What would you do in the following examples:ġ-Ě friend of yours tells you that she is going to buy a birthday present for another friend.

If someone does something bad to you and then tells you to keep it a secret that might be the time to tell an adult or a police officer depending on the situation. The types of secrets we are bound to keep by the 8th commandment are those safeguarding someone's reputation or well being. We are obliged to keep a secret when we have promised to do so, when our office requires it, or when the good of another demands it.Ī person who has sinned by detraction or calumny or who has told a secret he is bound to keep, must repair the harm he has done to his neighbor, as far as he is able. When they have no right to know the truth, or when we have to keep a secret, we may answer evasively, or throw them off the track, but we may never directly make a false statement.Ī person commits the sin of rash judgment when, without sufficient reason, he believes something harmful to another's character.Ī person commits the sin of detraction when, without a good reason, he makes known the hidden faults of another.Ī person commits the sin of calumny or slander when by lying he injures the name of another. When people have a right to know the truth, we must tell them the truth, even though we have to suffer for it. The 8th commandment forbids lies, rash judgment, detraction, calumny, and the telling of secrets we are bound to keep. The 8th commandment tells us to love truth and to show love for others by respecting their reputation.īy the 8th commandment we are commanded to speak the truth in all things, but especially in what concerns the good name and honor of others.

Thou Shalt not Bear False Witness Against Thy NeighborĬhrist said, 'I am.the truth.' He died on the Cross for the truth.

Thou shalt not bear false witness