The following comes from a Feb. 16 story on AsiaNews.com.
Gossip “can kill because it can kill someone’s reputation. Gossiping is such a bad thing. In the beginning, it might seem enjoyable and fun, but it eventually fills our hearts with bitterness and poisons us. Here is the truth: I am convinced that if each one of us avoided gossip, we would eventually become saints,” said the pope before today’s Angelus, as he commented this Sunday’s Gospel, the Sermon on the Mount, “Jesus’ first major act of preaching.”
Before the Marian prayer, Francis said, “Today’s theme is Jesus’ attitude towards Jewish Law. He said, ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill’ (Mt, 5:17). Hence, Jesus does not want to cancel the Commandments the Lord gave through Moses; he wants to take them to their fullest. Fulfilling the Law requires a higher justice, a truer observance, he said right after [the above]. To his disciples, he said, ‘I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven’ (Mt, 5:20).”
Yet, what does fully fulfilling the Law means? What is higher justice? “Jesus gives us the answer through a few examples. Jesus was a practical man. He always spoke through examples to make himself understood. He starts with the fifth commandment from the Decalogue: ‘You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill . . . . But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment (Ibid, 5:21-22). With this, Jesus is reminding us that words too can kill.”
Speaking off the cuff, the pope clarified the concept. “When saying that someone has a serpent’s tongue, what do we mean? That his words can kill. Accordingly, not only we cannot attack someone else’s life but we cannot pour the poison of anger over him and strike him with slander. Nor can we speak ill of him. Now let us talk about gossip. Gossip can kill because it can kill someone’s reputation. Gossiping is such a bad thing. In the beginning, it might seem enjoyable and fun, but it eventually fills our hearts with bitterness and poisons us….”
To read entire story, click here.
Thank you Holy Father for reminding all of us about the power of the spoken word; and, in particular, the negative effects of gossip.
Pope Francis creates cardinals, appeals for peace and against “any discrimination”
VATICAN CITY
Religion News Service
David Gibson | Feb 22, 2014
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis created his first batch of new cardinals on Saturday (Feb. 22) and used the ceremony – which featured the first public appearance by Pope Benedict XVI since his retirement last year – to launch a new appeal for peace amid the violence racking so many countries. In his remarks, Francis focused on the plight of Christians in particular but in an extemporaneous addition to his prepared speech he also called on the church “to fight any discrimination” and “exclusion.”
The Cure’ d’Ars (St. John Vianney) said someplace, “never criticize a priest”. Lest you fret, “what then are we to talk about or report” he also said “God makes saints out of those who frequent the Sacraments”. Keep up the good work, but be careful.
Refreshingly clear!!
Dare we hope for sort of clarity
regarding artificial birth control?
Dear Holy Father,
Gossip kills.
So does SCANDAL.
Most Bishops in the USA do nothing to correct public Scandal by Catholics, which can cause the loss of Souls.
Further the Mortal Sin of Scandal causes confusion and relativism. Scandal makes evangelism more difficult since it appears the Catholic Church has no principles.
Due to this situation, Sacrilege against the Body and Blood of our Lord is rampant.
Please speak through example and do what you can to educate US Bishops regarding the mortal sin of scandal and their duty to correct guilty parties.
God Bless.
AL
CCC: SCANDAL – #2284 – 2287; 2326.
Bible: Mt 18.6; 1 Cor 8:10-13; Mt 7:15; Eph 6:4; Col 3:21.
Code of Canon Law: 915 & 1399.
CCC: ” 2326 Scandal is a grave offense when by deed or omission it deliberately leads others to sin gravely.”
Al,
Thank you for what you just wrote. Also making BAD appointments KILLS THE FAITH OF MANY!
May God have mercy on an amoral Amerika!
Viva Cristo Rey!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
How does one who is gossiped about and slandered to defend oneself if they dont state what others have said about them?
This is wonderful advice regarding gossip, but I wish the Holy Father had begun by clearly defining what gossip actually is. (The casual passing on of tales that are often untrue.) Understanding terms is critical for too often the fear of gossip provides a cover for being silent in the face of sin and scandal. Sin and scandal that are part of the public record.
