Is lying to my boss about the cause of a negative lab result a sin?

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mhtnguyen

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Hi,
Please help me with this.
Yesterday, I performed a routine lab experiment and I had a negative result. I thought about the steps I had done and realized that I had missed a reagent.
Instead of telling my boss that it was my fault to fail to include the necessary reagent, I told him that I didn’t know what had gone wrong.
I felt bad about that and told him the truth this morning.

Do I still need to go to confession for this?
Have I commited a mortal sin from withholding the truth?

thank you for your time and answer.

Martin
 
Lying is different than withholding the truth (a mental reservation). You work for your boss. He needs to know the truth of your performance. I’m glad that your told him the truth in this matter.
  1. From what you described you knew the truth and told him otherwise. He deserved to know the truth. It was a lie. (grave matter)
  2. You freely did it. (consent)
  3. You had knew that it was wrong. (knowledge)
Bring it up in confession. Explain to the priest what happened.

P.s. You must disclose mortal sins in the confessional. You can bring up venial sin in confession as well.
 
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pazdziernik:
Lying is different than withholding the truth (a mental reservation). You work for your boss. He needs to know the truth of your performance. I’m glad that your told him the truth in this matter.
  1. From what you described you knew the truth and told him otherwise. He deserved to know the truth. It was a lie. (grave matter)
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Not all lies are grave matter. Most lies are venial sins. Whether or not a lie is grave matter depends on what is lied about and the seriousness of it. For example, lying under oath (perjury) is always grave matter. In the case given, I do not believe it was grave matter.

We really need to be clear on the difference between mortal and venial sins.
 
whether or not it is a venial sin or not, lying about the results of a lab test might have grave results, i.e. medical misinformation, skewing research results which cause setbacks in a funded project. I cannot understand why you would wish to be in a working relationship where you cannot, or do not want to, be honest with your boss, who is ultimately responsible for the results of your work. To my understanding, as in any other life situation, a habit of small lies leads to an inherent dishonesty that becomes part of your working habits, which is not at all part of the scientific method and should by eschewed by anyone in a scientific profession.
 
Joan M:
Not all lies are grave matter. Most lies are venial sins. Whether or not a lie is grave matter depends on what is lied about and the seriousness of it. For example, lying under oath (perjury) is always grave matter. In the case given, I do not believe it was grave matter.

We really need to be clear on the difference between mortal and venial sins.
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This is true, not all lies are mortal. Here is what the Catechism says.
2482 "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.”

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 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.

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.

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.

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.
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Now as paragraph 2487 says, I believe Martin has a duty to tell his boss about the lie.

Also as the boss is in charge and in authority, this lie is also a transgression against that authority, as the boss has a right to know the truth and I believe that there are ethical issues. I think this matter is grave.
 
Joan M:
Not all lies are grave matter. Most lies are venial sins. Whether or not a lie is grave matter depends on what is lied about and the seriousness of it. For example, lying under oath (perjury) is always grave matter. In the case given, I do not believe it was grave matter.

We really need to be clear on the difference between mortal and venial sins.
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We do not need to be clear on the difference between mortal and venial sins, we simply need to go to confession regularly.
 
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pazdziernik:
Lying is different than withholding the truth (a mental reservation). You work for your boss. He needs to know the truth of your performance. I’m glad that your told him the truth in this matter.
  1. From what you described you knew the truth and told him otherwise. He deserved to know the truth. It was a lie. (grave matter)
  2. You freely did it. (consent)
  3. You had knew that it was wrong. (knowledge)
Bring it up in confession. Explain to the priest what happened.

P.s. You must disclose mortal sins in the confessional. You can bring up venial sin in confession as well.
Click to expand...
3. You had knew that it was wrong. (knowledge)

I’ve heard this element stated as “sufficient reflection”

After sufficient reflection Martin did change his action, so I would not feel there was suffficient reflection before the original lie. Also we do not know how grave was the matter—he did not lie about the results, just that he didn’t know the reason–was his deliberate action a grave matter?

In general all of these matters should be between penitent and confessor. A public forum is no place to discuss specific sins.
 
Mysty101 said:
3. You had knew that it was wrong. (knowledge)

I’ve heard this element stated as “sufficient reflection”

After sufficient reflection Martin did change his action, so I would not feel there was suffficient reflection before the original lie. Also we do not know how grave was the matter—he did not lie about the results, just that he didn’t know the reason–was his deliberate action a grave matter?

