Decalogue: Do Not Slander, Catholic Catechism 2465-2503, and St Thomas Aquinas

Today we will learn and reflect on the Eighth Commandment,
DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST YOUR NEIGHBOR, or DO NOT SLANDER.
Stated positively, we are exhorted to protect the reputation of our neighbor, which is
the opposite of SLANDER, or harming the reputation of our neighbor.
How is it possible to simultaneously slander and tell the truth about someone?
Why does the Catholic Catechism’s section against slander include a reference to the
Vatican II decree on Religious Liberty?
How did the Catholic Church’s experience with fascism in World War II affect the
section on slander?
What do Theodore Roosevelt and his daughter Alice say about slander and gossip?
Bible verses are quoted and referenced frequently in the Catholic Catechism, as well
as in the papal decrees and encyclicals, and St Thomas Aquinas’ Catechism. You can
purchase a Companion to the Catechism that conveniently reprints these verses. We
will quote those verses we find interesting.

Please, we welcome interesting questions in the
comments. Let us learn and reflect together!
At the end of our talk, we will discuss the sources
used for this video.
Feel free to follow along in the PowerPoint script
we uploaded to SlideShare.

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The Eight Commandment in the Catholic Catechism exhorts, “You shall
not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Many people shorten this
commandment to, You shall not lie, and although lying is usually sinful,
this is a shallow understanding of this commandment. The positive form
of the commandment is we should guard the reputation of our neighbor,
it is possible to slander someone while speaking the truth about them.
Gossip can be harmful whether it is truthful or not.
We covered the first section 2464 in the Catholic Catechism in our first
video, where we learned that slanders against our neighbor is also a sin
against God. Slander undermines our covenant with God and our
relationships with our neighbors.
The first section in the Catechism on this commandment is:

CCC 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.
https://youtu.be/CZADtl6Yz74

Do Not Slander: Living In the Truth

In summary:
CCC 2465 The Old Testament attests that God is the
source of all truth, His Word is truth, and His Law is
truth.
CCC 2466 In Jesus Christ is the Logos, and just as
Jesus Christ is the truth, we should live in the truth,
and we will be sanctified in the truth.

LIVING IN THE TRUTH
CCC 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." Since God is
"true," the members of his people are
called to live in the truth.
CCC 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.
"Whoever believes in me may not remain
in darkness." The disciple of Jesus
continues in his word so as to know "the
truth [that] will make you free" and that
sanctifies. 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." To his disciples Jesus teaches
the unconditional love of truth: "Let what
you say be simply 'Yes or No.'"

The next section, CCC 2467, references
the Vatican II decree on Religious
Freedom, Dignitatis Humanae.
Dignitatis Humanae decrees that “all
men are bound to adhere to the truth,
once it is known, and to order their
whole lives in accord with the
demands of the truth,” and it is this
searching for truth that is cited by the
Catechism’s reflections on the
commandment, Do Not Bear False
Witness to Your Neighbor.
Pentecost, by Juan Bautista Maíno, painted ~ 1620

Which leads to the question, what does the
right of freedom of religion have to do with
bearing false witness, slanders, gossiping
and lying? To answer this question, when
we read Dignitatis Humanae, the first
sentence reads: “A sense of the dignity of
the human person has been impressing
itself more and more deeply on the
consciousness of contemporary man.” The
Vatican II decrees repeatedly teach us that
we should concern ourselves with the
human dignity of all people no matter their
wealth or class or race or gender.

CCC 2467 Man tends by nature toward the truth. He is
obliged to honor and bear witness to it:
QUOTING DIGNITATIS HUMANAE:
"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."

