Yes but there are Catholics who look at the Church as "some organization trying to live in the past...." The majority of Catholics that I know (even practicing Catholics) don't honestly believe that the Church must be obeyed.
Very sad, but I must admit that it is true. Many Catholics reject many dogmas and doctrines of the Church, and they just don't care.
Honestly, why would anyone who believed that the Church was the true Church disobey the Church?
I don't know. People do it all the time!
There are many Catholics, perhaps even the majority, who do not really believe the Church is what it claims to be.
I understand what you are saying, and though I don't think the majority of Catholics believe this, many do. But the fact that they remain Catholic, and recieve the sacraments, but do not believe the Church is the true Church is a very very serious sin, even if they don't think what they are doing is wrong, it is still very serious.
Its like Protestants who don't baptize their children until they are like 11 or 12, though they are not commiting a formal mortal sin, because they have no idea infants must be baptized, it is still very very serious, because according to Catholic teaching those who die without baptism, either by water, desire, or blood, go to Hell, and those children who die without baptism go to limbo.
So though being a pro-choice Catholic may not be a mortal sin, if they don't think they have to obey the Church, or if they don't think the Church is the true Church, what they are doing is very serious, and has serious conseqences. But all of the pro-choice Catholics I know, believe the Catholic Church to be the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and even Kerry has said he believes the Catholic Church to be the true Church. And yet they refuse to obey the Church.
Yes, I admit there are some who think the Church is just a fallible organization, but I know pro-choice Catholics, many of whom are very devout, who believe the Church to be the true Church, but refuse to obey Church teching. And I know that Kerry and his wife and many other pro-choice Catholic politicians have said they believe the Catholic Church to be the true Church, but that Church leaders can't tell Kerry what to do even though they knows that doctrinally the Church can, lol that is cleary disobediance.
First, habit and immaturity can lessen the culpability for sin. Did you not care because you didn't think that what the Church taught was important? Or did you not care because you wanted to do the opposite of good?
I didn't care because I thought it was a woman's right, I thought, as do all the pro-choice Catholics that I know, that the Church is the true Church, but that the Church couldn't tell a woman what to do with her body, and I didn't think abortion was that important, even though I knew the Church taught it was murder. I was commiting a mortal sin, and no matter what you say, over a dozen priests have told me I did, even the most liberal of the liberal.
If you know what the Church teaches, and if you know that Church is the true Church and that you must obey its teachings, and if you know what you are doing is against the teachings of the Church, and still refuse to submit to the authority of the Church, you are commiting a serious mortal sin.
What about a Catholic 5 year old? Or a Catholic who is retarded? Do they know they should obey the Church?
To the best of their ability, yes.
Do you really believe that Kerry or Kennedy believe that they have to accept the teaching of the Church?
They believe the Catholic Church to be the true Church, and for them to knowingly disobey the true Church is a very serious sin. And for Catholics, like you and I, who know that the teaching of the Church must be accepted, to support them is also a very serious, or mortal, sin.
These Catholics who believe the Church is the true Church, how do they explain their pro-choice beliefs?
"It's not the job of the Church leaders to tell us how to vote, to tell women what to do with their body."
Thats what get when I ask pro-Choice Catholics who they can be pro-choice and still believe the CC to be the true Church.
Trent most certainly didn't teach that only Mary and Jesus were without mortal sin.
Like I said, I'll look it up.
St. Therese was told in confession that she had never committed a mortal sin. http://www.ewtn.com/therese/carmel.htm
Wow, I haven't heard this before. But still you got my avatar wrong!

tsk tsk!
Church teaches violating a moral law is a mortal sin if done with the correct intent regardless of the person's culture because moral law is natural law. For example, someone who aborts their child, regardless of their culture, knows that it's a serious sin because it's against natural law. No one has to teach us natural law. On the other hand, the teaching authority of the Church is not part of natural law.
Not all people who abort babies know it is a sin. Many women who have had abortions or support abortions, do not believe it is murder, in my expirence, they believe it is a womens right, and that there is nothing wrong with it.
There is a fundamental difference between having an abortion or carrying out an abortion and not caring that much about abortion.
If you know that abortion is murder and that murder is wrong, or if you know that the Catholic Church is the true Church and must be obeyed, and you don't care about abortion, you are guilty of a very very serious mortal sin.
The thing to remember is that sin is very personal.
Yes, you are very right.
The Church says certain acts are mortal sins but qualifies it by saying that those acts must be performed in a certain state of mind. We are encouraged to seek guidance from a confessor about whether something is a mortal sin or not.
Once again I totally agree with you.
A mortal sin was pounding the nails into his hands. The idea being that a mortal sin requires a desire to separate from God. Or a desire to hurt God.
I disagree.
For example when I was younger I stole a candy bar from the store. I knew what I was doing was very very wrong, I knew it was a serious sin, but I did it anyway, but in no way did I want to hurt God, yes I did know it was a serious sin, but my intention was not to anger or hurt God, my intention was to get a candy bar!
There are many examples in my own life where I have commited serious sins, knowing that they were very serious but doing it anyway, but didn't necessarily doing it to hurt God.
I have never done something just to hurt God! Who would actually do something to hurt God? Who would wake up and say "I'm gunna do that because it hurts God, because it angers him, because it cuts me off from him"?
You can commit a mortal sin and not have the intention of hurting or hating God. You can commit a serious sin, knowing its a serious sin but doing it anyway, without having the intention of hurting God.