(Deut 5, 20) You shall not bear dishonest witness
[20] You shall not bear dishonest witness against your neighbor.
(CCC 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 (Cf. 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 (Cf. Prov 18:5). They gravely compromise the exercise of justice and the fairness of judicial decisions. (CCC 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. Offenses against the truth express by word or deed a refusal to commit oneself to moral uprightness: they are fundamental infidelities to God and, in this sense, they undermine the foundations of the covenant.
No comments:
Post a Comment