|
Doug,
The short answer to your question
is, only God knows. What we do know
is that if someone dies with conscious,
unrepentant mortal sin, they have
rejected God, which will continue
for all eternity (in hell), but to
be guilty of mortal sin three components
must be present:
- The act must be grave matter
- the person must have full knowledge
(of its wrongness)
- and deliberate consent of the
will.
It is at least possible that a suicide
victim was not in their right mind
(hence, no knowledge)
or under such duress that their personal
freedom was lacking (full consent
was absent).
Only God knows the extent to which
the degree of knowledge or consent
was present. Also,
one could surmise that it is also
possible for a person to truly repent
in their last minute or seconds of
their life after the fatal blow was
incurred. God could accept such repentance
if it is genuine.
So with all the internal dynamics
that are possible, we cannot know
if a person has or has not attained
salvation. Therefore, the Church
does allow for funerals and Catholic
burials for suicide victims.
Paul
|