(REPEAT) Our video on Dignitatis Humanae Topics reflects on:
• Why Religious Freedom was such a controversial concept and decree.
• How World War II profoundly influenced Vatican II Decrees, especially decree on
Religious Freedom. Vatican II was unimaginable without World War II, it was very
much influenced by the Church’s experience under fascism, and a response to the
modern democratic post-colonial world.
• The American bishop John Courtney Murray’s leadership on religious freedom,
based on the American experience. In contrast, the European experience was
colored by the anti-clericalism of the French Revolution and the communist
persecution of Christians.
• The anti-Semite Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and the SPPX schism. Like many
monarchists, he opposed freedom of religion, particularly in majority Catholic
countries.

https://youtu.be/i_zGeTW9QMI
Dignitatis Humanae Topics include:
• Why Religious Freedom was such a
controversial concept and decree.
• How World War II profoundly influenced
Vatican II Decrees, especially decree on
Religious Freedom.
• John Courtney Murray’s leadership.
• Marcel Lefebvre and SPPX schism.

Before Vatican II, the Catholic Church was deceived into being on the
wrong side of history. Historically, based on her bad experiences during
the French Revolution, which seized church properties and murdered
priests, the church feared democracy and championed the monarchies.
Many of the remaining monarchies were swept away after World War I,
so the church was deceived into supporting many fascist regimes, which
opposed the communism which martyred clerics, and often were anti-
Semitic. Vatican II sought to embrace democracy and the freedom of
religion characteristic of democracy at Vatican II.
This next section has no footnotes, which may mean that Cardinal
Ratzinger or the other drafters of the Catechism, or the bishops chose to
provide pastoral instruction on this point:

Storming the Bastille,
1789, anonymous
painter
This event truly
sparked the start of
the French Revolution

Liberty Leading the
People, by Eugène
Delacroix, 1830,
Commemorates the
French Revolution of
1830, also known as
the July Revolution.

Lenin in 1920 speech in Russia.

https://youtu.be/yYpNrhpmsYw
https://youtu.be/QP9UR8fqfvs
https://youtu.be/LvNynEdZFuM
https://youtu.be/ozEioe6yyY8

CCC 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.

The next section quotes St Thomas Aquinas in his
Summa Theologica. We reviewed these sections and
found them incomprehensible.

Mount Athos, Moni Simonos Petras
Thomas Aquinas is quoted twice from:
CCC 2469 "Men could not live with
one another if there were not mutual
confidence that they were being
truthful to one another." 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."

However, The summarized Aquinas Catechism is
much easier to read, and like the modern Catechism,
is primarily a collection of Bible verses on DO NOT
SLANDER. St Thomas Aquinas first discusses the
courts, since the commandment forbids false
witness, noting that lies should not be told by either
the plaintiff or the witnesses, and that judges should
judge fairly. Today he would also extend this
commandment to prosecutors.

St Thomas
Aquinas, by
Luis Muñoz
Lafuente,
1795
St Thomas
Aquinas, by
Carlo Crivelli,
1476

St Thomas girded
by angels with a
mystical belt of
purity, by Diego
Velázquez, 1632
Triumph of St
Thomas Aquinas,
"Doctor Communis",
between Plato and
Aristotle, Benozzo
Gozzoli, 147, Louvre

(REPEAT) In ordinary conversation:
• Detractors are hateful to God; we should guard the good reputation of our
neighbor.
• We should not willingly seek to listen to detractors.
• The Lord hates gossipers who sow discord among their neighbors.
St Thomas Aquinas would not have approved of Alice Roosevelt, the gossipy
society woman who was the rebellious eldest child of Theodore Roosevelt, who
stitched this message on her throw pillow:
“If you can't say something good about someone, sit right here by me.”
Alice was his eldest daughter of his first wife, Alice, who died in childbirth.
Distraught and grieving, Theodore left her with aunts who raised her, he headed
out west to his Montana ranch.
• Flatterers bear false witness with words of honey.
• Lying is listed last.

