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IMPURITY

A common term for sins of lust, whether internal or external. Internal sins of lust are interior thoughts or desires that are not carried out in practice. They may take on a variety of forms, e.g., taking pleasure in sexual imaginative representations, complacently enjoying previous sinful venereal experiences, desiring unlawful sexual pleasures. Otherwise the sins are external.

All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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