Is the age of reason a hard-and-fast seven years, or a general rule of thumb?
A viewer notes that Robert has stated on his program that the age of reason is seven years old, and asks whether seven is hard and fast or a general rule of thumb, since people mature at varying rates, citing Catholic Answers and canon law.
Answer
I have no problem treating seven as a guideline rather than a rigid line, and I did not invent the number; the Church did. So if the Church wants to allow it to be a bit higher, eight, nine, or ten, or a bit lower, that is her prerogative. When it comes to judgment, God is always lenient and gives the benefit of the doubt. Unless a law is made crystal clear, that forty means forty and not thirty-nine or forty-one, there is room for variance, and here there clearly is, because people differ: someone with a very low IQ will not be culpable for a long time, and among ordinary children some are sharper than others, so the brighter ones might reach accountability closer to seven or even a bit earlier. So seven is a sound rule of thumb for when a child becomes capable of committing a mortal sin, and I will confirm the canon-law reference, but I would have no problem using seven as the guideline.