In ordinary conversation:
• Detractors are hateful to God; we
should guard the good reputation
of our neighbor.
• We should not willingly seek to
listen to detractors.
• The Lord hates gossipers who sow
discord among their neighbors.
Flatterers bear false witness with
words of honey.
• Lying is listed last.
Gossip, by Antonio Ermolao Paoletti Plauderei, 1900's

Left: Alice Roosevelt 1903 society debut.
Above: Roosevelt family in 1903 with Quentin
on the left, Theodore Roosevelt, Ted, Archie,
Alice, Kermit, Edith, and Ethel.
Alice: "If you can't
say something good
about someone, sit
right here by me.”

Why is lying forbidden?
• Liars choose to be children of
the devil because those who tell
the truth are children of God.
• Liars destroy their reputation
with their lies.
• Liars destroy their souls with
their lies. The lie that wrongs
our neighbor is a mortal sin. It is
also a mortal sin for preachers,
professors, and prelates to lie in
a matter of faith. Sinning
corrupts the soul of the sinner.
Esau sells his birthright to Jacob, by Zacarias Gonzalez Velazquez, 1800’s

The two-generation saga of Jacob and Joseph
revolves around deceit, and the recurring
consequences of deceit in this family. Rebecca
favored her son Jacob, and they plotted for Esau to
sell him his birthright, and to further deceive his
father into blessing Jacob rather than his eldest son,
Esau. Jacob fled across the desert to his uncle Laban,
Rebecca would never see her favorite son again.

Jacob was smitten by Rachel when he met her by the
well; and agreed to labor for Laban for seven years
for her hand in marriage. But on the night of their
wedding feast, when Jacob was quite drunk, Laban
switched his daughter Rachel, or gazelle, for his elder
daughter Leah, or cow. Jacob had to work for Laban
for another seven years for Rachel, though they were
married immediately. Deceit breeds deception.

Alliance of Jacob and Laban, by Pietro da Cortona, 1635
Marriage of Jacob and Rachel, by Workshop of
Pietro da Cortona, 1670's

(REPEAT) Why do people lie?
• For personal advantage:
Out of humility. During confession, some people may confess sins they
have not actually committed.
Because of shame, we would choose not to retract something we have
said in good faith that we realize later is not true.
For desired results, we may lie for gain or to avoid harm.
• “To benefit another, people sometimes lie, such as when they wish to
free someone from death, danger, or some other loss.”
This did not apply to Schindler’s List, where Schindler’s repeated lies
saved the lives of hundreds of Jews who labored in his work camp and
factory.
• Out of vanity, we might lie so others will think better of us.

Why do people lie?
• For personal advantage:
1. Out of humility. During confession,
some people may confess sins they
have not actually committed.
2.Because of shame, we would choose
not to retract something we have said
in good faith that we realize later is
not true.
3. For desired results, we may lie for
gain or to avoid harm.
• “To benefit another, people
sometimes lie, such as when they
wish to free someone from death,
danger, or some other loss.”
Out of vanity, we might lie so others
will think better of us.
Laban searches the tents of Jacob to find the teraphim, or
idols, by Johannes Jansz Bronckhorst, 1655

After much deceitful and complicating wrangling,
after the fourteen years of laboring were done, Jacob
and Laban agreed on a property split. But Rachel,
resentful, deceived her father Laban by stealing his
teraphim, or household idols, sitting on the chest
containing them while claiming her woman time was
upon her. After this, Rachel would not live long.

What is a mortal sin? One practical definition
is that a mortal sin is a sin, if committed
frequently, destroys in our heart our Love for
God as well as our love for our neighbor.
Mortal sins rob us of the capacity to love.
The Catechism defines mortal sin:
CCC 1855 Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of
man by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns man
away from God, who is the ultimate end and his
beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him.
Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it
offends and wounds it.

CCC 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."

What happened in the next generation? Jacob was
distraught over the early death of his adoring gazelle,
Rachel, he favored her only two sons she bore him,
Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph irritated his brothers
with his arrogance, so they sold him to Egyptian slave
traders. What to tell their father Jacob? They dipped
his coat of many colors in animal blood, and lied to
their father, telling him that Joseph was attacked by
wild animals.

