You
shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.252
It
was said to the men of old, "You shall not swear falsely, but shall
perform to the Lord what you have sworn."253 ( )
2464
The eighth commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with
others. This moral prescription flows from the vocation of the holy people to
bear witness to their God who is the truth and wills the truth. Offenses
against the truth express by word or deed a refusal to commit oneself to moral
uprightness: they are fundamental infidelities to God and, in this sense, they
undermine the foundations of the covenant.
I.
Living in the Truth
2465
The Old Testament attests that God is the source of all truth. His Word is
truth. His Law is truth. His "faithfulness endures to all
generations."254 Since God is "true," the members of his people
are called to live in the truth.255
2466
In Jesus Christ, the whole of God's truth has been made manifest. "Full of
grace and truth," he came as the "light of the world," he is the
Truth.256 "Whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness."257 The
disciple of Jesus continues in his word so as to know "the truth [that]
will make you free" and that sanctifies.258 To follow Jesus is to live in
"the Spirit of truth," whom the Father sends in his name and who
leads "into all the truth."259 To his disciples Jesus teaches the
unconditional love of truth: "Let what you say be simply 'Yes or
No.'"260
2467
Man tends by nature toward the truth. He is obliged to honor and bear witness
to it: "It is in accordance with their dignity that all men, because they
are persons . . . are both impelled by their nature and bound by a moral
obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth. They are also bound
to adhere to the truth once they come to know it and direct their whole lives
in accordance with the demands of truth."261
2468
Truth as uprightness in human action and speech is called truthfulness,
sincerity, or candor. Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in
showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and in guarding against
duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.
2469
"Men could not live with one another if there were not mutual confidence
that they were being truthful to one another."262 ( ) The virtue of truth
gives another his just due. Truthfulness keeps to the just mean between what
ought to be expressed and what ought to be kept secret: it entails honesty and
discretion. In justice, "as a matter of honor, one man owes it to another
to manifest the truth."263
2470
The disciple of Christ consents to "live in the truth," that is, in
the simplicity of a life in conformity with the Lord's example, abiding in his
truth. "If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness,
we lie and do not live according to the truth."264
II.
To Bear Witness to the Truth
2471
Before Pilate, Christ proclaims that he "has come into the world, to bear
witness to the truth."265 The Christian is not to "be ashamed then of
testifying to our Lord."266 In situations that require witness to the
faith, the Christian must profess it without equivocation, after the example of
St. Paul before his judges. We must keep "a clear conscience toward God
and toward men."267
2472
The duty of Christians to take part in the life of the Church impels them to act
as witnesses of the Gospel and of the obligations that flow from it. This
witness is a transmission of the faith in words and deeds. Witness is an act of
justice that establishes the truth or makes it known.268
All
Christians by the example of their lives and the witness of their word,
wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which they have
put on in Baptism and to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit by whom they were
strengthened at Confirmation.
2473
Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means
bearing witness even unto death. the martyr bears witness to Christ who died
and rose, to whom he is united by charity. He bears witness to the truth of the
faith and of Christian doctrine. He endures death through an act of fortitude.
"Let me become the food of the beasts, through whom it will be given me to
reach God."270
2474
The Church has painstakingly collected the records of those who persevered to
the end in witnessing to their faith. These are the acts of the Martyrs. They
form the archives of truth written in letters of blood:
Neither
the pleasures of the world nor the kingdoms of this age will be of any use to
me.
It
is better for me to die [in order to unite myself] to Christ Jesus than to
reign over the ends of the earth. I seek him who died for us; I desire him who
rose for us. My birth is approaching. . .271 I bless you for having judged me
worthy from this day and this hour to be counted among your martyrs.... You
have kept your promise, God of faithfulness and truth. For this reason and for
everything, I praise you, I bless you, I glorify you through the eternal and
heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, your beloved Son. Through him, who is with
you and the Holy Spirit, may glory be given to you, now and in the ages to
come. Amen.272
III.
Offenses Against Truth
2475
Christ's disciples have "put on the new man, created after the likeness of
God in true righteousness and holiness."273 By "putting away
falsehood," they are to "put away all malice and all guile and
insincerity and envy and all slander."274
2476
False witness and perjury. When it is made publicly, a statement contrary to
the truth takes on a particular gravity. In court it becomes false witness.275
When it is under oath, it is perjury. Acts such as these contribute to
condemnation of the innocent, exoneration of the guilty, or the increased
punishment of the accused.276 They gravely compromise the exercise of justice
and the fairness of judicial decisions.
2477
Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to
cause them unjust injury.277 He becomes guilty:
-
of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient
foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor;
-
of detraction who, without an objectively valid reason, discloses another's faults
and failings to persons who did not know them;278
-
of calumny who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of
others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them.
2478
To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as
possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way:
Every
good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to
another's statement than to condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how
the other understands it. and if the latter understands it badly, let the
former correct him with love. If that does not suffice, let the Christian try
all suitable ways to bring the other to a correct interpretation so that he may
be saved.279
2479
Detraction and calumny destroy the reputation and honor of one's neighbor.
