Gossiping

[HNA444]

Is this a mortal sin? If it’s talking about someone, but not spreading rumors or anything. ??

 

[polishmax]

in 1 timothy chapter 5 verse 13-14. Paul groups gossipers with idlers. Idle worship is a mortal sin. I am still not positive if he meant this for lay people or for mainly consecrated widows. But the text is clear in grouping gossip with idle worship. He also goes on to condemn “busybodies”.

 

[passus]

Hi,

Check out the following thread! Quotes from the catechism are inside.

What is “gossip”?

In short, gossip can be harmless if it does not disrespect another’s reputation and if it does not keep someone from attending to his responsibilities. Gossip becomes harmful and possibly sinful when it includes rash judgment, detraction, or calumny.

I hope that helps.

 

[bbentrup]

in 1 timothy chapter 5 verse 13-14. Paul groups gossipers with idlers. Idle worship is a mortal sin. I am still not positive if he meant this for lay people or for mainly consecrated widows. But the text is clear in grouping gossip with idle worship. He also goes on to condemn “busybodies”.

LOL, sorry, you are confusing ‘idlers’, that is, lazy people, with ‘idolaters’ or people who worship idols.

Gossip, in and of itself, does not seem to have grave matter, and thus cannot be a mortal sin. However, it may very well be accompanied by malice and other related sins in which case some occurrences can be mortally sinful given that they harbor certain life-killing motivations.

 

[mkingdomlvr]

I can still remember a sermon our Priest gave about gossip when I was in HS. He said-“words are like a bullet fired from a gun, you can never pull that bullet back and the damage it inflicts can be deadly”.

He told a story about how an idle comment made by a parishioner about him had found it’s way to the Bishop’s office and nearly cost him his position. The parishioner saw him at a local diner with a “lovely blond woman” giving her a hug. That person told their friends, and they told their friends, and by the time it reached the Bishop, he was having an affair with this “lovely blond woman” and people had seen her all over town and at the rectory. The woman actually was his younger sister, and thankfully the Bishop wasn’t a reactionary. Now, that was over 20 years ago, think about how dangerous it would be today if some poor Priest is seen giving a hug to a child??? Can you imagine the consequences of a rumor mill in that case?

People’s lives can be destroyed by one comment, passed from another to another-and in this day and age of Facebook, Twitter and all that, it’s even worse.

 

[Langdell]

LOL, sorry, you are confusing ‘idlers’, that is, lazy people, with ‘idolaters’ or people who worship idols.

I thought “idlers” were people who sat in their parked cars with the engine running.

.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Although we may not say anything harmful about a person, others may take what we say and twist it or put it together with another ‘fact’ to create a very harmful story.

So, technically, gossip is not always a mortal sin. However, we are told to refrain from the near occasion of sin which is always present when we gossip because of what we may hear or how the information we say can be used. And anyway, why would we want to knowingly (and frequently) participate in a venially sinful situation?

Gossip is a very difficult habit to root out. Understanding it’s possibly seriousness is the main reason why I have tried so very hard to stop.

 

[Matrix_Refugee]

I thought “idlers” were people who sat in their parked cars with the engine running.

.

Uh-oh, what do you do if you get stuck in traffic for a long time and you have to leave the motor running? I think that would be considered a sin only by the people who are trying to reduce oil/gas consumption…