1gos·sip noun \ˈgä-səp\
: information about the behavior and personal lives of other people
: information about the lives of famous people
: a person who often talks about the private details of other people’s lives
SORRY, ANN MALLEY, YOU CAN’T JUSTIFY IT BY THE OLD ‘UNTRUE’ TACTIC…
Dictionary Guy,
Clarity | Define Clarity at Dictionary.com
dictionary.reference.com/browse/clarity
clearness or lucidity as to perception or understanding; freedom from indistinctness or ambiguity. 2. the state or quality of being clear or transparent to the eye; …
Origin of CLARITY
Middle English clarite, from Latin claritat-, claritas, from clarus
First Known Use: 1616
Related to CLARITY
Synonyms
clearness, limpidity, limpidness, lucency, translucence, translucency, transparency
Antonyms
cloudiness, opacity, opaqueness, turbidity, turbidness
Related Words
brightness, brilliance, effulgence, luminosity, luminousness; definition, resolution, sharpness; apparentness, observability, visibility
Near Antonyms
fogginess, haziness, milkiness, mistiness, murkiness
Sorry, Dictionary Guy, but my paraphrase was of the following off the Google search engine:
“…casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true.”
To further clarify, saying don’t gossip is great, but oh what to do to warn others of known dangers. That is not gossip, but warning. BTW: I love your use of caps :)
GOSSIP
Idle talk, especially about others. The morality of gossip is determined by the degree to which time is wasted in useless conversation, by the failure in justice or charity committed against others, and by the damage done to people’s reputation by those who gossip.
Father John Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictioonary from Catholicculture.org
kanonymous,
The Servant of God Father John Hardon SJ WANTED the laity to gather evidence, speak up and expose error. He did tell us to be careful though because it could cost us our lives. “I know this because they murdered my friend,” Those were his exact words. Based on the hatred of Truth from some who post on this website, one can truly see how correct Father Hardon SJ was in warning the laity to be extremely careful when gathering evidence to expose the rot and the error within the Church. k, Faith without works is dead. Perhaps it would be best if YOU did not ever read CCD stories that are also exposing the apostasy within the Catholic Church. St. Teresa of Avila even said, “With so much error and disobedience around us, it is not enough to just sit with our hands folded.”
You have tried more than once to silence or undermine priests like Father Guarnizo as well as the laity who do speak up and defend Church teaching. You also tried to silence CCD. The newspaper article that described how Cardinal Mahony hid the list of altar boys is causing the Church more scandal but it is not gossip. Jesus did not say, I came to cause peace According to you an oncologist should hide a diagnosis of spreading cancer and pretend that a joyful smile will cure the festering disease.
“It is better for scandals to arise than for the truth to be suppressed”…. Pope Gregory the Great
“We’ve had enough of exhortations to be silent! Cry out with a hundred thousand tongues. I see that the world is rotten because of silence.” – Catherine of Siena
Matthew 10:34 Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth: I came not to send peace, but the sword. 35 For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for me, shall find it. Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible
OK, so, uh…the person who posted the Catholic definition of gossip gets calumniated. Because you don’t like the Catholic definition of gossip? UH…Think it might be guilt?
“Because you don’t like the Catholic definition of gossip?” Think it might be guilt? No anonymous, it’s because YOU and others are trying to silence the faithful and good priests who DO uphold “all” Church teaching.
OK Catherine, we get it. You just don’t do the 8th Commandment. I have never tried to silence faithful and good priests who uphold all Church teaching. The Truth is not in you.
“Calumny goes hand-in-hand with gossip, yet, while we often think of gossip as a venial sin, the Catechism says (para. 2484) calumny is so serious that it can amount to a mortal sin, if the lie that you tell causes grave damage to the person in question:
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.
Once you have told a lie about another person, you are morally obligated to try to repair the damage you have done. As the Catechism notes (para. 2487), this applies even if the person about whom you have told the lie has forgiven you. That reparation may be much more than simply admitting that you have lied. As Father Hardon notes,
[T]he calumniator must try, not only to repair the harm done to another’s good name, but also to make up for any foreseen temporal loss that resulted from the calumny, for example, loss of employment or customers.
