Is it sinful to tell jokes about President Obama?

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joanmo42

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For eons it seems as though we repeat jokes about famous people, especially those we do not care for.

I was sorely disappointed in his election and find ‘jokes’ about him hold some truth, but am concerned about repeating them.

What is the Church’s stance on whether these are sinful?
 
Although I would be highly entertained to discover that Clement X or some such Pope had written a Catholic document on jokes (I suggest the title Contra jocationes), I am aware of no official teaching.

The Catholic rule, as far as I know, is that we must always be charitable. We ought not assume the worst in people, and we ought not use jokes to erode our capacity for charity. However, a claim (or a joke) about something that’s true, that’s important, and that’s in the public arena can never be uncharitable (as far as I can think). If that sounds like a tricky principle to apply in particular circumstances, that’s because it is. The easiest thing to do in practical conditions would probably be to ask yourself the old chestnut, “What would Jesus do?”

For myself, I imagine it would be hard to say anything uncharitable about President Obama at this point. Once a man’s reopened overseas abortion funding, attacked the conscience clause, given large sums of money to harvest and kill millions of human embryos for Mengelian-style experimentation, and announced his intention to destroy all abortion restrictions of every sort nationwide via FOCA… honestly, how could you possibly make a joke that makes him seem any worse or more evil than he actually is?
 
Before anyone comes in here and says, “No, but it will soon be illegal!” I’d like to point out that fear and sensationalism are never good and they are contrary to the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity (love).

Jokes and insults are different things. The former is good, the latter is evil. A jokes becomes an insult when it attack a person’s reputation, self, or actions in an uncharitable way.
 
Picture the words you’re about to say coming out of your favorite saint’s mouth. Better yet, picture them coming out Jesus’s. Then you’ll have your answer. One of the easiest ways to sin is through our tongues. And while we all know that gossip, saying mean things to someone’s face, or complaining are bad things to do, it’s hard to see that making fun of someone who will never know, and who is constantly skewered in the public eye, is actually a bad thing to do. But we’re called to be saints. Sooo …

Believe me, this is hard for me too.
 
pentecostbaby said:
Picture the words you’re about to say coming out of your favorite saint’s mouth. Better yet, picture them coming out Jesus’s. Then you’ll have your answer. One of the easiest ways to sin is through our tongues. And while we all know that gossip, saying mean things to someone’s face, or complaining are bad things to do, it’s hard to see that making fun of someone who will never know, and who is constantly skewered in the public eye, is actually a bad thing to do. But we’re called to be saints. Sooo …

Believe me, this is hard for me too.
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I picture congress and the prez being likened to a brood of vipers. 😉
 
Jokes notwithstanding, please remember to pray for the aforementioned brood of vipers.
 
I don’t believe it was sinful to joke about our last president, so I would say feel free to joke about and insult our current one. 🤷
 
joanmo42 said:
For eons it seems as though we repeat jokes about famous people, especially those we do not care for.

I was sorely disappointed in his election and find ‘jokes’ about him hold some truth, but am concerned about repeating them.

What is the Church’s stance on whether these are sinful?
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Sometimes a good way to deal with a tragedy is to tell a joke.
The same wth the election of Obama.
If the jokes are low, perverse or out of relevance for his political life, then I’d probably not say them. You’ll know the line.
 
Eucharisted said:
Jokes and insults are different things. The former is good, the latter is evil. A jokes becomes an insult when it attack a person’s reputation, self, or actions in an uncharitable way.
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Unless it is true.
“He becomes guilty of calumny who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them” (2447).
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Likewise, detraction should not apply:
of detraction who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another’s faults and failings to persons who did not know them;
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He is the president. We obviously all have a valid reason to know about him in any area that could tough on his character of abilities to fulfil his office. Last we have:
of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor;
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This is where charity must be excercised. Only if a foundation exists can we assign* moral* fault to him.

Otherwise, let it rip. There is not Catholic prohibition on jokes and insults.
 
Maybe considered sin against Calumny or Detraction, depends in intention, I forget which is which.
 
The catechism is pretty explicit about sarcasm being sinful because it demeans another person’s dignity…

Since most jokes about president’s run in that vein…well

you could also look at some of the Benedictine teachings on humor…
 
I’m guilty of badmouthing Obama. The fact that this guy voted against giving medical treatment to a baby that survived an abortion attempt just infuriates me.
 
244Rocket said:
I’m guilty of badmouthing Obama. The fact that this guy voted against giving medical treatment to a baby that survived an abortion attempt just infuriates me.
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Hey, in our office here we are all guilty of the same thing.😃
When Pres.Obama passes some pro-life legislation we will shut up.
 
NCOtto said:
Maybe considered sin against Calumny or Detraction, depends in intention, I forget which is which.
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Calumny is dependent on truth. Detraction is dependent on need to know. Think of slander and gossip.
 
MacRath said:
The catechism is pretty explicit about sarcasm being sinful because it demeans another person’s dignity…
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Here is a search result from the catechism:

Results for: sarcasm
No results were found for your search.
Try changing some of the words in your query.

What part of the catechism to you think even address sarcasm, much less explicitly calls it sinful?

The quesiton is on the Church’s stance, not our opinions or the orders for Benedictines. This should be simple enough to document if it is sinful. If not, then let us not lay additional burdens on each other, as Jesus admonished.
 
I think you can have a joke that makes people smile/laugh, without being sarcastic or offending anybody.

A joke can be used to bring up an important issue and make people think about it.

For example:

Q: How many Obamas does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: Since Obama has taken office, no light bulbs have burned out. Even if the filament breaks in the bulb, they continue to shine, powered by his hope and the hope of the nation.

Ok, there’s a little sarcasm there… But it illustrate an opinion that his ideology is blind to reality sometimes (such as the fact that the unborn is a human person), and that this ideology is fed by an empty sense of “hope.”

I may be wrong, but a joke like that is not sinful. It makes people think.
 
244Rocket said:
I’m guilty of badmouthing Obama. The fact that this guy voted against giving medical treatment to a baby that survived an abortion attempt just infuriates me.
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Hear, hear. I constantly struggle with the inclination to gossip about or malign truly evil people like Obama.

As a political professional (conservative Republican and orthodox Catholic), I meet and cross swords with many truly demonic and sociopathic people, and it is difficult for me to keep my professional obligations to warn and protect my clients from lapsing into the sin of gossip and detraction.

I know only to pray and ask God to show me the difference.

EspositoJoe
 
I consider myself a good Catholic and a good American. I am sick and tired of all the badmouthing of our elected president. I enjoy a good joke but the incredible meanness of some “holy and devout” Christians turns my stomach. Yes, I voted for the man because I felt he would be a better choice for the ENTIRE country. I am saddened by some of his policies, but anyone who can get this country out of the MESS that Bush got us into is okay in my book. I believe abortion is murder under any circumstances. I believe that using embryos for research is wrong. But War is wrong. Millions of people who can not get medical attention is wrong. What we as Catholics must do is become part of the solution, not bad mouth someone who has chosen to right some wrongs. It would be nice if our leadership all “saw the light” but Hey, this is the real world.
 
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