Joseph's Bloody
Coat Brought to
Jacob, by Diego
Velázquez, 1630

Do Not Slander: Bear Witness to the Truth

In his life on earth, and when he appears before
Pontius Pilate, Jesus lives in Truth.

CCC 2471 Before Pilate, Christ
proclaims that he "has come into
the world, to bear witness to the
truth." The Christian is not to "be
ashamed then of testifying to our
Lord." 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."

(REPEAT) CCC 2472 The duty of Christians to take part in the life
of the Church impels them to act as witnesses of the Gospel.
The next section is drawn from Ad Gentes, the Vatican II decree
on Missionary Activity, which recognized that the colonial era was
no more, and that the churches in the Third World wanted to be
more independent.
“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.”

CCC 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.
From Vatican II decree on Missionary
Activity, Ad Gentes:
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.

CCC 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.

https://youtu.be/CM31T6J4bXo
CCC 2473 From Epistles of St Ignatius of Antioch:
"Let me become the food of the beasts, through
whom it will be given me to reach God."

CCC 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:

The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer by Jean-Léon Gérôme, late 1800’s
CCC 2474 continued: From Epistles of St Ignatius of Antioch:
“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.”

Martyrdom of Polycarp, Icon from Mt Athos Monastery
From the martyrdom of Polycarp:
CCC 2474 continued: “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”

Do Not Slander: Offenses Against the Truth

The Catechism now discusses the positive form of
the commandment against bearing false witness:
How we should guard the reputation of our
neighbor.

CCC 2475 Christ's disciples have "put
on the new man, created after the
likeness of God in true righteousness
and holiness." By "putting away
falsehood," they are to "put away all
malice and all guile and insincerity
and envy and all slander."
CCC 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. 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. They gravely compromise
the exercise of justice and the
fairness of judicial decisions.

A procession of Cardinals enters St. Peter's in Rome, opening the Second Vatican Council, by Franklin McMahon
CCC 2477 Respect for the
reputation of persons forbids
every attitude and word likely to
cause them unjust injury.
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
objectively valid reason,
discloses another's faults and
failings to persons who did not
know them.
• of calumny who, by remarks
contrary to the truth, harms
the reputation of others and
gives occasion for false
judgments concerning them.

This is similar to the teachings in the Aquinas
Catechism, though in a different order.

There is an interesting verse
from Sirach 21:3
A whisperer defiles his own soul
and is hated in his neighborhood.
Gossip, by Eugen
von Blaas, 1903

https://youtu.be/16HRnyenOVc
CCC 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:
This section is from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola:
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.

https://youtu.be/16HRnyenOVc
If we think the best of our neighbor, even if we are
mistaken, we bring out the best in him. If we think
the worst of our neighbor, we bring out the worst in
him, and if we are mistaken, we risk slandering him.

CCC 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.

These two sections teach us that we should guard
our neighbor’s reputations, we are guilty if we do not
object when hear someone slandering our neighbor,
and we are guilty if we do not defend them, even
sometimes if what is said about them is true.
These following verses describe something that can
lead to slander.

“If your brother sins against you:
• Go and tell him his fault, between you
and him alone. If he listens to you, you
have gained your brother. But if he does
not listen,
• Take one or two others along with you,
so that every word may be confirmed by
the evidence of two or three witnesses.
If he refuses to listen to them,
• Tell it to the church; and if he refuses to
listen even to the church, let him be to
you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”
The New Testament adopts the commandments from the Old Testament, but it does
add one law in Matthew, and interestingly, this is regarding judicial process:
Parable of the unjust judge

Some churches use this verse as justification for the
abhorrent practice of shunning, where they are too
quick to ostracize a member they have judged to
fall short of community standards. As St Augustine
teaches us, we should always interpret Scripture to
increase in us our two-fold Love of God and
neighbor, and shunning does not show love for our
neighbor.

