I think the Church would say you are absolved from any loyalty or oath to a government like the Nazis and that to mislead them is no sin, and hence no true evil.There are circumstances when it is necessary to choose the lesser evil; for instance, during World War II some people hid and lied to the Nazis to hide fleeing Jews. Lying became a necessary evil to protect people. It isn’t good to tell a lie, but it became necessary to the greater evil of handing them over.
True. It isn’t “lying” to withhold information to someone who has no right to receive the information.I think the Church would say you are absolved from any loyalty or oath to a government like the Nazis and that to mislead them is no sin, and hence no true evil.
This does not strike me an evil. Seems more like the double effect described above.As mentioned, a pregnancy where the mother develops a complication that is life-threatening and the foetus is not viable. Why lose two lives?
It does not negate the fact that lying is a sin; it only shows us then that circumstances would dictate the necessity to do the lesser evil in order to avoid or oppose a greater evil.I think the Church would say you are absolved from any loyalty or oath to a government like the Nazis and that to mislead them is no sin, and hence no true evil.
In this case, it is no sin.It does not negate the fact that lying is a sin; it only shows us then that circumstances would dictate the necessity to do the lesser evil in order to avoid or oppose a greater evil.
(my emphasis.)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 who has the right to know the truth. 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.