Cheating/lying not a sin?

[onetruechurch]

I was listening to Catholic Answers the other day and I think(hope) I misunderstood the Chaplin when he was telling the caller it was okay to cheat. The caller was a truck driver who was only allowed by law to drive eleven hours or less a day. He then had to write on his daily log how many hours he drove. He told the chaplin that he was worried that he might be sinning if he wrote eleven hours down even though he usually drove fourteen. The driver said he was capable of driving more than eleven so he didn’t think he was doing anything wrong. The priest made it sound like he was to let his conscience be his guide. He wouldn’t come right out and say that lying and cheating was a sin not to mention how dangerous it was to drive 14 hours a day even though the driver thought he was safe.
I was so frustrated with his answer. Did anyone else hear the show and please tell me I didn’t hear him right. If what I thought he said was right, then we can use our consciences every time we want to run a stop light, drive with an expired license, not stop at a train track when the lights start to flash, etc, etc.
I also don’t think people should cheat when they record their hours. I am an employer and I expect my employees to “honestly” record their hours when they work for me.

 

[briang72]

I heard it too. The question was whether it was a mortal sin to incorrectly log hours. It was a very complicated question because it also evolved into whether or not this venial sin could become mortal. I think they both agreed that he was sinning at least venially ,and that he had no intention to change his ways.

Father explained that without more details on the nature of the law that the truck driver is to follow, he was uncomfortable calling this a mortal sin, and likewise uncomfortable saying that it was capable of making a transition from venial to mortal.

Father mentioned that it is left up to the truck driver’s conscience regarding whether he can drive longer hours than the average truck driver, and whether he is truly endangering himself and his fellow drivers by extending the allowed hours. It would be mortal sin to endanger human life in this manner.

It was one of the best questions I have heard yet on CAL. I get tired of hearing what I would consider to be questions that could easily be researched online. Just try to research venial versus mortal sin online, and what types of sin are mortal or venial, and it won’t be too long before every strand of hair on your head is laying on the floor in front of you.

 

[onetruechurch]

I would hate to think that any truck driver listening to the discussion would get the idea that the “law” stating drivers are not to drive more than 11 hours is just a suggestion. Truck drivers are the modern day “cowboys”. I mean that in a loving way. They are free spirits and are given only one important “law” that not only protects them but protects the rest of us drivers. If most of them believe it is okay to lie about their hours then what else are they lying about? I wouldn’t want it on my conscience if I were the one giving the advice that it might be okay to drive 14 hours a day. The truck drivers association probably knows what is safest. If a “macho” driver pushes his limit thinking he can drive 14 1/2 hours he just might be a statistic! I don’t want that driver on a highway next to me.

 

[thistle]

I was listening to Catholic Answers the other day and I think(hope) I misunderstood the Chaplin when he was telling the caller it was okay to cheat. The caller was a truck driver who was only allowed by law to drive eleven hours or less a day. He then had to write on his daily log how many hours he drove. He told the chaplin that he was worried that he might be sinning if he wrote eleven hours down even though he usually drove fourteen. The driver said he was capable of driving more than eleven so he didn’t think he was doing anything wrong. The priest made it sound like he was to let his conscience be his guide. He wouldn’t come right out and say that lying and cheating was a sin not to mention how dangerous it was to drive 14 hours a day even though the driver thought he was safe.
I was so frustrated with his answer. Did anyone else hear the show and please tell me I didn’t hear him right. If what I thought he said was right, then we can use our consciences every time we want to run a stop light, drive with an expired license, not stop at a train track when the lights start to flash, etc, etc.
I also don’t think people should cheat when they record their hours. I am an employer and I expect my employees to “honestly” record their hours when they work for me.

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.”

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 someone into error. 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.

 

[Katie1723]

A friend of mine is a truck driver. There is indeed a law stating the number of hours a driver is allowed to drive. If they go beyond those limits, they are breaking the law. If they change their log books to reflect their hours, they are breaking the law AND they are indeed sinning.
Kathy

 

[onetruechurch]

A friend of mine is a truck driver. There is indeed a law stating the number of hours a driver is allowed to drive. If they go beyond those limits, they are breaking the law. If they change their log books to reflect their hours, they are breaking the law AND they are indeed sinning.
Kathy

Exactly!

I also heard on Catholic Answers about a year ago another bit of moral advice from a priest that I disagreed with.

Here was the situation: A caller had bought groceries and took the bags to his /her car. After unloading the bags, he/she discovered there was an item worth about $5 in the basket that had not been paid for. What advice would you give the caller?
!) Take it back and pay for it. ( You could also just take it back and tell the checker you don’t want the item that you found in your basket)

1. Just keep the item…after all you didn’t “mean” to cheat when you went through the check-out line. It would be too much trouble to go through the check-out line again. No one would expect that of you.

 

[debraran]

I had that happen to me, re the item in the cart. Once I brought it back and didn’;t want it, another time, it was 5.00 or under, but I guiltily left it there because I had 2 infant twins in the car, tired and hungry and I didn’t want to get them both out of the car seats, etc. and bring them back in…I hope someone else didn’t take it, but I realize it wasn’t the best resolution.