What does this have to do with slander? Simply put, before
you criticize someone publicly for some wrong you think they
may have done, first go have lunch with them to make sure you
are not mistaken and slander their reputation needlessly. This
happened to me recently, I was serving as an officer of my
condominium and was constantly butting heads with a
charismatic board member. For over a year I kept asking him to
go to lunch so we get to know each other better, and it became
a running joke, I would ask, and he would once again say no.

An Interior Scene from a Canadian Pub, by Cornelius Krieghoff, 1800's

I had halted the foreclosure on a destitute owner with advanced
dementia, and this had angered him, and he talked some other officers
into censuring me over this action and other slanderous or overblown
actions, asking me to resign, asking the attorney to send a letter to the
entire community to destroy my reputation!
Long story short, I spent several thousand dollars on my own rebuttal
letter, with big red letters on the envelope: I was censured for halting
the foreclosure on an owner with advanced dementia, so a court
appointed guardian could place him in a facility and sell his unit,
reimbursing us our maintenance fees.

Surely it was proper for me to defend my own
reputation, but if in doing so I criticize my persecutor by
name, would I be trading slander for slander? The
Golden Sayings of Brother Giles would agree with many
monastics and stoics in saying that this would be the
case. We should temper this advice by noting this was
during the time of emperors and monarchs, were there
were no elections in which you could debate the
morality of our public officials.

Martin Luther, who famously said some very un-
Christian things about the pope, argues in the Large
Catechism that it is proper to criticize a public figure in
public where it would not be proper for ordinary
citizens. But is a condominium officer a public official?
Another officer had cautioned that we should not get
too personal, as we were all neighbors who had live
together for many more years. Besides, the
condominium elections were over six months distant.

But in the end, I decided to take the advice of
Theodore Roosevelt, who once commented that
whenever possible, especially in print, even for public
officials, you should strive to praise by name, but you
should strive to criticize anonymously. I just do not
enjoy publicly criticizing anyone, even if you can
argue that they deserve it.

Rough-Riders, Col. Theodore Roosevelt, Kurz & Allison, late 1890’s

Rough-Riders, Col. Theodore Roosevelt, Kurz & Allison, late 1890’s
After all, as St Paul says in Romans,
“None is righteous, no, not one.”

When he was a young author,
Roosevelt submitted a magazine
article that accused the former
President of the Confederacy,
Jefferson Davis, of treason, equating
him to Benedict Arnold, which
resulted in numerous angry
exchanges. Years later, Roosevelt
remembered, “I answered with an
acerbity which, being a young man,
struck me as clever. It does not
strike me as in the least so now.”

Although Jefferson Davis was indeed guilty of
treason, Roosevelt could have been more diplomatic,
since Davis was now an old man struggling to make a
living.

In my mailing I realized that many ordinary residents really did not want to hear
about all this conflict and drama, and my enemy on the board and our President
both had performed admirably in drafting a realistic budget that established
reserves and funded needed capital expenditures, so I praised them both publicly
by name.
But I accused my enemy on the board anonymously as a “charismatic board
member,” which gave him room to call a truce. He told me that his mother had
suffered from Alzheimer’s, that played a part in his remorse.
My main motive was to spread the news about Alzheimer’s, a topic many people do
not like talking about. If you are over sixty, you do not like people reminding you
that there is a seven percent chance you may go mad before you die. Look at these
celebrities who died from Alzheimer’s: Glen Campbell, Tony Bennett, Rita Hayworth,
Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and even James Bond!

https://youtu.be/F9NmDiiPowI https://youtu.be/4ujlV3a7Il8
https://youtu.be/VqR7y0Z8bYk
https://youtu.be/z_SlPLARCxU

In the next section, malicious flattery is condemned,
and the catechism explores when this is a mortal sin
or a venial sin.
Also, boasting and bragging, and malicious ironies
and caricatures, can be forms of slander.

CCC 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.
CCC 2481 Boasting or bragging is an
offense against truth. So is irony
aimed at disparaging someone by
maliciously caricaturing some
aspect of his behavior.

https://youtu.be/PuY5KAyeDXc
From St. Augustine, De Mendacio, On Lying:
CCC 2482 "A lie consists in speaking a
falsehood with the intention of deceiving."
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."

