Is lying always immoral?

[coolcatholicguy]

I recently saw a video on Youtube by and atheist: youtube.com/user/FightingAtheist#p/u/26/DaOVPaYf780 who said that Christians believe that lying is never good, and used the example of hiding Jews and lying to the Nazis about hiding them. D you think that if you were hiding Jews during the Holocaust, it would be OK to lie about that?

 

[JohnDamian]

In the case of hiding Jew’s it is not a Mortal sin to lie to the guards, as such a lie would not constitute a grave matter.

However, telling the guards where the Jew’s were would also not be a Mortal sin, as you would be endangering yourself guarding them, and coercion frees one from Mortal sin.

 

[buffalo]

No -

[2482](javascriptpenWindow(‘cr/2482.htm’) "A *lie *consists in speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving."281 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."282
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.
[2484](javascriptpenWindow(‘cr/2484.htm’) 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. To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead someone into error.
[2485](javascriptpenWindow(‘cr/2485.htm’) 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.
[2486](javascriptpenWindow(‘cr/2486.htm’) 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.
[2487](javascriptpenWindow(‘cr/2487.htm’) 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.
IV. RESPECT FOR THE TRUTH
[2488](javascriptpenWindow(‘cr/2488.htm’) 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](javascriptpenWindow(‘cr/2489.htm’) 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.283
[2490](javascriptpenWindow(‘cr/2490.htm’) The secret of the sacrament of reconciliation is sacred, and cannot be violated under any pretext. "The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore, it is a crime for a confessor in any way to betray a penitent by word or in any other manner or for any reason."284
2491 Professional secrets - for example, those of political office holders, soldiers, physicians, and lawyers - or confidential information given under the seal of secrecy must be kept, save in exceptional cases where keeping the secret is bound to cause very grave harm to the one who confided it, to the one who received it or to a third party, and where the very grave harm can be avoided only by divulging the truth. Even if not confided under the seal of secrecy, private information prejudicial to another is not to be divulged without a grave and proportionate reason.
[2492](javascriptpenWindow(‘cr/2492.htm’) 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.

 

[Will_B]

Wonder ??

If lying is always a sin, then can you ever work for the

CIA
NSA
Police undercover COP
and a host of other jobs that require deception as a tool of the trade.

 

[Ron_Conte]

An intrinsically evil act is a type of act that is immoral by its very nature.
Such acts are also called intrinsically disordered.

CCC 1753 A good intention (for example, that of helping one’s neighbor) does not make behavior that is intrinsically disordered, such as lying and calumny, good or just.

CCC 2485 By its very nature, lying is to be condemned.

Lying is intrinsically evil.

Intrinsically evil acts are always immoral, regardless of intention, or circumstances, or other acts.

Pope John Paul II: If acts are intrinsically evil, a good intention or particular circumstances can diminish their evil, but they cannot remove it. They remain “irremediably” evil acts; per se and in themselves they are not capable of being ordered to God and to the good of the person. “As for acts which are themselves sins (cum iam opera ipsa peccata sunt), Saint Augustine writes, like theft, fornication, blasphemy, who would dare affirm that, by doing them for good motives (causis bonis), they would no longer be sins, or, what is even more absurd, that they would be sins that are justified?”. Consequently, circumstances or intentions can never transform an act intrinsically evil by virtue of its object into an act “subjectively” good or defensible as a choice.

 

[HickmanJosh]

catholic.com/thisrock/quickquestions/keyword/lying
Michelle Arnold:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church’s treatment on lying can be found in paragraphs 2475–2487. In a separate treatment of the subject that falls under the heading “Respect for the Truth” (2488–2492) the Catechism states:

The right to the communication of the truth is not unconditional. … This requires us in concrete situations to judge whether or not it is appropriate to reveal the truth to someone who asks for it. 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. … No one is bound to reveal the truth to someone who does not have the right to know it. (CCC 2488–2489)

This means there can be cases in which it is morally licit to reserve the truth. Avoiding giving the location of people in danger of being murdered would be one such case. A person in such a situation should try to avoid directly lying, if possible; however, fear for the safety of innocents and the unjust external pressure brought to bear on him could mitigate against culpability should he inadvertently cross the line to lying.