Like detraction, calumny is rarely ever a minor sin. Yet the most seemingly innocuous gossip can easily slip into detraction, and, as you delight in the attention of your hearer, even into calumny. It’s no surprise that many of the early Fathers of the Church regarded gossiping and backbiting to be among the most common, and yet most dangerous, of sins.”
AM I wish he’d have been more clear as well. I believe he was probably getting at the practice of delation, which is often a form of gossip. I think he has made other oblique references to delation and his distaste for it.
I believe you are correct, YFC, and yet it is just such obliqueness that makes me feel caught up in an old Frasier episode. Something like Niles and Frasier, lost downtown, debating Freudian versus Jungian interpretations of an old Seattle map.
God bless
There is nothing ambiguous or oblique about it. Don’t talk about people! No excuses! No exceptions! This is traditional Catholicism.
Baltimore Catechism:
We are commanded by the eighth Commandment to speak the truth in all things and to be careful of the honor and reputation of every one.
The eighth Commandment forbids all rash judgments, backbiting, slanders, and lies.
They who have lied about their neighbor and seriously injured his character must repair the injury done as far as they are able, otherwise they will not be forgiven.
I agree with you anonymous, but I think the pope was getting at delation, which is a form of rash judgment, backbiting, slanders, and lies. At least much of the time.
Go ahead and define oblique for us now, Anonymous. Toss in ambiguous, too.
Even so, speaking the truth in all things and being careful of the honor and reputation of everyone is precisely what is so confusing as WE CARE ABOUT THE REPUTATION OF THE CHURCH AND WOULD LIKE THE RIDICULOUS NONSENSE TO STOP. Hence the discussion of the truth, not what we’d like to believe, so as to keep our smiley faces firmly in place.
Thanks :)
Please reread the statement from the Baltimore catechism.
It does not say don’t talk about people.
It states we must tell the TRUTH in all things, and be careful of the reputation of others. (When anyone commits public scandal, they have damaged their own reputation.)
Fully agree with the 8th Commandment forbidding all rash judgments, slanders and lies.
Not talking about anyone allows evil to gain foothold in society – but we must be accurate, and truthful at all times.
See the posts of AL, and of May. – Good job.
The texts from the 8th commandment from the Catechism of Trent and the Catechism of Thomas Aquinas were too long for me to post. They are much more in depth than the Baltimore Catechism. You are correct that the Baltimore Catechism does not say “don’t talk about people.” It does not discuss gossip. What we were taught in Catholic tradition is that gossip is a sin and listening to gossip is a sin. Even if what you say about someone seems good or neutral, the gossip could make its way to an enemy of that person and they could twist it to harm them. If you don’t like being talked about, don’t talk about others.
Matthew 12:36-37 “But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. ”
“Gossip is a disease that infects and poisons the apostolate. It goes against charity, means a waste of energy, takes away peace and destroys one’s union with God.” St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way
“One should not speak idle talk, for it is neither useful to those who listen, nor necessary or permissible with regard to God.” St. Basil the Great, letter to Gregory of Nazianzus
God bless our Pope.
St. Philip Neri pray for us.
FOR THURSDAY:
Prayer to Obtain the Love of our Neighbour.
Glorious Saint, who didst employ thyself wholly in thy neighbour’s good, thinking for all, sympathizing with all, helping all, and who throughout thy whole life didst ever try to secure the salvation of all, nor ever shrink from labour or from burden, keeping for thyself no time or comfort, that thou mightest win all hearts to God; obtain for me, I pray thee, together with the pardon of my sins, charity for my neighbour, that henceforth I may be to him all compassion in his needs, and grace to love every man with pure, unselfish love, as mine own brother, succouring each one, if not with temporal goods, at least with prayers and good advice. And teach me too on every occasion to defend my neighbour’s honour, and never to say to him a hurtful or displeasing word; but ever to maintain, even with my enemies, sweetness of spirit like thine own, whereby thou didst triumph over thy persecutors. Ah, then, my blessed Saint, obtain for me this lovely virtue, which already thou hast obtained for so many of thy clients; that so we may all one day come to praise our God with thee in an eternity of bliss.
Pater. Ave. Gloria.
