Truth

12-15-2024Weekly ReflectionFr. Leonard F. Villa

“Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.[i] Matthew 5:33- 37

The numbers in parentheses refer to the Catechism of the Catholic Church

“Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.[i] Matthew 5:33- 37

The numbers in parentheses refer to the Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Eighth Commandment “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” We’ve seen that it’s sinful to rob others of anything that belongs to them. However, it’s even more seriously sinful to rob others of their good name (see Prov. 22:1). This is what the eighth commandment primarily forbids. It commands us to speak the truth at all times and forbids all kinds of false witness, such as common lying, but more especially the kind of lies that stain our neighbors’ reputation or injure his good name. (2464-2513)

What do we call this kind of falsehood? Calumny, slander, or libel. (2477)

I’ve always regarded it as wrong to talk badly about another, even if I were telling the truth. Is speaking badly of someone else, even when it’s true, also against this commandment? Yes. That particular sin, called “detraction,” is also against this eighth commandment because it injures your neighbor’s reputation. I intended to remind you of this. Now let’s lay out the principles of what this commandment requires of us. First, we’re obliged to respect the name and character of others. Second, it’s wrong even to suspect wrong of another person without good grounds for suspicion, suspicion, because that would be what we call a “rash judgment.” Third, we’re never allowed to tell a willful falsehood. Fourth, there’s such a thing as lying by action as well as by words, and we must avoid both. Fifth, if we have seriously hurt our neighbor’s reputation, we must make it right. Sixth, we’re obliged to keep a secret when we have promised to do so, when our office requires it, or when the good of another demands it.

Is it always a sin of detraction to speak about the faults of another person? Not if the faults are already publicly known, or known to the people with whom we’re talking. Even then, however, such conversation is a failure of charity. We should always keep in mind: The one who has fallen may rise again and become better than we are. Meanwhile we ourselves may someday fall. Revealing the mistakes of other people or expressing our suspicion about their faults is all too common. Yes, a day hardly ever passes when we don’t fail at least slightly in this matter. That’s true.

What about habits such as flattery and boasting? Those are forbidden by this commandment as well.

Is it allowed to tell a lie to keep someone from being punished? No, not even to save ourselves from severe punishment. You see, to lie is intrinsically wrong; that is, it’s an evil in itself that no circumstance can ever make right. So God, who is Truth itself, must abhor every lie.

According to that, it must be wrong to lie even in jest? It would be if you saw that the person with whom you joke were actually deceived. Of course, if what you told were wholly incredible, or you supposed the person knew you to be joking, it would be different. A good definition of a lie is “to communicate with the intention to deceive,” whether by word or by act. (2481) When we lie by our actions, it’s called hypocrisy or dissimulation. The Pharisees spoken of in the Gospels were denounced severely by Christ because of “acting” lies in this way (Mt.23).

Of course, some falsehoods are much more sinful than others, aren’t they? Yes. The gravity of a lie is measured against the nature of the truth that it deforms; the circumstances surrounding it; the intentions of the liar; and the extent of the harm done by the lie. (2484)

Are we obliged, then, to tell our business to everyone who inquires about it? Not necessarily. There’s a difference between telling a lie and evading a question. We’re under no obligation to answer a question that the other person has no right to ask. We may decline to answer or give an evasive reply. (2488-92)

You said that if we injure our neighbor, we must repair the injury. What if what we say is true? It seems to me that it would often be impossible to repair that kind of injury, because we couldn’t deny what we had said. This would be a lie, and always evil. You’re perfectly right, because detraction is precisely that: injuring the character of the neighbor by telling the truth about that person. You might be able to correct the matter with regard to the one you told it to by admitting the sin of detraction.

Detraction seems much the same as calumny. Actually, there’s an important difference. Calumny and detraction both injure a person’s reputation — calumny by saying something false about the person, detraction by saying something true about the person.

This appears to be so serious that we should certainly think twice before we speak. That’s right. Now, I wouldn’t want to make you scrupulous on this subject; that is, I wouldn’t want you to worry about how you might correct mistakes of this kind. If you can recall having seriously injured another person by calumny or detraction, follow the directions just given in trying to correct it. But in minor matters, don’t worry; just resolve to be a little more careful in the future. Lying often arises from jealousy and envy. To borrow the imagery Our Lord once used, people see the “speck” in the eye of those they don’t like and then make a “log” out of it (see Mt. 7:3-5). They exaggerate and even invent charges against an enemy; they would be only too pleased if their enemy’s good name were injured. This is a bad passion to be possessed by. It was jealousy and envy that prompted the devil to lie to our first parents (see Wis. 2:24). If lying could be tolerated, there would be no public confidence, which is so necessary for the welfare of human society. How grand it would be if we could place perfect reliance on every utterance of our fellow citizen! But “lying lips are an abomination to the LORD” (Prov. 12:22). See Noll, John. Father Smith Instructs Jackson: Centennial Edition (p. 148). Our Sunday Visitor.