MEDJUGORJE UPDATE: THE
LIE
..lying in itself is a
vice opposed to truth..it is a hindrance to communication and charity in that
it subverts or privates a person’s right to know and in this way it is also
opposed to the virtue of justice...if a person does not have the knowledge they
need to act rightly then this gravely subverts the natural order and leads to
chaos...
..defined lying can be
said to be any statement that is made which is in variance to the mind... and
so a person has the intention to say what is false or in opposition to the
construction or idea of reason as it rests in their mind...this is where we get
the word mendacity from which means to be in opposition of the mind....indeed
there are different degrees of lie and culpability..indeed if someone says what
is false without the intention to deceive then they cannot be formally guilty
of the lie since the guilt lies in sloth or complacency and ignorance however
if the will is to deceive then the guilt appears and if voluntary falls within
the phylum of a lie formal...
...according to the
catholic encyclopedia there are three classifications of lies..officious,
jocose, & injurious...
..thomas Aquinas in
his summa theological has further broken down the classes of lies to include
habitual (those who lie for the lust of lying)...
..the officious lie is
intended to either help someone or to save them from danger..the jocose lie is
intended in jest or as a form of entertainment..and the mischievous or
injurious lie contains other subclassifications but is intended to harm in its
worse sense however other senses follow such as the injurious lie which profits
no one however injures some..and this is the sort of lie we have seen at the
phenomenon in MEDJUGORJE where at the beginning of the apparitions the children
were asked what they were doing on the mountain and they replied watching sheep
but later recanted and admitted to smoking..this mischievous lie they told the
bishop himself..and so this type of lie although seemingly officious and not
harming anyone indeed has harmed many since when the phenomenon at MEDJUGORJE is
deemed false then many would have saved the price of admission to this
spiritual circus if they had known at the outset that behind the apparitions
were a troupe of devious youngsters who mischievously lied to an ambassador of
Christ...indeed depending upon the maturity of the children’s faculties at the
time maybe their culpability could be diminished although lying to a high
ranking prelate is quite a grave matter especially about the Virgin Mary....setting
the stage for scandal among the faithful and so we have the butterfly
effect...and so the saying..
One lie begets another. Once committed, the liar has to go on
in his
course of lying; it is the penalty of
the liar’s transgression
-F.
Jacox
..indeed owing to the
pastoral directives the sacramental outpouring of grace has benefitted many
however the deception which underlies the whole affair is hard to ignore yet it
is kept hidden from the scores of innocent faithful who travel to this place...
As Thomas Aquinas says
about the penalty of lying...
A lie may be in itself contrary to charity by reason of its false signification. For if this be about divine things, it is contrary to the charity of God, whose truth one hides or corrupts by such a lie; so that a lie of this kind is opposed not only to the virtue of charity, but also to the virtues of faith and religion: wherefore it is a most grievous and a mortal sin. If, however, the false signification be about something the knowledge of which affects a man's good, for instance if it pertain to the perfection of science or to moral conduct, a lie of this description inflicts an injury on one's neighbor, since it causes him to have a false opinion, wherefore it is contrary to charity, as regards the love of our neighbor, and consequently is a mortal sin. On the other hand, if the false opinion engendered by the lie be about some matter the knowledge of which is of no consequence, then the lie in question does no harm to one's neighbor; for instance, if a person be deceived as to some contingent particulars that do not concern him. Wherefore a lie of this kind, considered in itself, is not a mortal sin
and from the Catholic Encyclopedia...
But if the common teaching of Catholic theology on this point be admitted, and we grant that lying is always wrong, it follows that we are never justified in telling a lie, for we may not do evil that good may come: the end does not justify the means......St. Augustine held that the naked truth must be told whatever the consequences may be. He directs that in difficult cases silence should be observed if possible...
..indeed there are special cases such as the use of mental reservations may be apt however the Church does not promote the utility of such machinations excepting those which are lawful....
..so we see at MEDJUGORJE there have been instances where a false signification has been made for instance regarding the great sign that should happen (a shrine erected in the 1980’s) which never did occur and this type of lie which had as its subject matter divine things or acts of God is more grave and scandalous as well since it is made in a public arena all the more so we should pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who have participated in this sordid affair so that reparation forgiveness and unity might take place and as one we may move forward as the Church militant conquering the errors of modernism and consequentialism.....amen...
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