Ten Commandments

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Ten Commandments
Question from on 07-13-2007:
When I was small, I attended Catholic School, and the time, Nuns were the only ones teaching in Catholic Schools. But at that time, things were more simple, more innocent it seems (this will give away my age).But the way mortal sin was understood by some of us were, only the sins covered by the Ten Commandments were considered to be "mortal sins". Would you be able to eleborate more on this, whether the seven deadlly sins, etc, are included in the ten commandments? Thanks, Ignorant Yet
Answer by Fr.Stephen F. Torraco on 07-16-2007:
According to the Church's teaching, one of the three conditions for a sin to be mortal is that the action or omission has to be a serious matter. (The other two conditions are that the person must know this and the person must freely consent to the action or omission.) The serious matter is delineated by the Ten Commandments. The seven deadly sins are included in the Ten Commandments. The deadly sin of sloth (sadness caused by thought of God) violates the first and possibly the third Commandment. The deadly sins of envy, greed, lust, and gluttony violate the ninth and tenth Commandments. Lust can lead to the violation of the sixth Commandment. Greed and gluttony can lead to the violation of the seventh Commandment. Envy can lead to the violation of the eighth Commandment. The deadly sin of anger violates the fifth Commandment. The deadly sin of pride violates the first Commandment. You can examine these connections further by turning to Part 3 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church where the Ten Commandments are presented.