Honor is the social witness given to human dignity, and everyone enjoys a
natural right to the honor of his name and reputation and to respect. Thus,
detraction and calumny offend against the virtues of justice and charity.
2480
Every word or attitude is forbidden which by flattery, adulation, or complaisance
encourages and confirms another in malicious acts and perverse conduct.
Adulation is a grave fault if it makes one an accomplice in another's vices or
grave sins. Neither the desire to be of service nor friendship justifies
duplicitous speech. Adulation is a venial sin when it only seeks to be
agreeable, to avoid evil, to meet a need, or to obtain legitimate advantages.
2481
Boasting or bragging is an offense against truth. So is irony aimed at
disparaging someone by maliciously caricaturing some aspect of his behavior.
2482
"A lie consists in speaking a falsehood with the intention of
deceiving."280 The Lord denounces lying as the work of the devil:
"You are of your father the devil, . . . there is no truth in him. When he
lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of
lies."281
2483
Lying is the most direct offense against the truth. To lie is to speak or act
against the truth in order to lead into error someone who has the right to know
the truth. By injuring man's relation to truth and to his neighbor, a lie
offends against the fundamental relation of man and of his word to the Lord.
2484
The gravity of a lie is measured against the nature of the truth it deforms,
the circumstances, the intentions of the one who lies, and the harm suffered by
its victims. If a lie in itself only constitutes a venial sin, it becomes
mortal when it does grave injury to the virtues of justice and charity.
2485
By its very nature, lying is to be condemned. It is a profanation of speech,
whereas the purpose of speech is to communicate known truth to others. the
deliberate intention of leading a neighbor into error by saying things contrary
to the truth constitutes a failure in justice and charity. the culpability is
greater when the intention of deceiving entails the risk of deadly consequences
for those who are led astray.
2486
Since it violates the virtue of truthfulness, a lie does real violence to
another. It affects his ability to know, which is a condition of every judgment
and decision. It contains the seed of discord and all consequent evils. Lying
is destructive of society; it undermines trust among men and tears apart the
fabric of social relationships.
2487
Every offense committed against justice and truth entails the duty of
reparation, even if its author has been forgiven. When it is impossible
publicly to make reparation for a wrong, it must be made secretly. If someone
who has suffered harm cannot be directly compensated, he must be given moral
satisfaction in the name of charity. This duty of reparation also concerns
offenses against another's reputation. This reparation, moral and sometimes
material, must be evaluated in terms of the extent of the damage inflicted. It
obliges in conscience.
IV.
Respect for the Truth
2488
The right to the communication of the truth is not unconditional. Everyone must
conform his life to the Gospel precept of fraternal love. This requires us in
concrete situations to judge whether or not it is appropriate to reveal the
truth to someone who asks for it.
2489
Charity and respect for the truth should dictate the response to every request
for information or communication. the good and safety of others, respect for
privacy, and the common good are sufficient reasons for being silent about what
ought not be known or for making use of a discreet language. the duty to avoid
scandal often commands strict discretion. No one is bound to reveal the truth
to someone who does not have the right to know it.282
2490
The secret of the sacrament of reconciliation is sacred, and cannot be violated
under any pretext. "The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore, it is a
crime for a confessor in any way to betray a penitent by word or in any other
manner or for any reason."283
2491
Professional secrets - for example, those of political office holders,
soldiers, physicians, and lawyers - or confidential information given under the
seal of secrecy must be kept, save in exceptional cases where keeping the
secret is bound to cause very grave harm to the one who confided it, to the one
who received it or to a third party, and where the very grave harm can be
avoided only by divulging the truth. Even if not confided under the seal of
secrecy, private information prejudicial to another is not to be divulged
without a grave and proportionate reason.
2492
Everyone should observe an appropriate reserve concerning persons' private
lives. Those in charge of communications should maintain a fair balance between
the requirements of the common good and respect for individual rights.
Interference by the media in the private lives of persons engaged in political
or public activity is to be condemned to the extent that it infringes upon
their privacy and freedom.
V.
The Use of the Social Communications Media
2493
Within modern society, the communications media play a major role in information,
cultural promotion, and formation. This role is increasing, as a result of
technological progress, the extent, and diversity of the news transmitted, and
the influence exercised on public opinion.
2494
The information provided by the media is at the service of the common good.284
Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom, justice, and
solidarity:
The
proper exercise of this right demands that the content of the communication be
true and - within the limits set by justice and charity - complete. Further, it
should be communicated honestly and properly. This means that in the gathering
and in the publication of news, the moral law and the legitimate rights and
dignity of man should be upheld.285
2495
"It is necessary that all members of society meet the demands of justice
and charity in this domain. They should help, through the means of social
communication, in the formation and diffusion of sound public opinion."286
Solidarity is a consequence of genuine and right communication and the free
circulation of ideas that further knowledge and respect for others.
2496
The means of social communication (especially the mass media) can give rise to
a certain passivity among users, making them less than vigilant consumers of
what is said or shown. Users should practice moderation and discipline in their
approach to the mass media. They will want to form enlightened and correct
consciences the more easily to resist unwholesome influences.