Abeca yes I agree “God bless our Pope! “
“Cure’ d’Ars (St. John Vianney) said someplace, “Never criticize a priest.'”
Well, the last couple decades, many of us saw increasingly questionable actions that required us to speak out and to critically call to accounting behaviors and “teachings” of some in the clergy, correct? Many of us who did speak up and speak out lost friends, family members and were drummed out of parish associations for being “divisive”, “unreformed”, or “troublesome.” Yet arent we being faulted now for being too hesitant, too “silent”? So which is it?
Also, this is the second time that PF has made an issue about “gossip” , as Ann Malley comments, without defining exactly what he means (but this pontiff nearly never defines terms nor lays out his exact reasoning). I often feel like this is the string that I pull past my cat every day, and every day she goes absolutely crazy over this exciting development. It entices some to go crazy over abstruse “gossipers” as being the new problem in the Church. Are you kidding me?
Why is everybody so fearful of definitions, Steve Phoenix. For all of this attitude of ‘just trust’ I wonder why folks are so fearful when truth comes out.
Confession is good for the soul. And scandals are often the result of continually attempting to hide things – usually the Truth which cannot die.
God bless.
Regarding criticizing a Priest –
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being Priest to me.” – GOD
And Cardinal Roger Mahony is probably not going to have to stand trial for his part in the child abuse scandals, and the people of the LA Diocese have just had to pay out another $17 Million this past month for his sins. We are now over $700 Million. When is Abp Gomez going to send Mahony out to private pasture ?
This is all public information that has been reported in the secular press yesterday.
And it is the truth. Cardinal Mahony admitted his role in the 2012-2013 depositions which have just been made public.
CCC: ” 2477 Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury.
He becomes guilty:
– of RASH JUDGEMENT who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor;
– of DETRACTION who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another’s faults and failings to persons who did not know them;
– of CALUMNEY who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them.”
– – –
Since words can be interpreted in differently from one language to the next, it is most helpful to use the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” for clarity in Church teaching.
The CCC is the same throughout the world, after many years of work.
A Prayer before logging onto the internet
Amighty and eternal God,
who created us in Thy image
and bade us to seek after all that is good, true and beautiful
especially in the divine person of Thy Only-begotten Son, and our Lord Jesus Christ,
grant, we beseech Thee,
that through the intercession of Saint Isidore, Bishop and Doctor,
during our journeys through the internet
we will direct our hands and eyes only
to that which is pleasing to Thee
and treat with charity and patience all
those souls whom we encounter
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Interestingly enough, Cal-Catholic is CHOKE FULL of gossip, much of which is extremely negative…
“The only time people dislike gossip is when you gossip about them.”
Will Rogers
“Gossip is what no one claims to like, but everybody enjoys.”
Joseph Conrad
Do not confuse honest exposure of the TRUTH, with gossip.
Hiding the TRUTH allowed Priest abuse of children by some throughout the world for many years. Not until it was made public did most Bishops stop the practice of moving immoral pedofiles from one parish to the next whereby the practice could continue.
CCC: “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 . . . are both impelled by their nature and bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth.
They are also bound to adhere to the truth once they come to know it and direct their whole lives in accordance with the demands of truth .”
CCC: ” 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.”
Rule 1: Avoiding gossip
Definition of gossip:
Dictionary – a rumor, chatty talk
Bible – one who reveals secrets, one who goes about as a talebearer or scandal-monger.
A gossiper is a person who has privileged information about people and proceeds to reveal that information to those who have no business knowing it.
Gossip is distinguished from “sharing” information in two ways:
1.Intent. Gossipers often have the goal of building themselves up by making others look bad and exalting themselves as some kind of bearers of knowledge.
2.The type of information shared. Gossipers speak of the faults and failings of others, or reveal potentially embarrassing or shameful details regarding the lives of others without their knowledge or approval. Even if they mean no harm, it is still gossip.
A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much.
— Proverbs 20:19
In Romans 1 you find gossip in a list of sins and wickedness. The chapter ends saying that even when we know it’s wrong we do it anyway and worse yet we encourage other to do it too.
