Conferences on the Virtues
By Fr. Bruno Cocuzzi, ocd
Number 87
Virtue of
Truth… continued
In last month’s
conference, we had stated two principles concerning the telling of lies and the
concealing of truth. We go on now to
cite the third of the principles that govern this aspect of moral theology:
Principle
III – It is not always permissible to conceal the truth.
The right to
make use of broad mental reservations or to use equivocal language for the
purpose of concealing privileged information does, at times, come face to face
with obligations or duties of a higher order, such as those imposed by faith,
or Charity or Justice. In such
circumstances the obligation of a higher order prevails, so that one is morally
bound to tell the truth, and not conceal it.
Were one to conceal the truth in such instances, he would commit a
double sin, a sin against truthfulness and a sin against the other virtue in
question. For example: at times, one if obliged:
(1) To
profess openly the truths of our Faith.
In the event someone were to ask us, whether one-on-one or in the
presence of others, a question concerning what we must believe in order
to be saved, then we are obliged to state the truth, no matter what
disadvantage or harm might accrue to us or others as a result. Here there is a twofold higher duty. One imposed by the supernatural virtue of
Faith, the other by that of Charity, since the eternal salvation of the
hearer(s) is at stake.
(2) By
reason of one’s teaching office, to teach the truth concerning knowledge of the
particular subject he/she has undertaken to teach. It is a matter of Justice because of the contract entered into to
teach it.
Likewise,
the virtue of Justice obliges an individual to speak the truth on those
occasions when he/she is called to be a witness in a judicial investigation.
The
last example pertains to the bearing of false witness, which is
forbidden by the Eighth Commandment of the Decalogue. The gravity of violating this precept is based upon its threefold
deformity, which is hateful to God and damaging both to society and to our
neighbor.
(a) It
violates legal justice, and thus damages the common good.
(b) It
violates commutative justice, and thus is harmful to neighbor.
(c) It
is contrary to the Virtue of Religion, since the testimony is given under oath,
and thus grievously offends God by calling upon Him to be a party to the
deception.
By its very
nature, it is a grievous sin to perjure oneself because of reason (c) given
above. But there are occasions when one
might promise to tell the truth, although not in a courtroom situation (and
hence not under oath). Then it is
possible that circumstances could alter the gravity of bearing false witness in
such instances. These would be
(1) Making
the promise without sufficient reflection or deliberation, and
(2) When
the matters at issue are not of a serious nature and thus not likely to cause
anyone serious harm.
Whenever
speaking falsely violates the virtue of Justice, repentance therefore includes
the efficacious intention of making reparation for whatever harm comes to
another as a consequence of the falsehood.
At the very least, that requires, of course, a retraction of the false
statements, and perhaps, also, compensation for any other kind of damage that
may be done to a person as a result of his relying upon or otherwise acting
upon the erroneous information.
Article
II – The Different Kinds of Lies…
In view of the
means by which they are expressed, untruths are distinguished into
(i)
Lies strictly speaking, and
(ii)
Simulation
The former is
committed by using spoken or written words; the latter by deeds (conduct). As we saw, hypocrisy is a very special kind
of simulation.
In view of the motivation
behind the falsehood, the expression thereof is distinguished into
1. Boasting,
and
2. What
my textbook labels irony.
The former is a
lie that goes above and beyond the truth, whereas the latter, in
the sense the author uses it, does not come up to or express the whole
truth.
In the original
Latin, from the Greek, irony means dissembling, or, feigned ignorance. In modern usage, the word irony has
several meanings.
Simulation
is the use of external deeds or signs that express exactly the opposite of what
one has in mind. As for example, if one
were to show signs of friendship toward a person whom he hates/dislikes in his
heart. But we have to be careful
here. It is possible that we love
someone because we sincerely and deliberately (in our hearts, that is) desire
what is good and beneficial for that person’s eternal salvation, even though,
at the same time, we may experience uncontrollable feelings of dislike
for that person. To show signs of
friendship to one such person would not be simulation. Feelings, after all, are never by
themselves, a reliable basis for conduct, nor as a basis for assessing the
true state of our soul before God.
Hypocrisy
consists of those deliberate acts of simulation by means of
which someone gives the impression of being just or holy, whereas, in reality,
he is not. This differs, of course,
from hiding (not telling everybody) our grievous sins. However, it is often necessary that we
acknowledge ourselves to be sinners, lest we give a false impression, or, by
our silence, allow others to think of us as better than we really are. The reason we don’t tell everybody what our
particular sins are (or have been) is that to do so would surely scandalize the
listener.
Hypocrisy is a
mortal sin whenever someone deliberately intends to keep committing certain
mortal sins, but nevertheless wants others to think he/she is a good and devout
person. A variation of hypocrisy that
is also seriously sinful is committed whenever someone embraces heretical
doctrine in his heart, but, by his conduct, keeps the fact hidden from the
lawful Church authorities.
Boasting,
which we have defined above, is only seriously sinful when it does grievous
injury to God or to our neighbor. To
boast of the serious sins one has committed, as if they were something worthy
of esteem and admiration, certainly offends God seriously and causes grave harm
to (scandalizes) the innocent. To boast
of virtuous deeds performed would still be a sin, but because good deeds ARE
worthy of esteem and admiration, the sin would only be venial.
Irony,
which we have defined above, is also a form of speaking not quite the truth. This happens whenever someone:
(1) Accuses
himself of having a greater degree of unworthiness than is the actual fact, or
of having a defect he does not indeed have.
(2) Denies
he has as great a degree of virtue or merit as he really does possess.
This
too, is a venial (slight) sin, even slighter than boasting about one’s good
deeds and virtues.
As
an aside: My Novice Master (Fr. Thomas
Kilduff, OCD, may he rest in peace) once referred to what we here call irony as
humility with a hook. One who
deliberately disparages himself when speaking to his friends and acquaintances
is usually fishing for compliments.
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