Moral Case: I lied to my boyfriend when he asked me if I liked his new jacket. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Didn’t I do the right thing?
Catholic Moral Teaching:
CCC 2482 –
“A lie consists in speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving.” The Lord denounces lying as the work of the devil: “You are of your father the devil, . . . there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
CCC 2484 –
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.