In his book On Lying, St Augustine examines those situations
where lying can be charitable, where lying is truly beneficial
rather than harmful to our neighbor, but he warns that this is a
spiritually dangerous thing.
We discuss the lies that Schindler told the Nazis to save as
many of his Jews working in his camp as possible. St Augustine
discusses how the Hebrew midwives lied to Pharaoh to save
the lives of the Hebrew infants, and the lies told in the stories
of Sarah and Abraham, and especially the constant deceit in
the Jacob-Joseph saga spanning two generations. What about
the lies of Odysseus in Homer?

The remainder of the paragraphs in this section
have no footnotes, it may be for pastoral direction,
which may mean these are proposed answers to
questions that priests are often asked during
Confession.

CCC 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.
CCC 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.

CCC 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.
CCC 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.

CCC 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.

In other words, you have to pay them back, you have
to make them whole.

Do Not Slander: Respect For the Truth

For this next section, Respect for the Truth, there are
only two footnotes, which means it likewise may be
for pastoral direction in confessions.

CCC 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.
CCC 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.

This is another example when speaking the truth can
be slanderous. This is obviously referring to
gossiping, which can be a mortal sin if it is sufficiently
malicious.

Whoever betrays secrets destroys confidence,
and he will never find a congenial friend.
Argue your case with your neighbor himself,
and do not disclose another’s secret;
lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,
and your ill repute have no end.
Joseph's Dream, by
Gaetano Gandolfi,
1790
Dream of St Joseph, by
Philippe de
Champaigne, 1636
Sirach 27
Proverbs 25

Which painting did we use for these interesting Bible
verses? When Joseph learned that his betrothed
partner Mary was pregnant, he decided to put her
away quietly so he would not unduly damage her
reputation. Then the angel appeared to him in a
dream to reveal that Mary was the most blessed
Theotokos, mother of God.
The next section is written for priests hearing
confessions.

CCC 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."
CCC 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.

CCC 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.

Vatican II: Social Communications Media

Mostly of the footnotes in this section refer to the
Vatican II Decree on the Media of Social
Communication or Inter Mirifica. This was not a
controversial decree, but it was rewritten and refined
over several sessions.

Dr Wikipedia summarizes the
themes of Inter Mirifica as:
• The need for pastoral directive.
• The responsibility of the
Church to monitor the use of
social communications and
media and ensure the spiritual
well-being of the Church
community at large.
individual to ensure their own
well-being and to ensure they
are not causing themselves
“spiritual harm”.
media.

The Vatican Church Fathers were not totally satisfied
with this decree, numerous popes since have issued
updates to this decree, including two encyclicals by
Pope Francis on the proper use of social media on
the internet, where now everyone can be a producer
of media.

We are reminded by our Pope Francis that we do not
post to the void, that those reading our posts, those
we attack, or encourage, in our posts are real live
human beings with sensitive souls, that we should
ask ourselves before posting comments: Will this
discussion increase our two-fold Love of God and
neighbor?
We should also remind ourselves that we cannot troll
our way into heaven.

CCC 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.

CCC 2494 The information provided by the media
is at the service of the common good. 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.
CCC 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." Solidarity is a consequence of genuine
and right communication and the free circulation
of ideas that further knowledge and respect for
others.

Coronation of Pope John XXIII
CCC 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.
CCC 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.

(CCC 2497) This section now applies to everyone, since
when we post to Facebook and Twitter, we are all
journalists. Journalists must be truthful. Although the First
Amendment protects defamation against public officials,
the Catechism condemns defamation. We cannot wish
truth into that which we want to be true. Repeatedly
repeating lies does not make them true. Alternate truth is
not truthful, it is a lie disguised as truth, it is gaslighting.

CCC 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." 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. 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 authority should avoid injuring
the freedom of individuals or groups.

