Catechism of the Catholic Church · Part Three › Section Two › Chapter Two · Article 8 (§§2464–2513)
Paragraphs · 50
The Catechism's text is under copyright, so each paragraph is quoted briefly here with a link to the full text at vatican.va.
The Eighth Commandment
- §2464 — The eighth commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with others. This moral prescription flows from the vocation of the holy people to bear witness to their God who is the truth and wills the truth.vatican.va
I. Living in the Truth
- §2465 — The Old Testament attests that God is the source of all truth. His Word is truth. His Law is truth. His "faithfulness endures to all generations."vatican.va
- §2466 — In Jesus Christ, the whole of God's truth has been made manifest. "Full of grace and truth," he came as the "light of the world," he is the Truth.vatican.va
- §2467 — Man tends by nature toward the truth. He is obliged to honor and bear witness to it: "It is in accordance with their dignity that all men, because they are persons .vatican.va
- §2468 — Truth as uprightness in human action and speech is called truthfulness, sincerity, or candor. Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and in guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.vatican.va
- §2469 — "Men could not live with one another if there were not mutual confidence that they were being truthful to one another." The virtue of truth gives another his just due.vatican.va
- §2470 — The disciple of Christ consents to "live in the truth," that is, in the simplicity of a life in conformity with the Lord's example, abiding in his truth.vatican.va
II. To Bear Witness to the Truth
- §2471 — Before Pilate, Christ proclaims that he "has come into the world, to bear witness to the truth." The Christian is not to "be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord."vatican.va
- §2472 — The duty of Christians to take part in the life of the Church impels them to act as witnesses of the Gospel and of the obligations that flow from it.vatican.va
- §2473 — Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death. the martyr bears witness to Christ who died and rose, to whom he is united by charity.vatican.va
- §2474 — The Church has painstakingly collected the records of those who persevered to the end in witnessing to their faith. These are the acts of the Martyrs.vatican.va
III. Offenses Against Truth
- §2475 — Christ's disciples have "put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." By "putting away falsehood," they are to "put away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and all slander."vatican.va
- §2476 — False witness and perjury. When it is made publicly, a statement contrary to the truth takes on a particular gravity. In court it becomes false witness.vatican.va
- §2477 — Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury. He becomes guilty: - of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor; - of detraction who, without objectively…vatican.va
- §2478 — To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way:vatican.va
- §2479 — Detraction and calumny destroy the reputation and honor of one's neighbor. Honor is the social witness given to human dignity, and everyone enjoys a natural right to the honor of his name and reputation and to respect.vatican.va
- §2480 — Every word or attitude is forbidden which by flattery, adulation, or complaisance encourages and confirms another in malicious acts and perverse conduct. Adulation is a grave fault if it makes one an accomplice in another's vices or grave sins.vatican.va
- §2481 — Boasting or bragging is an offense against truth. So is irony aimed at disparaging someone by maliciously caricaturing some aspect of his behavior.vatican.va
- §2482 — "A lie consists in speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving." The Lord denounces lying as the work of the devil: "You are of your father the devil, .vatican.va
- §2483 — Lying is the most direct offense against the truth. To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead into error someone who has the right to know the truth.vatican.va
- §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.vatican.va
- §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.vatican.va
- §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.vatican.va
- §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.vatican.va
IV. Respect for the Truth
- §2488 — 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.vatican.va
- §2489 — 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.vatican.va
- §2490 — 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."vatican.va
- §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…vatican.va
- §2492 — 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.vatican.va
V. The Use of the Social Communications Media
