In our time, the weight given to accusations of many sorts, and the instantaneity of transmission of accusations of every sort, have multiplied the impact of false accusation to people in every walk of life. The burden is for all who are falsely accused that it is literally and logically impossible to prove a negative, that is, to demonstrate beyond doubt that something does not exist or did not occur. Even when the accusation later be found unsupported, it cannot ever be demonstrated to be false, and therefore can never be expunged from memory or opinion. This crushing and inescapable burden does grave damage not only to their lives, but to their communities and relations as people pull away from one another in opprobrium and suspicion.
The accusations that fly are not limited to actions that are objectively wrong and harmful, but include now also dispositions that are subjective in nature, such as being ‘offensive’ or ‘hurtful’, based on the supposition that if someone is hurt even in feelings, there must one who is guilty of inflicting the hurt. These accusations are often accompanied by an assertion of motivation, such ‘racism,’ ‘hate,’ ‘sexism,’ or even just ‘insensitivity,’ all of which are now treated as grave crimes despite the pure impossibility of demonstrating their nonexistence.
The recklessness with which these accusations are made, and the readiness with which they are accepted, is a sign of sickness in our culture and our communities. It is difficult, if not impossible, to remain merely a spectator in what has become a national pastime akin to blood sport. We will be drawn into this mob-driven mutually assured destruction unless we cling, conscientiously and consistently, to the life-giving commandments given us by God.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Ex 20:16) The eighth commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with others. This moral prescription flows from the vocation of the holy people to bear witness to their God who is the truth and wills the truth. Offenses against the truth … are fundamental infidelities to God and, in this sense, they undermine the foundations of the covenant. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2464)
As simple as that seems, because it is so simply stated, it requires both moral instruction and constant vigilance to avoid doing what may seem harmless but in fact does the very damage described by the commandment:
Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury. He becomes guilty: of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor; of detraction who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another's faults and failings to persons who did not know them; of calumny who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them. (CCC 2477)
To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way: Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another's statement than to condemn it. (CCC 2478)
Common as it has become in our day, the burden of false accusation is no mere hypothetical, either to me or to many of my friends in the Church. When the accusation remains private, it still does violence. When the accusation is comparatively minor and not life-ending, it is still soul-crushing as by its very nature there is no escape. When the accusation is accepted and believed, that acceptance can never be erased. At the very least, one is left wondering, how could anyone who knows me believe that I could do such a thing?
Living as we do in a time and place where calumny is the chief product of one of our largest industries, and detraction an expected element of almost every conversation, rash judgement is nearly impossible to avoid, but only nearly. For with God, nothing will be impossible. (Lk 1:37)
Offenses against the truth … are fundamental infidelities to God and, in this sense, they undermine the foundations of the covenant. That means, they make our lives hell. “The accuser” is a name given to the Devil himself, and we all long for the day when we hear a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. (Rev 12:10) The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let him who hears say, "Come." He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Rev. 22:17, 20)
Monsignor Smith
