Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 288 Part I.

YOUCAT Question n. 288 - Part I. Is man responsible for everything he does?

(Youcat answer) Man is responsible for everything he does consciously and voluntarily.

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 1734) Freedom makes man responsible for his acts to the extent that they are voluntary. Progress in virtue, knowledge of the good, and ascesis enhance the mastery of the will over its acts. (CCC 1735) Imputability and responsibility for an action can be diminished or even nullified by ignorance, inadvertence, duress, fear, habit, inordinate attachments, and other psychological or social factors.

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) No one can be held (fully) responsible for something he did under coercion, out of fear, ignorance, under the influence of drugs or the power of bad habits. The more a person knows about the good and practices the good, the more he moves away from the slavery of sin (Rom 6:17; 1 Cor 7:22). God desires that such free persons should (be able to) take responsibility for themselves, for their environment, and for the whole earth. But all of God’s merciful love is also for those who are not free; every day he offers them an opportunity to allow themselves to be set free for freedom.

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 1736) Every act directly willed is imputable to its author: Thus the Lord asked Eve after the sin in the garden: "What is this that you have done?" (Gen 3:13). He asked Cain the same question (Cf. Gen 4:10). The prophet Nathan questioned David in the same way after he committed adultery with the wife of Uriah and had him murdered (Cf. 2 Sam 12:7-15). An action can be indirectly voluntary when it results from negligence regarding something one should have known or done: for example, an accident arising from ignorance of traffic laws.

 
(This question:  Is man responsible for everything he does? is continued)