What is the difference between mortal, venial sins?
Q. What is the difference between mortal and venial sins, and what are the venial sins? (Illinois) A. A bit of history will help you understand any attempt to answer your questions. In the very early Christian church, during the Roman persecutions of the first centuries, one sin particularly was recognized as the big one, abandoning one’s faith in Christ because of fear of pain or death. That’s the option the first Christians faced, either be faithful to Christ and die, or deny Christ and live. For those who chose to live, and who later wished to return to the Christian faith, elaborate and lengthy public penances, conducted by the bishop, allowed these sinners to be reconciled with the church once, but only once. As time went on, other moral offenses (murder, bestiality, adultery and abortion were among them) required extended public penance. Dying without forgiveness of these sins resulted, so it was believed, in loss of eternal life. Not much formal attention was given to lesser sin