Imitation of Christ, chapter 10
Avoiding Idle Talk
SHUN the gossip of men as much as possible, for discussion of worldly affairs, even though sincere, is a great distraction inasmuch as we are quickly ensnared and captivated by vanity.
Many a time I wish that I had held my peace and had not associated with men. Why, indeed, do we converse and gossip among ourselves when we so seldom part without a troubled conscience? We do so because we seek comfort from one another’s conversation and wish to ease the mind wearied by diverse thoughts. Hence, we talk and think quite fondly of things we like very much or of things we dislike intensely. But, sad to say, we often talk vainly and to no purpose; for this external pleasure effectively bars inward and divine consolation.
Therefore we must watch and pray lest time pass idly.
When the right and opportune moment comes for speaking, say something that will edify.
Bad habits and indifference to spiritual progress do much to remove the guard from the tongue. Devout conversation on spiritual matters, on the contrary, is a great aid to spiritual progress, especially when persons of the same mind and spirit associate together in God.
As the leader of the annual demonstrators at the REC, I can give first hand witness account on how the misuse of these teachings are used to try to silent those who are bringing to light evils within the Church. I have often been condemned to Hell by the followers of the “Judge not lest ye be judged” church. Everything we pass out must be documentable or I won’t let it be printed. Enough said.
May God have mercy on an amoral Amerika!
Viva Cristo Rey!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
I could see that happening. Everybody’s a Christian until you tick ’em off.
Kenneth, tell me why I should not attend REC and why my parish should not send 20-30 people each year. What do they teach that is against the teachings of the Church? Which speakers are heretics? How is the liturgy not proper? What, specifically, is wrong with the REC? Why don’t the 30,000 people who attend not agree with you? Why does the Archbishop let it go on if it is teaching false doctrine?
KMF, Documentation is not needed if you use “The Golden Rule” and adhere to it as Jesus proclaimed it. Enough said.
Idle talk is that which strays from the topic of the article meant to be discussed.
Pride is the “I”, “I”, “I”. Learn to get back to the true topic at hand.
If we post on the internet we must do so to spread the TRUTH of the FAITH – as stated in the Bible and the CCC.
Teaching others the TRUTH is not gossip. Correcting public scandal is not gossip, but educating others.
Admonishing sinners, and Instructing the Uninformed are two of the Spiritual Works of Mercy.
HOSEA 4:6 – ” My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me.”
Proverbs 20:19
“He who goes about gossiping reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with one who speaks foolishly.”
What does the Bible teach about controlling our tongues so that we do not speak evil against others? What are slander, gossip, rumors, talebearing, and backbiting? How important are truth, motives, and proper attitudes in our speech? Does Bible teaching about meddling and slander mean we must not rebuke people or tell them they need to repent of sin or error? How pure is your speech?
“How important are truth, motives, and proper attitudes in our speech? ” = They are very important. When the teachings of the Catholic Church are not taught, safeguarded and defended then it is not surprising that the sex abuse scandals took place. May God bless the clergy and the laity who were not intimidated into silence. The victims who spoke up, the clergy who spoke up and the laity who spoke up were not gossiping when they whistle blew on those who consistently ignored Church teaching and those who harmed children. When the laity sees that the teachings of the Catholic Church are still not guarded and defended then it is important that the proper attitude and motive be the guarding of the faith and the guarding of our children.
Taken from Bishop Accountability.org
US Church Insiders Who Have Blown the Whistle on Alleged Child Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up
“The burden of disclosing sexual abuse by Catholic clerics and its cover-up by religious leaders has fallen almost completely on victims. Most church insiders who have witnessed misconduct have chosen not to report it. Fortunately, there have been remarkable exceptions. BishopAccountability.org is pleased to present the first database of church whistleblowers – priests, men and women religious, and other church employees and volunteers who reported colleagues to church or civil authorities and fought their superiors’ concealment of abuse.
Common sense is common sense and common decency too. We know all this. Anonymous has not said anything wrong either. Its common sense! Period! Just like its common sense to speak up in order to protect victims too. Our Pope was speaking of the real evil of gossip especially against the innocent. I know everyone wants to add their own clarification, to which I’m sure our Holy Pope would agree too as well. It is charity to express concern when there is real concern.