CCC 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."

CCC 2499 This section reminds us that Vatican II was
unthinkable without the experience of the Catholic Church
living under the various fascist and Nazi regimes before
and during World War II. We see today various
conservative groups trying to control the media and
education to repress public discussion of history and
political issues.

Do Not Slander: Truth, Beauty, & Sacred Art

Why was this section on Truth, Beauty, and Sacred Art
dropped into the discussion about DO NOT SLANDER? The
Church Fathers wanted to place it somewhere, so this is it’s
home. Most likely, the reasoning is that sacred art should
seek to enhance the reputation of the Church as a whole.
The last few paragraphs provide additional reasons.
Many of the footnotes in this section refer to the Deutero-
canonical or apocryphal book, Wisdom of Solomon, which
was also a favorite book of St Augustine. We plan to do a
video on this book in 2024 or sooner.

CCC 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."

CCC 2500 Continued
[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. 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. I became enamored of her beauty.

CCC 2501 Created "in the image of God," 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,
to give form to the truth of reality in a
language accessible to sight or hearing. To the
extent that it is inspired by 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.
Source: Pope Pius XII, Musicae sacrae
disciplina; Liturgical Music, 1950.

CCC 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."
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.

Sacrosanctum Concilium, the
Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy:
CCC 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.

Bishops approve, or decide, which art may be
displayed in the churches in his diocese, priests and
laymen cannot decide on their own which art they
wish to display, or which songs they wish to sing in
the liturgy. How strictly this is enforced depends on
the bishop.

Other Quotes from Sacrosanctum
Concilium, the Constitution on the
Sacred Liturgy:
“The Church has not adopted any
particular style of art as her own.”
“The Church has always claimed the
right to pass judgment on the arts,
deciding which of the works of
artists are in accordance with faith,
piety, and the laws religiously
handed down, and are to be
considered suitable for sacred use.”

SUMMARIZING DO NOT SLANDER COMMANDMENT
CCC 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)
CCC 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.
CCC 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.
CCC 2507 Respect for the reputation and honor of persons forbids all detraction and
calumny in word or attitude.
CCC 2508 Lying consists in saying what is false with the intention of deceiving the
neighbor who has the right to the truth.
CCC 2509 An offense committed against the truth requires reparation.

SUMMARIZING DO NOT SLANDER COMMANDMENT (Continued)
CCC 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.
CCC 2511 “The sacramental seal is inviolable.” (CIC, can. 983 # 1) Professional
secrets must be kept. Confidences prejudicial to another are not to be divulged.
CCC 2512 Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom, and justice.
One should practice moderation and discipline in the use of social communications
media.
CCC 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.” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 122).

The great Medieval Rabbis, Rashi, Rambam, and Ramban
have interesting teachings about slander and lying, as does
Dr Laura and her rabbi.
We also have the teachings of St John Climacus in the
Ladder of Divine Ascent, and also St Nicodemus, one of the
compilers of the Philokalia, teachings of Eastern Church
Fathers, wrote a remarkable book, Christian Morality,
which explores whether joking and jesting can be a subtle
form of slander.

https://youtu.be/tlTymS2Bxxo
Step 12.1 On Lying, St John Climacus
teaches us, “the offspring of flint and
steel is fire; and the offspring of
chatter and joking is lying.”
https://youtu.be/SLBIdDHRy3A
https://youtu.be/N7GmAMl0sDg https://youtu.be/WAroedUiytY

SOURCES: Since so many of our videos on the
Decalogue use many of the same multiple sources,
we have decided to cut videos on the Book Reviews
so we are not overly repetitive, and we have a video
on Book Reviews for books that discuss the
Decalogue, or Ten Commandments, and on Vatican II.

To find the source of any direct
quotes in this blog, please type in
the phrase to the search box in
my blog to see the referenced
footnote.
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Decalogue: Do Not Slander, Catholic Catechism 2465-2503, and St Thomas Aquinas

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