- §2493 — Within modern society the communications media play a major role in information, cultural promotion, and formation. This role is increasing, as a result of technological progress, the extent and diversity of the news transmitted, and the influence exercised on public opinion.vatican.va
- §2494 — The information provided by the media is at the service of the common good. Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom, justice, and solidarity:vatican.va
- §2495 — "It is necessary that all members of society meet the demands of justice and charity in this domain. They should help, through the means of social communication, in the formation and diffusion of sound public opinion."vatican.va
- §2496 — The means of social communication (especially the mass media) can give rise to a certain passivity among users, making them less than vigilant consumers of what is said or shown.vatican.va
- §2497 — By the very nature of their profession, journalists have an obligation to serve the truth and not offend against charity in disseminating information. They should strive to respect, with equal care, the nature of the facts and the limits of critical judgment concerning individuals.vatican.va
- §2498 — "Civil authorities have particular responsibilities in this field because of the common good.... It is for the civil authority ... to defend and safeguard a true and just freedom of information."vatican.va
- §2499 — Moral judgment must condemn the plague of totalitarian states which systematically falsify the truth, exercise political control of opinion through the media, manipulate defendants and witnesses at public trials, and imagine that they secure their tyranny by strangling and repressing everything they consider "thought crimes."vatican.va
VI. Truth, Beauty, and Sacred Art
- §2500 — The practice of goodness is accompanied by spontaneous spiritual joy and moral beauty. Likewise, truth carries with it the joy and splendor of spiritual beauty.vatican.va
- §2501 — Created "in the image of God," man also expresses the truth of his relationship with God the Creator by the beauty of his artistic works.vatican.va
- §2502 — Sacred art is true and beautiful when its form corresponds to its particular vocation: evoking and glorifying, in faith and adoration, the transcendent mystery of God - the surpassing invisible beauty of truth and love visible in Christ, who "reflects the glory of God and…vatican.va
- §2503 — For this reason bishops, personally or through delegates, should see to the promotion of sacred art, old and new, in all its forms and, with the same religious care, remove from the liturgy and from places of worship everything which is not in conformity with…vatican.va
In Brief
- §2504 — "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Ex 20:16). Christ's disciples have "put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (Eph 4:24).vatican.va
- §2505 — Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.vatican.va
- §2506 — The Christian is not to "be ashamed of testifying to our Lord" (2 Tim 1:8) in deed and word. Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith.vatican.va
- §2507 — Respect for the reputation and honor of persons forbids all detraction and calumny in word or attitude.vatican.va
- §2508 — Lying consists in saying what is false with the intention of deceiving the neighbor who has the right to the truth.vatican.va
- §2509 — An offense committed against the truth requires reparation.vatican.va
- §2510 — The golden rule helps one discern, in concrete situations, whether or not it would be appropriate to reveal the truth to someone who asks for it.vatican.va
- §2511 — "The sacramental seal is inviolable" (CIC, can. 983 # 1). Professional secrets must be kept. Confidences prejudicial to another are not to be divulged.vatican.va
- §2512 — Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom, and justice. One should practice moderation and discipline in the use of the social communications media.vatican.va
- §2513 — The fine arts, but above all sacred art, "of their nature are directed toward expressing in some way the infinite beauty of God in works made by human hands.vatican.va
Scripture cited · 42 verses
Genesis 1:26 · 2 Samuel 7:28 · Psalm 119:30 · Psalm 119:90 · Psalm 119:142 · Proverbs 8:7 · Proverbs 18:5 · Proverbs 19:9 · Proverbs 25:9 · Proverbs 25:10 · Wisdom 7:16 · Wisdom 7:17 · Wisdom 7:25 · Wisdom 7:26 · Wisdom 7:29 · Wisdom 7:30 · Wisdom 8:2 · Wisdom 13:3 · Wisdom 13:5 · Sirach 21:28 · Sirach 27:16 · Matthew 5:37 · Matthew 18:16 · Luke 1:50 · John 1:14 · John 8:12 · John 8:32 · John 8:44 · John 12:46 · John 14:6 · John 16:13 · John 17:17 · John 18:37 · Acts 24:16 · Romans 3:4 · Ephesians 4:24 · Ephesians 4:25 · Colossians 2:9 · 2 Timothy 1:8 · Hebrews 1:3 · 1 Peter 2:1 · 1 John 1:6