"We believe that in Adam all have sinned. By that we mean that the original sin he committed affected human nature itself. In what way? Through his sin, human nature, common to all men, fell into a state in which it incurs the consequences of his act. This new state, then, is not the one in which human nature first existed in our First Parents. They, in their origin, were set up by God in a state of holiness and righteousness. They had no experience of evil or of sin. But it is their fallen nature which has been passed on to all their descendants.
"These are, in consequence, destitute of the gift of grace that once adorned human nature. They are wounded even in their natural powers. They have incurred a liability to death which Adam and Eve passed on to all their descendants. All that is what we mean when we say "Man is born in sin." In accordance with the teaching of the Council of Trent, we likewise hold that original sin is transmitted along with human nature, and not acquired by imitation. We hold therefore that it is in each one of us as something proper to each person." 2
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