Lying can be Good

[Rau]

This is wonderfully put, thank you!

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is clear, we must have respect for the truth. However, just because someone asks a question does not entitle them to a complete and truthful answer! If someone asked me how often I have intimate relations with my husband, I do not have to reveal that information, if I go to a restaurant and ask for the recipe they do not have to answer because I am not entitled to that information. If I ask a physician or an attorney private information about their patients or clients they are not bound to tell me the answer.

Nazis asking for the location of Jewish people were NOT entitled to that information. So misleading them or avoiding answering would not be sinful just my two cents.

All of that seems clear, given there can be no lie in denying someone information.

 

[joecap]

Hmmm…I seem to recall that Judith lied to and deceived Holofernes to a great extent, to the great benefit of the Jews.

 

[Bookcat]

Hmmm…I seem to recall that Judith lied to and deceived Holofernes to a great extent, to the great benefit of the Jews.

Just cause it happened and good things came out of it - does not make it “good” itself.

Here from Pope Benedict:

“In discussing the relationship between the Old and the New Testaments, the Synod also considered those passages in the Bible which, due to the violence and immorality they occasionally contain, prove obscure and difficult. Here it must be remembered first and foremost that biblical revelation is deeply rooted in history. God’s plan is manifested progressively and it is accomplished slowly, in successive stages and despite human resistance. God chose a people and patiently worked to guide and educate them. Revelation is suited to the cultural and moral level of distant times and thus describes facts and customs, such as cheating and trickery, and acts of violence and massacre, without explicitly denouncing the immorality of such things. This can be explained by the historical context…”

~ Pope Benedict XVI

POST-SYNODAL
APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION
VERBUM DOMINI

 

[Bookcat]

Catechism:

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.

scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a8.htm#2483 (more there).