2497
By the very nature of their profession, journalists have an obligation to serve
the truth and not offend against charity in disseminating information. They
should strive to respect, with equal care, the nature of the facts and the
limits of critical judgment concerning individuals. They should not stoop to
defamation.
2498
"Civil authorities have particular responsibilities in this field because
of the common good.... It is for the civil authority ... to defend and
safeguard a true and just freedom of information."287 By promulgating laws
and overseeing their application, public authorities should ensure that
"public morality and social progress are not gravely endangered"
through misuse of the media.288 Civil authorities should punish any violation
of the rights of individuals to their reputation and privacy. They should give
timely and reliable reports concerning the general good or respond to the
well-founded concerns of the people. Nothing can justify recourse to
disinformation for manipulating public opinion through the media. Interventions
by public authorities should avoid injuring the freedom of individuals or groups.
2499
Moral judgment must condemn the plague of totalitarian states which
systematically falsify the truth, exercise political control of opinion through
the media, manipulate defendants and witnesses at public trials and imagine
that they secure their tyranny by strangling and repressing everything they
consider "thought crimes."
VI.
Truth, Beauty, and Sacred Art
2500
The practice of goodness is accompanied by spontaneous spiritual joy and moral
beauty. Likewise, truth carries with it the joy and splendor of spiritual
beauty. Truth is beautiful in itself. Truth in words, the rational expression
of the knowledge of created and uncreated reality, is necessary to man, who is
endowed with intellect. But truth can also find other complementary forms of
human expression, above all when it is a matter of evoking what is beyond
words: the depths of the human heart, the exaltations of the soul, the mystery
of God. Even before revealing himself to man in words of truth, God reveals
himself to him through the universal language of creation, the work of his
Word, of his wisdom: the order and harmony of the cosmos - which both the child
and the scientist discover - "from the greatness and beauty of created
things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator," "for the
author of beauty created them."289
[Wisdom]
is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the
Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. For she is a
reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an
image of his goodness.290 For [wisdom] is more beautiful than the sun, and
excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found
to be superior, for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom, evil does
not prevail.291 I became enamored of her beauty.292
2501
Created "in the image of God,"293 man also expresses the truth of his
relationship with God the Creator by the beauty of his artistic works. Indeed,
art is a distinctively human form of expression; beyond the search for the
necessities of life which is common to all living creatures, art is a freely
given superabundance of the human being's inner riches. Arising from talent
given by the Creator and from man's own effort, art is a form of practical
wisdom, uniting knowledge and skill,294 to give form to the truth of reality in
a language accessible to sight or hearing. To the extent that it is inspired by the truth and love of beings, art bears a certain likeness to God's activity in
what he has created. Like any other human activity, art is not an absolute end
in itself but is ordered to and ennobled by the ultimate end of man.295
2502
Sacred art is true and beautiful when its form corresponds to its particular
vocation: evoking and glorifying, in faith and adoration, the transcendent
mystery of God - the surpassing invisible beauty of truth and love visible in
Christ, who "reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his
nature," in whom "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily."296
This spiritual beauty of God is reflected in the most holy Virgin Mother of
God, the angels, and saints. Genuine sacred art draws man to adoration, to
prayer, and to the love of God, Creator and Savior, the Holy One and
Sanctifier.
2503
For this reason, bishops, personally or through delegates, should see to the
promotion of sacred art, old and new, in all its forms and, with the same
religious care, remove from the liturgy and from places of worship everything
which is not in conformity with the truth of faith and the authentic beauty of
sacred art.297
IN
BRIEF
2504
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (⇒ Ex 20:16). Christ's
disciples have "put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in
true righteousness and holiness" (⇒
Eph 4:24).
2505
Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in
deeds and truthful in words, and guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and
hypocrisy.
2506
The Christian is not to "be ashamed of testifying to our Lord" (⇒ 2 Tim 1:8) in deed and
word. Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith.
2507
Respect for the reputation and honor of persons forbids all detraction and
calumny in word or attitude.
2508
Lying consists in saying what is false with the intention of deceiving the
neighbor who has the right to the truth.
2509
An offense committed against the truth requires reparation.
2510
The golden rule helps one discern, in concrete situations, whether or not it
would be appropriate to reveal the truth to someone who asks for it.
2511
"The sacramental seal is inviolable" (⇒ CIC, can. 983 # 1). Professional
secrets must be kept. Confidences prejudicial to another are not to be
divulged.
2512
Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom, and justice. One
should practice moderation and discipline in the use of the social
communications media.
2513
The fine arts, but above all sacred art, "of their nature are directed
toward expressing in some way the infinite beauty of God in works made by human
hands. Their dedication to the increase of God's praise and of his glory is
more complete, the more exclusively they are devoted to turning men's minds
devoutly toward God" (SC 122).
GO TO:
SECTION TWO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
CHAPTER TWO YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF
CHAPTER TWO YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF
Thou shall honor your father and your mother
Thou shall not murder
Thou shall not commit adultery
Thou shall not steal
Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor
Thou shall not covet thy neighbors property
Thou shall not covet anything of they neighbor
SECTION TWO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
PART THREE LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION TWO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
SECTION TWO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
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