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What Happens to People Who Commit Suicide?

Question:

If someone commits suicide, can he go to heaven?

Answer:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God (2281).

. . . Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide (2282).

We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives (2283).

Individuals who commit suicide are usually suffering from some kind of psychological or emotional condition that overwhelms them and impairs their ability to fully understand and freely choose their actions, and therefore they would not necessarily be culpable for their action.

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