By Fr. Paul D. Scalia, The Catholic Thing - What’s the difference between a hypocrite and a sinner? They look an awful lot alike. The hypocrite presents himself one way and then acts another. The sinner deliberately chooses what he knows he should not choose. They both suffer an interior division. Indeed, we ourselves may feel like hypocrites when we sin, when we choose contrary to what we believe. Still, we sense a difference between the two.