking a bath), but which produces foreseen venereal pleasure (consummated or non-consummated) that one neither intends nor directly consents to. Impurity thus indirectly willed is sinful, because the pleasure is foreseen and permitted without sufficient reason (see 102), or in other words because one exposes oneself to danger of internal defilement (consent), or external pollution without justification (see 260). Indirect impurity is mortal when there is proximate danger of grave sin in the act done, that is, when the posited act _per se_ or from its nature strongly incites the agent to s.e.xual pa.s.sion, as when one gazes long and fixedly at obscene pictures, knowing that always or nearly always this arouses impure emotions. The sin is venial when there is only remote danger of grave sin. This happens when the posited act is not of a venereal kind (an unnecessary conversation on indifferent topics) or is only mildly exciting (e.g., a pa.s.sing glance at an obscene object), or when the agent himself is not greatly affected by it (e.g., when an old man, or one who is of very cold disposition, or an artist whose only thought is the esthetic excellence, carefully studies a picture of the nude).

2497. Temptations to Impurity.--Before treating the various kinds of impurity, we shall speak briefly of temptations that occasion this sin and of the duties of the person tempted.

(a) External temptation comes from the devil or the world, and the duty of struggling against it has been treated elsewhere (see 252, 1455 sqq., 1495 sqq.). Thus, he who finds that certain persons, places or things are for him a temptation to impurity must be guided by the principles given for occasions of sin (263 sqq.); he who finds that another wishes to seduce him into impurity must refuse all internal consent (see 254 sqq.), and must also resist violence when there is hope of success, or when this is necessary to avoid giving scandal or yielding consent (see on self-defense, 1841).

(b) Internal temptation comes from the flesh. It consists in inchoative disturbances or excitements of the organs or fluids that serve generation (e.g., erections, c.l.i.toral movements). Sometimes it is produced involuntarily, without any intention or consent of the will, by physiological states (e.g., conditions of the blood, nerves, etc., due solely to the weather, to disease, to aphrodisiac properties of ailment, to clothing, or position) or by psychical states (e.g., spontaneous images or appet.i.tes of the soul mentioned in 129), and in these cases the temptation is manifestly free from all sin. St. Pius V condemned the teaching of Baius that those who suffer motions of concupiscence against their will are transgressors of the command: "Thou shalt not covet" (see Denziger, Enchiridion, nn. 1050, 1051, 1075). Sometimes the temptation is directly voluntary, as when the pa.s.sion is deliberately awakened for the purpose of sin, and then there is grave guilt (see 2496 b). Sometimes the temptation is indirectly voluntary, as when with the foresight of the pa.s.sion but without desire of it an action is performed that arouses it. In this last case, if there is a just reason for the excitatory action (e.g., a physician sees and hears things that are calculated to be a temptation, but his reason is the exercise of his profession), no sin is committed; but if there is no just reason for the action (e.g., a person reads an erotic book, and curiosity is his only motive), sin is committed, and its gravity depends on the amount of danger to which one exposes oneself (see 2496 c).

2498. Resistance to Internal Temptations.--The fight against internal temptations is of various kinds.

(a) By reason of its subject, the conflict is chiefly in the will, to which it belongs to give or withhold consent; secondarily, in the other powers of the soul and the body, which under command from the will perform acts designed to overcome temptation.

(b) By reason of its manner, the conflict is either removal of the temptation (i.e., cessation from an act which produces the temptation) or resistance, pa.s.sive or active. Pa.s.sive resistance is the suspension of activity relative to the temptation till it ends of itself, as when internally the will neither consents nor dissents, or externally nothing is done for or against the temptation. Active resistance is positive opposition offered to temptation. It is made in two ways: first, by way of flight, as when internally the mind turns away to other thoughts (e.g., absorbing studies, meditation on the pa.s.sion of Christ), or the will devotes itself to other subjects of resolve (e.g., acts of love of G.o.d or of purity), or externally the body is removed or freed from conditions that excite temptation; secondly, by way of attack, as when internally the mind turns against the temptation (e.g., thinking of its dangers, calling on G.o.d to drive it away), or the will rejects the temptation (e.g., by despising it, by expressing dislike, disapproval and unwillingness, by firmly resolving not to yield, by deciding on measures against the pa.s.sion), or when externally the body is subjected to pain or mortification.

(c) By reason of its circ.u.mstances, resistance to temptation is either prolonged, as when the act by which the will resists is of considerable duration or is renewed at frequent intervals, or is brief, as when the act of rejection is momentary and is not repeated.

2499. What Opposition to Temptation Is Sufficient?--Opposition to temptations of the flesh must be sufficient to remove the temptation, when the temptation is due to the continuance of one's own sinful or unjustified act; for one is obliged to cease from sin or the unreasonable. This happens (a) when the temptation is directly voluntary--for example, one who wished to experience temptation and therefore reads a very seductive book must give over this reading; or (b) when the temptation is not directly voluntary and is without sufficient reason--for example, one who experiences carnal temptation due to a book which he reads from idle curiosity must desist from the book. But one is not bound to omit or interrupt necessary or useful acts, such as rest and sleep, prayer and charity; consent should be denied the evil, but the good should be continued.

2500. Insufficient, Harmful and Unnecessary Opposition.--In other cases opposition to temptations of the flesh must be such as is sufficient to keep one from consent, that is, to protect one against the proximate danger of sin.

(a) Hence, that resistance is insufficient which does not strengthen the will. It seems that pa.s.sive will-resistance is of this kind, since it is most difficult for the will to remain inactive in the presence of carnal stimulation or motions of the sensible appet.i.tes without being moved by the evil suggestion. In external resistance, however, pa.s.sive opposition suffices when it alone is feasible, as when temptation grows out of necessary work, or rest that cannot be discontinued or interrupted by active resistance, provided the will registers internally its displeasure or disapproval; but external pa.s.sivity is not permissible when the will needs the help of external resistance, as in the case of vehement and prolonged temptations.

(b) That resistance is harmful which strengthens the temptation. Hence, resistance by direct attack or by formal rejection is oftentimes to be omitted in favor of resistance by flight or by contempt; for it is a common teaching of the Fathers and Doctors confirmed by experience that dwelling on reasons and means of repelling pa.s.sion often adds to its strength, and that resolving mightily and expressly to crush a weak and pa.s.sing temptation often serves only to give it a longer life. It is better to brush a mosquito away than to risk one's neck by chasing it up and down stairs.

(c) That resistance is unnecessary which demands a physical or moral impossibility. Thus, a prolonged act of resistance or one repeated at intervals of a few minutes, or a resistance that includes extreme corporal austerities, is not required in ordinary cases at least. When a temptation is unusually vehement or is due to one's own fault, there should be proportionately greater resistance to offset the greater danger; but when a temptation is only moderately dangerous, it suffices to reject it firmly but briefly and to repeat this when there arises a new crisis or danger and the renewal of resistance is useful.

2501. Weapons against Carnal Temptations.--The most powerful weapons against carnal temptations are spiritual ones, and of these the most necessary is grace, which should be asked in prayer (Wis., viii. 21), especially through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary (see Pius XII, _Sacra Virginitas_, March 25, 1954). But corporal means, chiefly of a preventive kind, should not be neglected.

(a) Physical measures are the observance of what are now often spoken of as s.e.x hygiene for normal and s.e.x therapeutics for abnormal cases.

Special health rules whose observance conduces to good morals are especially the cultivation of habits of bodily cleanliness, of hard mental and physical work, of vigorous exercise and the avoidance of unhealthful habits (such as constipation, drug or spirit stimulation), unsuitable clothing or sleeping conditions. Surgical or medical treatment for structural abnormalities or for mental or bodily diseases that react unfavorably on s.e.x life requires the service of a conscientious and competent physician.

(b) Religious measures are various forms of corporal mortification, such as custody of the eyes and other senses, deprivation in food (fasting and abstinence) and sleep (vigils, night watches), afflictive penances through the use of hairshirts, painful girdles, scourges or disciplines. But austerities must be suited to the health, age, condition, duties and other circ.u.mstances of the person who practises them, and should not be used without the consent of one's confessor or spiritual director.

2502. Sinfulness of Negligence in Resisting Temptations.--It is sinful not to struggle against temptation, since he who in no way resists, not even pa.s.sively, surrenders or yields to sin. Hence, the Church condemned the quietistic indifference to temptation of Molinos (Denzinger, nn. 1237, 1257, 1267). It is also sinful to resist, but only insufficiently, as regards promptness, vigor, manner, etc.