Can you please shed some light on gossip!

[GRATEFULONEjim]

My wife and I have been talking and she is really concerned that her conversations often tend to include gossip. In the eyes of God and the CC, what constitutes gossip? Does it have to be a demeaning statement or is it as simple as repeating something that you were told?

 

[PJM]

=GRATEFULONEjim;7831397]My wife and I have been talking and she is really concerned that her conversations often tend to include gossip. In the eyes of God and the CC, what constitutes gossip? Does it have to be a demeaning statement or is it as simple as repeating something that you were told?

Repeating ANYTHING not complementary about another EVEN IF TRUE. Lying about someone; or revealing anything told to you in secret!

Entent and actual damagde done can make it a Mortal Sin:

GOSSIP

Here is the Defination from Fr. hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary:

“Idle talk, especially about others. The morality of gossip is determined by the degree to which time is wasted in useless conversation, by the failure in justice or charity committed against others, and by the damage done to people’s reputation by those who gossip.” End QUOTE

God Bless,
Pat

 

[Monica4316]

I think it’s safest to just not say anything negative about people.

 

[William_Pitts]

My wife and I have been talking and she is really concerned that her conversations often tend to include gossip. In the eyes of God and the CC, what constitutes gossip? Does it have to be a demeaning statement or is it as simple as repeating something that you were told?

From the catechism:

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 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.

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.

Continued…

 

[William_Pitts]

**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]

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.