September 11, 2005: Detraction & Calumny

+THE TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME


With Chief Justice Rehnquist’s death last week, the Supreme Court is very much in the news. There are now two vacancies in the Court. The President gets to make his appointments, but the Senate has to approve them. This isn’t always an easy process, given the way that politics work. No doubt, we will see a lot of questions tossed around—and probably some mud-slinging, too.

But don’t think this kind of stuff is new. It’s as old as politics itself.

One day, soon after Abraham Lincoln took office as president, a delegation from California came to the White House to lodge a formal protest against a certain political appointment that Lincoln had made. The group handed the president a piece of paper which contained many accusations against the public and private character of Senator Edward Baker of Oregon, an old and very dear friend of Lincoln’s. The president read the paper thoughtfully and carefully. Then he turned to the little group and asked with dignity, “Is this paper mine?”

They said it was. Then Lincoln asked, “May I do with it what I please?”

“Yes, of course, Mr. President,” they answered.

Slowly and deliberately, Mr. Lincoln bent down to the fireplace behind him, laid the paper on the burning coals where it soon vanished in smoke, and turned to the group and said, “Good day, gentlemen.”

And that is how every Christian should deal with accusations and gossip made against another person’s character: throw the charges into the fire.

The Eighth Commandment teaches, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” In essence, this means that we are forbidden from intentionally harming another person’s reputation. Tearing down a person’s character is frequently the subject of gossip and telling secrets.

Two of the worst sins against the Eighth Commandment are detraction and calumny. Unfortunately, those are not words that we hear very often.

Detraction means that we reveal the hidden faults of others when we really have no reason to do so. If you say to me, “That man you were just talking to sure seems nice!”—and if I answer, “Well, I work with him. He was fired from his last job for stealing money from the company”—then I have committed the sin of detraction. What possible purpose could I have for saying such a thing? In fact, if my intention was to harm his good name for some reason, we would call it slander—a sin even worse than detraction alone.

There are lots of different ways that we can commit detraction. It can be a direct comment, like my example. Or, it could be by silence—like if someone says, “He’s not a thief, is he?” and I don’t answer. Or, it could be by little hints. For instance, if someone asks the same question—“He’s not a thief, is he?”—and I say, “Well, let’s just say that I wouldn’t ask him to hold my wallet for me.”

We can sin by detraction by sharing uncharitable news, even though it’s true… or by hinting or suggesting that there are certain things that you really don’t know about a particular person… or by trying to deflect the praise being given to someone: “Oh, didn’t Mary do a great job painting this room!” “Yeah, well, why don’t you ask her where she got the paint from.”

Detraction is a sin against charity because it shows hatred for our neighbor who we’re supposed to love. It exposes the person to contempt and ridicule. It takes away from their esteem. It may cause them pain and embarrassment if they hear it or hear about it.

It’s also unjust, because it robs your neighbor of the respect that others have for them—maybe even causing a loss of friends or business.

And it is totally the opposite of the example of Christ who didn’t betray anyone… not even the one who was to betray him.

The other sin I mentioned—calumny—is like detraction except for the fact that the accusations aren’t true. So this in effect adds the sin of lying on top of harming a person’s good name. It is a serious sin against truth, charity, justice and religion. It’s a cowardly sin, too, since obviously the person doesn’t have a chance to defend themselves.

The lesson in the gospel today reminds us that we all expect the Lord to forgive our sins, just as the king forgave his servant. But when we gossip and tell stories about people—and even when we listen to it—we are guilty of detraction or calumny. Christ tells us that only by showing mercy to others… only by burning up the faults of others as President Lincoln did… can we expect God’s merciful forgiveness.

Lots of times, our nasty comments slip out of our mouths as if by habit. I heard a priest once tell a very powerful story. About 20 years ago, he and a friend were walking along when the name of a mutual friend came up in their conversation. The priest said something unkind about the person. It was sarcastic. It was cynical. It was a put-down. His friend stopped, turned and faced the priest until they were very close and eye-to-eye. With deep, slow words, the man said, “A man who says he loves God would not say a thing like that about a friend.”

The priest said that his friend could have put a knife into his ribs and the pain would not have been any less. But you know something? He said there have been ten thousand times in the last 20 years that he has been saved from making a jerk of himself. Whenever he’s been tempted to say something unkind about a brother or sister, he remembers his friend saying, “A man who says he loves God would not speak in such a way about a friend.”

What a great lesson for all of us.

May our loving and gentle God touch our hearts and our tongues and our ears and help us to love each other as he does. Amen.

Today’s Readings:
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 27: 30–28: 7
Psalm 103
Romans 14: 7–9
Matthew 18: 21–35