THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Taken from the “Catechism Of The Catholic Church”
Latin text copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Citta del Vaticano 1993
Edited, abridged, and rewritten in places by DSB


THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (Ex 20:16; Deut 5:20).

You have heard that the ancients were told, “You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord” (Matt 5:33).

The eighth commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with others. This moral prescription flows from the responsibility of God’s people to bear witness in word and deed to the holiness and faithfulness of their God – Who is the truth and wills the truth. Offenses against the truth expressed by word or deed are a refusal to commit ourselves to submitting to God in all our ways (Prov 3:6; 1 Cor 10:31; Col 3:;17) and being godly in all our behavior (1 Pet 1:15). Deliberate dishonesty in any form is a sign of unfaithfulness to God, and in this sense, it undermines the covenant He has made with us.

Living in the Truth
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 (Ps 119:90, 142; Prov 8:7; 2 Sam 7:28; Lk 1:50). Since God is "true," each member of his people (kingdom, church) is called to live in the truth (Ps 119:29-30).

In Jesus Christ, God's truth has been made manifest. Jesus Christ is “the truth” (Jn 14:6), and He is “full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). He came as the “light of the world,” and if we walk in His way, we will walk in the light (Jn 8:12). “[Jesus] came as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in [Him] will not remain in darkness” (Jn 12:46). Jesus said to those who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free . . . and sanctify you” (Jn 8:32; 17:17). To follow Jesus is to live in “the Spirit of truth,” whom the Father sends in His name and who leads us “into all the truth” (Jn 16:13). And finally, Jesus taught a simple and straight forward commitment to honesty: “Let your statement be simply, 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'” (Mat 5:37).

By nature, we tend toward wanting to know the truth. Therefore, we are obliged to honor and bear witness to the truth, and to seek the truth – especially religious truth. We are also bound to adhere to or live according to the truth we know(Jam 4:17), directly our whole lives in accordance with the demands of truth.

Truth as doing what is right 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, truthful in words, and in guarding against duplicity, deception, and hypocrisy.
It would be exceedingly difficult to live with one another if there were no mutual confidence that we were being truthful to one another. Truth gives to others what is their just due, and withholds what is not to be given or spoken. Truthfulness walks the fine line between what ought to be expressed and what ought to be kept secret – it entails honesty and discretion. Justice and honor demand that we give honesty and truth to one another.

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. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin “ (1 Jn 1:6-7).

II. To Bear Witness to the Truth
Before Pilate, Christ proclaimed that he “came into the world, to bear witness to the truth”(Jn 18:37). Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). As Christians, we are not to “be ashamed of testifying about our Lord” (2 Tim 1:8). In situations that offer opportunity or require witness to the faith, Christians must profess the truth without equivocation (vagueness or ambiguity), following the example of Paul before his judges. It is in bearing witness to the truth in all situations that we “maintain a blameless conscience both before God and before men” (Acts 24:16).

As it is the duty of Christians to take part in the life of the Church, so it is our duty to act as witnesses of the Gospel and involve ourselves in the obligations that flow from it – such as discipleship (Matt 28:19-20), guarding against any evil or unbelieving hearts within the church (Heb 3:12), encouraging one another to love and good deeds (Heb 10:24), going to a fellow Christian who has fallen into sin (Matt 18:15-17), and restoring those caught in sin (Gal 6:1-2). In all cases and situations, whether witnessing or building up the church (Eph 4:12), we are to bear witness to the truth and speak the truth (Col 3:9-10).

To have integrity, all witness to the truth must be accompanied by a life that lives according to the truth. Hypocrisy damages the integrity of any truth we may speak. Therefore, all Christians, by the example of their lives and the witness of their word, wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which they vowed to put on at Baptism and to manifest the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells within and strengthens them for godly living.

Martyrdom (bearing witness even unto death) is the supreme witness given to the truth. The martyr bears witness to Christ who died and rose again, to message of salvation, to the mercy and love of God, and the forgiveness of sin. He bears witness to the truth of the faith and of Christian doctrine. He endures death through the grace given by God and an act of love for God.

St. Ignatius of Antioch said: “Let me become the food of the beasts, through whom it will be given me to reach God, for neither the pleasures of the world nor the kingdoms of this age will be of any use to me. It is better for me to die [in order to unite myself] to Christ Jesus than to reign over the ends of the earth. I seek Him who died for us; I desire Him who rose for us.”

Martyrium Polycarpi said: “I bless you for having judged me worthy from this day and this hour to be counted among your martyrs.... You have kept your promise, God of faithfulness and truth. For this reason and for everything, I praise you, I bless you, I glorify you through the eternal and heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, your beloved Son. Through him, who is with you and the Holy Spirit, may glory be given to you, now and in the ages to come. Amen.”

III. Offenses Against Truth
Those “who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal 5:24), and have “put on the new man, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph 4:24). Having laid aside falsehood, all malice, all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, they are to speak truth to one another and about one another (Eph 4:25; 1 Pet 2:1).

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 (Prov 19:9). When it is under oath, it is perjury. Acts such as these contribute to condemnation of the innocent, exoneration of the guilty, or the increased punishment of the accused (Prov 18:5). They gravely compromise the exercise of justice and the fairness of judicial decisions.

Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury. He becomes guilty:
1. of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor;
2. of disparagement who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another's faults and failings to persons who did not know them (Sir 21:28);
3. of defamation who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them.

