The Church DOES teach that we cannot know the state of the person’s soul when they commit suicide, and that repentance is still possible even in the last moment. Furthermore, psychological disorders (which van Gogh had in spades) are considered extenuating circumstances for sins of self-harm, including suicide. His psychological disorders could therefore reduce or potentially eliminate the condition of ‘Deliberate Consent’ and/or ‘Full Knowledge’ for a sin to be Mortal – Mortal sin meaning one that would result in not going to Heaven – and instead suicide would be reduced to a Venial sin, which means that the person would most likely make a stop in Purgatory in order to cleanse the soul of sin before progressing to Heaven.

In order for a sin to be Mortal, three conditions must be present:

-The act is Grave Matter – acts which are specified in the Ten Commandments, such as murder (including suicide).

-The act is committed with Full Knowledge – ignorance of the seriousness of the act can diminish the guilt in committing it.

-The act is committed with Deliberate Consent – meaning that the person must freely and fully choose to commit that act, and circumstances such as emotional disorders and outside pressure to commit the act can decrease or eliminate the guilt in committing a sin.

Even if ALL of the conditions are present for a sin to be Mortal, and therefore result in the loss of Heaven, a person may still repent and be saved. Many Saints of the Catholic Church who have been granted visions of Heaven, Judgement, etc., have reported that a soul is given a period of time after death in which to review their lives and make the choice of their final destination. Each person chooses to go to Heaven, or not, for themselves. God takes no say in the matter – after death each person will know, with perfect clarity, what they deserve and will choose it freely.

Lastly, the Catholic Church teaches that we must never presume that anyone, and that means ANYONE, has gone to H**l. We cannot make that judgement, only God and the person in question knows for sure. H**l is too terrible, and each human soul is too precious, to even consider assuming that someone is in H**l, for any reason. It is sinful to say things like “Go to H**l”, or “[Name] is in “H**l” – even if that person’s actions are objectively sinful, even if the person considered is the worst of tyrants and evil men. When Dante wrote his work “The Divine Comedy”, specifically “Inferno”, he was wrong to give examples of people who might be found in H**l.

So, that concludes today’s lesson in Catholic Theology. (Yes, I am Catholic.) Personally, I am highly inclined to bet that van Gogh did make it to Heaven. Considering the circumstances in his life, there is immensely strong likelihood of extenuating circumstances even if he did, in fact, commit suicide.