Swearing/affirming

[Agnieszka]

Im about to become a lawyer and im not sure if i should swear or affirm (swearing by God to tell the truth or affirming that you are telling the truth). I was under the impression that you shouldnt swear by anything, i read it in the bible though i cant say where, but in court the bible is handed up if you wish to swear. So is swearing on the bible to tell the truth wrong? Its so rife in the profession.

Agnieszka

 

[JRKH]

Im about to become a lawyer and im not sure if i should swear or affirm (swearing by God to tell the truth or affirming that you are telling the truth). I was under the impression that you shouldnt swear by anything, i read it in the bible though i cant say where, but in court the bible is handed up if you wish to swear. So is swearing on the bible to tell the truth wrong? Its so rife in the profession.

Agnieszka

How often is a lawyer “Sworn in”?? I thought only witnesses were.

The section that you refer to is probably Mt 5:33-37
33 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, "You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your "Yes’ be "Yes,’ and your "No,’ "No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
(NKJV)
I have wonderd about this also, but since the Church has not forbidden Catholics to take such an oath in court I don’t think you should lose sleep over it. If you truly DO feel strongly about it, I suppose you could simply take the Bible from the bailiffs hand, open it to this passage, read it aloud to the court and affirm that your "Yes’ will be "Yes,’ and your "No,’ will be "No.’ I imagine that any judge will accept this.

Peace
James

 

[Alexandra]

In most cases you are allowed to simply say “I affirm”. We regularly cross out “swear” and write in “affirm” on car transfer paperwork. We did that with the adoption of our daughter at the American Embassy in Moscow. Had to “affirm” that the information was all correct to the best of our knowledge.

 

[Bookcat]

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church…read the whole…but I added emphs.

2150 The second commandment forbids false oaths. Taking an oath or swearing is to take God as witness to what one affirms. It is to invoke the divine truthfulness as a pledge of one’s own truthfulness. An oath engages the Lord’s name. "You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve him, and swear by his name."81

2151 Rejection of false oaths is a duty toward God. As Creator and Lord, God is the norm of all truth. Human speech is either in accord with or in opposition to God who is Truth itself. When it is truthful and legitimate, an oath highlights the relationship of human speech with God’s truth. A false oath calls on God to be witness to a lie.

2152 A person commits perjury when he makes a promise under oath with no intention of keeping it, or when after promising on oath he does not keep it. Perjury is a grave lack of respect for the Lord of all speech. Pledging oneself by oath to commit an evil deed is contrary to the holiness of the divine name.

2153 In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained the second commandment: "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all. . . . Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one."82 Jesus teaches that every oath involves a reference to God and that God’s presence and his truth must be honored in all speech. Discretion in calling upon God is allied with a respectful awareness of his presence, which all our assertions either witness to or mock.

2154** Following St. Paul,83 the tradition of the Church has understood Jesus’ words as not excluding oaths made for grave and right reasons (for example, in court)**. "An oath, that is the invocation of the divine name as a witness to truth, cannot be taken unless in truth, in judgment, and in justice."84

2155 The holiness of the divine name demands that we neither use it for trivial matters, nor take an oath which on the basis of the circumstances could be interpreted as approval of an authority unjustly requiring it. When an oath is required by illegitimate civil authorities, it may be refused. It must be refused when it is required for purposes contrary to the dignity of persons or to ecclesial communion.

 

[Agnieszka]

Thanks for the reference to the Catechism, but reading that part of the Bible simply means, to me, what it suggests: Dont swear at all, simply say the truth. It explicitly says not to swear by God.

Ive read a few catholic sources on this and they all say that jesus meant that in everyday speech rather than in court or for documents.

Most of the times you have to swear or affirm, there is no option to simply say “my yes is a yes and my no is a no” so you either have to swear by God or affirm youre telling the truth which is swearing anyway, just not by God. Which simply means that if you take Jesus’ words literally you shouldnt sign any paperwork or affirm or swear anything, so im guessing thats why the church thinks its ok to swear legitimately.

Im about to go through a ceremony where I swear to to keep my honesty as a legal practitioner or affirm to do so. Can i swear to tell the truth my entire career? if i swear and slip up somewhere along the line does that mean ive sworn falsely?

 

[Agnieszka]

How often is a lawyer “Sworn in”?? I thought only witnesses were.

Hi James,

We are sworn in once, but for the rest of your career, as a witness to an affidavit you swear or affirm to tell the truth

 

[JRKH]

JRKH;6296239:

How often is a lawyer “Sworn in”?? I thought only witnesses were.

Hi James,

We are sworn in once, but for the rest of your career, as a witness to an affidavit you swear or affirm to tell the truth

Thanks. I did not know that. Guess I was just thinking in terms of the courtroom.

Peace
James

 

[JRKH]

Thanks for the reference to the Catechism, but reading that part of the Bible simply means, to me, what it suggests: Dont swear at all, simply say the truth. It explicitly says not to swear by God.

Ive read a few catholic sources on this and they all say that jesus meant that in everyday speech rather than in court or for documents.

Most of the times you have to swear or affirm, there is no option to simply say “my yes is a yes and my no is a no” so you either have to swear by God or affirm youre telling the truth which is swearing anyway, just not by God. Which simply means that if you take Jesus’ words literally you shouldnt sign any paperwork or affirm or swear anything, so im guessing thats why the church thinks its ok to swear legitimately.

Im about to go through a ceremony where I swear to to keep my honesty as a legal practitioner or affirm to do so. Can i swear to tell the truth my entire career? if i swear and slip up somewhere along the line does that mean ive sworn falsely?

I suggest praying earnestly on this matter.
It appears that you feel you are in a no win situation. If you refuse to swear you cannot be a lawyer. If you do swear you feel you have sinned against God.

I am reminded of the story in the Gospel about paying taxes to Rome. Jesus says to "render unto Ceasar that which is Ceasar’s…
The Law, the courts, are a secular institution. True they use the Bible as the instrument upon which to swear but the system remains a secular one and any oath taken (promise made) is taken to uphold the secular standards and not the biblical ones.
This may be an important distinction to recognize for there may be times when you honesty is challenged. Where your duty to your client could severely restrict how much “truth” you can reveal.

This is why you need to pray earnestly on this and possibly seek out the council of a priest. You need to be clear in your mind about this before you proceed.

Peace
James