Gen 18, 16-20 Their sin is so grave

(Gen 18, 16-20) Their sin is so grave

[16] The men set out from there and looked down toward Sodom; Abraham was walking with them, to see them on their way. [17] The LORD reflected: "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, [18] now that he is to become a great and populous nation, and all the nations of the earth are to find blessing in him? [19] Indeed, I have singled him out that he may direct his sons and his posterity to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD may carry into effect for Abraham the promises he made about him." [20] Then the LORD said: "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave,

(CCC 2571) Because Abraham believed in God and walked in his presence and in covenant with him (Cf. Gen 15:6; 17:1 f.), the patriarch is ready to welcome a mysterious Guest into his tent. Abraham's remarkable hospitality at Mamre foreshadows the annunciation of the true Son of the promise (Cf. Gen 18:1-15; Lk 1:26-38). After that, once God had confided his plan, Abraham's heart is attuned to his Lord's compassion for men and he dares to intercede for them with bold confidence (Cf. 18:16-33). (CCC 1865) Sin creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root. (CCC 1867) The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "sins that cry to heaven": the blood of Abel (Cf. Gen 4:10), the sin of the Sodomites (Cf. Gen 18:20; 19:13), the cry of the people oppressed in Egypt (Cf. Ex 3:7-10), the cry of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan (Cf. Ex 20:20-22), injustice to the wage earner (Cf. Deut 24:14-15; Jas 5:4).