In general all of these matters should be between penitent and confessor. A public forum is no place to discuss specific sins.
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We are discussing a specific case as presented by “mhtnguyen”. We are not judging his culpability. I’m sure that none of us knows him personally or even if it his his real name.(lie? 😉 )

Lying is always wrong (not to be confused with a mental reservation). Its gravity can vary. Nevertheless lying to one’s boss about a job-related issue to cover one’s self seems to be near the “seriour-to-very-serious” end to the spectrum.
 
Possibly, but how could we know this?

And as I said we also do not know about sufficient reflection or full consent (He was under stress) Only God knows the answer to these questions.

What I am saying is since this is between him, and God (through his confessor), we cannot possibly know if this is a mortal, venial or even any sin at all. Since we cannot give a valid answer, it is better to let his confessor answer.

It is always best to confess anything which is on our mind for peace of mind, whether or not it is a mortal sin.
 
PS
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pazdziernik:
We are discussing a specific case as presented by “mhtnguyen”. We are not judging his culpability. I’m sure that none of us knows him personally or even if it his his real name.(lie? 😉 )
.
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Correct—and the level of his culpability would also determine if the sin were mortal or venial.
 
Been there, done it, confessed the T-shirt - well, sort of.

When one’s conscience is in good working order - and yours clearly is - then you’ll feel rotten about anything like this, and confess it. If the problem’s whether you should receive Communion, grab the priest in the sacristry before Mass and say: “Father, can I quickly confess something that’s on my conscience?” It’ll take about 30 seconds or less, and you’ll be free.

As for whether it’s a mortal or venial sin, let the casuists decide (if any remain in the modern Church). If your relationship with God is damaged, then it needs confession.

Sue
 
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Teresita:
Been there, done it, confessed the T-shirt - well, sort of.
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“Confessed the T-shirt”? What does this mean in English? Must be a Brit saying…
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Teresita:
When one’s conscience is in good working order - and yours clearly is - then you’ll feel rotten about anything like this, and confess it. If the problem’s whether you should receive Communion, grab the priest in the sacristry before Mass and say: “Father, can I quickly confess something that’s on my conscience?” It’ll take about 30 seconds or less, and you’ll be free.
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I’m sure the priest would oblige but he has to have time to prepare for Mass. Why don’t you go to a regularly-scheduled period for confessions? If they’re not at a convient time for you bring this up with the Pastor. Many priests in the States hear confessions before Masstime.
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Teresita:
As for whether it’s a mortal or venial sin, let the casuists decide (if any remain in the modern Church). If your relationship with God is damaged, then it needs confession.
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What is a “casuist”? Is it another Brit thing?
 
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pazdziernik:
Lying is different than withholding the truth (a mental reservation). You work for your boss. He needs to know the truth of your performance. I’m glad that your told him the truth in this matter.
  1. From what you described you knew the truth and told him otherwise. He deserved to know the truth. It was a lie. (grave matter)
  2. You freely did it. (consent)
  3. You had knew that it was wrong. (knowledge)
Bring it up in confession. Explain to the priest what happened.

P.s. You must disclose mortal sins in the confessional. You can bring up venial sin in confession as well.
Click to expand...
I would hesitate to say that all lies are serious matter. If this was a medical lab result I would be very concerned about being able to rely on your results in the past and in the future. Medical Result would incline me to say serious matter as negative test when someone is positive can lead to all sorts of nasty stuff. If it was a routine analysis for QC or such I would say probably not serious. but you better get your protocol down better. I am a retired Chemist and am not very respectful of people who fudge data.
 
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rwoehmke:
I am a retired Chemist and am not very respectful of people who fudge data.
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I suppose that you did not invest in palladium after it was announced that “cold fusion” was discovered but the results could not be duplicated?
 
Dear All,
Thank you very much for sparing your time to give me your thoughts, suggestions and criticism. I took all these into my heart and reflect on them.
Life is a learning process and with God’s grace, I’m trying to become a better person. Without His grace, I cannot imagine what kind of a person I would be.
God is the truth and I want to belong to Him, the Truth.

God bless!

Martin
 
Dear All,
Thank you very much for sparing your time to give me your thoughts, suggestions and criticism. I took all these into my heart and reflect on them.
Life is a learning process and with God’s grace, I’m trying to become a better person. Without His grace, I cannot imagine what kind of a person I would be.
God is the truth and I want to belong to Him, the Truth.

God bless!

Martin
 
We are a family here. We hope you stick around and post for a while.

God bless you,
DHGray
 
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