Dear Ali:

Sorry for the delay in responding.

In the Catholic Church, canon law actually defines these issues of Vows. Since you are not a Catholic you are not bound by Catholic canon law, but perhaps it can help you.

I'll quote the entire Canon for the benefit of those wondering about the whole subject of vows, and then explain it for your case:

Can. 1191 ß1 A vow is a deliberate and free promise made to God, concerning some good which is possible and better. The virtue of religion requires that it be fulfilled.

ß2 Unless they are prohibited by law, all who have an appropriate use of reason are capable of making a vow.

ß3 A vow made as a result of grave and unjust fear or of deceit is by virtue of the law itself invalid.

Can. 1192 ß1 A vow is public if it is accepted in the name of the Church by a lawful Superior; otherwise, it is private.

ß2 It is solemn if it is recognized by the Church as such; otherwise, it is simple.

ß3 It is personal if it promises an action by the person making the vow; real, if it promises some thing; mixed, if it has both a personal and a real aspect.

Can. 1193 Of its nature a vow obliges only the person who makes it.

Can. 1194 A vow ceases by lapse of the time specified for the fulfillment of the obligation, or by a substantial change in the matter promised, or by cessation of a condition upon which the vow depended or of the purpose of the vow, or by dispensation, or by commutation.

Can. 1195 A person who has power over the matter of a vow can suspend the obligation of the vow for such time as the fulfillment of the vow would affect that person adversely.

Can. 1196 Besides the Roman Pontiff, the following can dispense from private vows, provided the dispensation does not injure the acquired rights of others;

1ƒ the local Ordinary and the parish priest, in respect of all their own subjects and also of peregrini;

2ƒ the Superior of a religious institute or of a society of apostolic life, if these are clerical and of pontifical right, in respect of members, novices and those who reside day and night in a house of the institute or society;

3ƒ those to whom the faculty of dispensing has been delegated by the Apostolic See or by the local Ordinary.

Can. 1197 What has been promised by private vow can be commuted into something better or equally good by the person who made the vow. It can be commuted into something less good by one who has authority to dispense in accordance with Can. 1196.

Can. 1198 Vows taken before religious profession are suspended as long as the person who made the vow remains in the religious institute.

These canons can provide some guidance for you in principle. As such Canon 1194 would be applicable for your case, at least in general principle. Your situation has changed in terms of a change in your conscience that leads you into another direction. Thus, the vow ceases.

That answers your direct question, but I must comment on the vow and your changed opinions. Your vow was laudable, but from a Catholic point-of-view your change of opinion about erotic photography is a problem. Your first instinct to make the vow was the morally right thing to do. Since you are not Catholic, however, you are not bound by Catholic moral values

Artwork depicting nudes, in-and-of-itself, when done as true art are not necessarily a problem, but erotic depictions can be a problem because they may incite the viewer to lust. We believe that using the female or male form in that way does not give dignity to the person in the picture or to the viewer.

The human form is beautiful as all that God made is beautiful, but because our bodies are God's creation we need to be respectful to the person and give that person the dignity that a child of God deserves. The use of our bodies with erotic immodesty does not give dignity to the person. The virtue of proper modesty is what God teaches. Thus, I would have to disagree with your justifications to support your decision.

Here is the Church's teaching on modesty:

2521 Purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness. It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their solidarity.

2522 Modesty protects the mystery of persons and their love. It encourages patience and moderation in loving relationships; it requires that the conditions for the definitive giving and commitment of man and woman to one another be fulfilled. Modesty is decency. It inspires one's choice of clothing. It keeps silence or reserve where there is evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. It is discreet.

2523 There is a modesty of the feelings as well as of the body. It protests, for example, against the voyeuristic explorations of the human body in certain advertisements, or against the solicitations of certain media that go too far in the exhibition of intimate things. Modesty inspires a way of life which makes it possible to resist the allurements of fashion and the pressures of prevailing ideologies.

2524 The forms taken by modesty vary from one culture to another. Everywhere, however, modesty exists as an intuition of the spiritual dignity proper to man. It is born with the awakening consciousness of being a subject. Teaching modesty to children and adolescents means awakening in them respect for the human person.

2525 Christian purity requires a purification of the social climate. It requires of the communications media that their presentations show concern for respect and restraint. Purity of heart brings freedom from widespread eroticism and avoids entertainment inclined to voyeurism and illusion.

2526 So called moral permissiveness rests on an erroneous conception of human freedom; the necessary precondition for the development of true freedom is to let oneself be educated in the moral law. Those in charge of education can reasonably be expected to give young people instruction respectful of the truth, the qualities of the heart, and the moral and spiritual dignity of man.

2527 "The Good News of Christ continually renews the life and culture of fallen man; it combats and removes the error and evil which flow from the ever-present attraction of sin. It never ceases to purify and elevate the morality of peoples. It takes the spiritual qualities and endowments of every age and nation, and with supernatural riches it causes them to blossom, as it were, from within; it fortifies, completes, and restores them in Christ."

You must follow your own conscience, of course, according to your spiritual understandings, but hopefully this answer has informed your conscience, or at least given you food for thought.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary