Dec

19

Catholics Can Lie Under Oath?

[From The J-Walk Blog]

Catholic news: Lawyers Want to Question Vatican Official.

Attorneys for alleged victims of sex abuse asked a federal judge Friday to let them question a top-ranking Vatican official about a church doctrine that might permit him to lie under oath.

Archbishop William Levada, the San Francisco prelate who earlier this year became the Vatican’s guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy, has agreed to be questioned during a Jan. 9 deposition about his tenure as archbishop of Portland from 1986 to 1995.

Attorneys for the victims want to ask Levada whether he would rely on the so-called doctrine of “mental reservation” when answering questions at the deposition in San Francisco.

The Catholic church teaches it is a sin to lie, but the doctrine of mental reservation allows for circumstances when it may be better to avoid the truth to serve a higher purpose.

Kelly Clark, an attorney for several victims, said the deposition could put Levada in the position of balancing his answers between the requirements of federal law and his moral obligations under church doctrine.

More on “Mental Reservation” from the Catholic Encyclopedia.

According to the common Catholic teaching it is never allowable to tell a lie, not even to save human life. A lie is something intrinsically evil, and as evil may not be done that good may come of it, we are never allowed to tell a lie. However, we are also under an obligation to keep secrets faithfully, and sometimes the easiest way of fulfilling that duty is to say what is false, or to tell a lie.

And, of course, the Catholic Church has lots of secrets.

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