Who Is the Father of Lies?

There is nothing more unpleasant than being face to face with a liar.

In recent years we Venezuelans have watched people in the government and the “well-connected” (or corrupt), with no ethics whatsoever, manipulate information so blatantly that anyone can tell immediately that they are lying.

And they are not only liars: they convey such hatred that it seems we are dealing with someone who is deeply sick.

Last week, on one of those government programs devoted to insulting and slandering others, one of our exemplary bishops was attacked once again.

I don’t understand what hatred they have against our Catholic Church, when it enjoys very high credibility among Venezuelans and when it is the Catholic Church that is standing by our people in the immense needs we Venezuelans are suffering amid rampant shortages, inflation, crime and so on.

Looking into the subject of lying in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I found some very interesting things that we can learn a great deal from, and that may give pause both to those whose job is lying and to those who watch or listen to programs whose hallmark is sowing hatred and defaming and insulting anyone who raises their voice against the corruption, abuses and injustices being committed in our country.

Three kinds of lies are traditionally distinguished: the “jocular” lie, told as a joke; the “officious” lie, better known as a “white lie,” told to benefit oneself or someone else (the typical example being “tell them I’m not here”); and the “harmful” lie, told in order to hurt someone.

The Catechism teaches, in substance, that because lying violates the virtue of truthfulness, it is a real act of violence against others: it attacks their ability to know, which every judgment and decision depends on. And it is harmful to society as a whole, because it undermines trust among people and tears the fabric of social relationships (CCC 2486).

Among the evils lying can cause: it is a direct offense against the truth; it leads into error the person who hears it, who has a right not to be deceived; it damages the very foundation of human communication; it feeds vanity and pride (and sometimes springs from them); and the liar loses his reputation and good name.

These and other evils explain why, while the source of truth is found in God, lying is attributed to the devil. Jesus Christ himself says that the devil has no truth in him, that when he lies he speaks from his own nature, “for he is a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44). Every lie is intrinsically wrong and must never be told, but some are more serious than others.

A jocular or white lie is a venial sin, while a harmful lie is a mortal sin when it gravely wounds charity and justice. The Catechism explains that how serious a lie is depends on the nature of the truth it distorts, the circumstances, the intentions of the one who tells it, and the harm suffered by those it affects (CCC 2484).

When a lie damages someone’s good name, there is an obligation to repair the harm publicly, especially in the case of slander. It is not enough to repent or even to ask forgiveness; the wrong must be repaired. If the harm was public, the reparation must be public too.

The Catechism teaches that every offense against justice and truth carries a duty of reparation, even if the person responsible has been forgiven, and that this duty also covers offenses against the reputation of others and binds in conscience (CCC 2487).

We Venezuelans are tired of so many lies, so much slander and so much disrespect toward those who denounce the corrupt and the injustices, and very especially toward our Church leaders. We will keep praying hard that the Truth may shine in Venezuela, that Justice may be done in our homeland, and that we may live in Peace, the Peace that only Christ can give us.