Q. I have a close family member who has advanced dementia. She has lost her filter and cusses a blue streak, including taking God’s name in vain. Is that sinful?
A. Wow, what a heartfelt question. I commend you for caring for your loved one.
Dementia is a challenge for a family because it takes hold of a person and often times you have little recourse to treatment medically or otherwise. Dementia can steal a person’s identity and it requires an incredible amount of patience, love and understanding. So often, it falls to caregivers, mostly family, to care for a loved one at home or in an institution. So, my prayers and heart go out to you.
When one loses their cognitive faculties, that is, memory, reason, imagination, etc., one is not responsible for what they say and anything that they may unwittingly say is not sinful.
Remember the main elements of a mortal sin: 1.) What you say or do must be serious. 2.) You must have full knowledge that what you are saying or doing is serious and 3.) you must deliberately consent to the saying or action.
Those with advanced dementia do not have the ability to fulfill this criterion and therefore are not culpable of sin. Again, my prayers for your family member and for all who suffer from memory loss or dementia. Trust in the Lord’s Providence for you and try to keep a sense of humor to help you get through it.
This question was answered by a priest of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