To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way. “Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another's statement than to condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other intended it. And if the latter intended it badly, let the former correct him with love. If that does not suffice, let the Christian try all suitable ways to bring the other to a correct understanding of what he has done” (St. Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, 22).

Disparagement and defamation 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. Thus, disparagement and defamation offend against the virtues of justice and love.

Every word or attitude is forbidden which by flattery, adulation (excessive admiration or idolization), or complaisance (passively yielding to the will of another) 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 sins. Neither the desire to be of service nor friendship justifies duplicitous (two-faced) speech. Adulation is wrong even when it only seeks to be agreeable, to avoid evil, to meet a need, or to obtain legitimate advantages.

Boasting or bragging is an offense against truth. So is irony aimed at disparaging someone by maliciously caricaturing some aspect of his behavior.

In its essence, a lie is speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving. It is the 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. Therefore, lying damages and ultimately destroys man’s relation to truth, his relationship to his neighbor, and his relationship with God.

The Lord denounces lying as the work of the devil: “You are of your father the devil, . . . and he does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44).

The gravity of a lie is measured against the nature of the truth it deforms, the circumstances it alters, the circumstances under which it is made, the intentions of the one who lies, and the harm suffered by its victims. The culpability of the one lying is greater when the intention of deceiving entails the risk of deadly consequences for those who are led astray.

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 love. 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.

IV. Respect for the Truth
The right to communicate truth and/or receive truth is not unconditional. Everyone must conform his life to the Gospel precept of brotherly love. This requires us in certain situations to judge whether or not it is appropriate to reveal the truth to someone who asks for it.

Love 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 discreet communication. The duty to avoid scandal often commands strict discretion. No one is bound to reveal the truth to someone who does not have the right to know it.

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 who confided it, to the one who received it, or to a third party, and where the very grave harm can be avoided only by divulging the truth. Even if not confided under the seal of secrecy, private information damaging to another is not to be divulged without a grave and proportionate reason (Prov 11:13, 25:9-10; Matt 18:15).

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. Interference by the media in the private lives of persons engaged in political or public activity is to be condemned to the extent that it infringes upon their privacy and freedom.

V. The Use of the Social Communications Media
Within modern society the communications media play a major role in information, cultural promotion, and formation (that which leads groups of people to act as a unit). This role is increasing, as a result of technological progress, the extent and diversity of the news transmitted, Internet social media sites (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), and the influence they exercise on public opinion.

The information provided by these media ought to be at the service of the common good. Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom, justice, and solidarity. The proper exercise of this obligation demands that the content of the communication be true and – within the limits set by justice and love – complete. Further, it should be communicated properly and graciously. This means that in the gathering and in the publication of news or other types of information, the moral law and the legitimate rights and dignity of man should be upheld.

The means of social communication (especially the mass media, TV, and the Internet) can give rise to a certain passivity among users, making them less than vigilant consumers of what is said or shown. Christians are to show the unbelieving world the standard of moderation and discipline in their use of mass media – whether disseminating or receiving information.

Civil authorities have particular responsibilities in this field because of the common good. It is the responsibility of the civil authority to defend and safeguard a true and just freedom of information. By promulgating laws and overseeing their application, public authorities should ensure that public morality and social progress are not seriously endangered through misuse of the media. Nothing can justify disinformation for manipulating public opinion or the support of immoral or unjust behavior through the media.

VI. Truth, Beauty, and Sacred Art
Truth carries with it the joy and splendor of spiritual beauty. Truth is beautiful in itself. Truth in words, the rational expression of the knowledge of created and uncreated reality, is necessary to man, who is endowed with intellect. But truth can also find other complementary forms of human expression, above all when it is a matter of evoking what is beyond words: the depths of the human heart, the exaltations of the soul, the mystery of God. Even before revealing himself to man in words of truth, God reveals himself to man through the universal language of creation – the work of his Word and his wisdom. Creation reveals the order and harmony of the universe – which both the child and the scientist discover. “From the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator,” “for the author of beauty created them “ (Wis 13:3,5).

[Wisdom] is a spiritual form of the power of God, and a manifestation of the glory of the Almighty. Therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. She is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness (Wis 7:25-26). For [wisdom] is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior, for the darkness of night follows the light of day, but against wisdom, evil cannot prevail (Wis 7:29-30). Such is the beauty of truth revealed by wisdom.

Created “in the image of God” (Gen 1:26), man also expresses the truth of his relationship with God the Creator by the beauty of his artistic works – when done to the glory of God. Indeed, art is both a distinctively human form of expression, and a reflection of the human being's inner spiritual riches. Arising from talent given by the Creator and from man's own effort, art is a form of practical wisdom, uniting knowledge and skill (Wis 7:16-17), to give form to the truth of reality in a language accessible to sight or hearing. To the extent that it is inspired by truth and love of God’s creation, art bears a certain likeness to God's activity in what he has created.

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 bears the very stamp of his nature,” in whom “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Heb 1:3; Col 2:9). Genuine sacred art draws man to adoration, to prayer, to the love of God, to reverence for the Creator, to gratitude for the Savior – the Holy One and Sanctifier.

Final Reminder: Bear in mind that the golden rule (Matt 7:12; Mk 12:31) helps one discern, in concrete situations, whether or not it would be appropriate to reveal the truth to someone who asks for it.