I didn't have time to incorporate this into a segment in Episode 51 of Fire Branded. Maybe I'll work this into a Firebrand Brief (short podcast) some time. For now, here's what I intended to offer, but didn't have time for.
This is my catechesis on the harm of lies and deception—particularly in media (Catholic or secular), based on three Church Fathers: Sts. Augustin, John Chrysostom, and Basil the Great. These aren't quotes directly from those Fathers, but teaching rooted in what they have said, which I'll include here, too.
Full Episode
TJ Haines
St. Augustine – On the gravity of false speech:
This is something I did include in yesterday's show. Augustine warns that a lie is inherently a sin against God, because truth itself is grounded in God, and Truth is God's very nature. Augustine notes that every lie corrupts the soul and undermines charity, even if it seems to serve a “good” purpose. This principle can be applied to reporting that distorts facts for influence or outrage.
St. Augustine says the lying mouth kills the soul. So Catholic media cannot defend the truth by poisoning it with deception.
Catechesis focus: Lying is a sin against God, corrupts the soul, cannot be justified by good intent.
Direct quotes:
- “The mouth which lies kills not the body but the soul.”
— On Lying (De Mendacio), ch. 6 (New Advent) - “Since then by lying eternal life is lost, never for any man's temporal life must a lie be told.”
— On Lying, ch. 6 (New Advent) - “No man is said to lie unless he knowingly asserts what is false, in order to deceive someone.”
— On Lying, ch. 1 (Logic Museum) - “To me, however, it seems certain that every deception is a sin.”
— Enchiridion, ch. 18
St. John Chrysostom — On using words responsibly
St. John Chrysostom warns that fair-sounding words can deceive simple hearts. That is exactly the danger of outrage journalism: facts arranged to manipulate, not illuminate.
Catechesis focus: Speech should edify, not manipulate or flatter; rhetoric that misleads is morally wrong.
Direct quotes:
- “For it is by ‘fair speeches’ that they deceive the hearts of the simple.”
— Homily 32 on Romans (New Advent) - “Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth… but such as is good for edifying, that it may give grace to the hearers.”
— Homily 10 on Philippians, quoting Ephesians 4:29 (New Advent) - “That in sincerity, having no deceitful thing, no hypocrisy, no dissimulation, no flattery, we may speak according to truth.”
— Homily 3 on Second Corinthians (New Advent)
St. Basil the Great — On justice and integrity in public life
St. Basil says even a simple yes or no can carry either truth or a lie. Journalism is not innocent just because it uses facts; the question is whether it bears witness to reality by telling the truth with those fact (how they tell the story).
Catechesis focus: Words and actions must reflect reality; misrepresentation harms both others and the speaker.
Direct quotes:
- “Yea and Nay are but two syllables, yet there is often involved… Truth… [or] a Lie.”
— On the Holy Spirit, ch. 27 (New Advent) - “You heartily welcome all you hear without any enquiry. Not one of you distinguishes between lies and truth.”
— Letter 204 (New Advent) - “He who corrupts speech against his neighbor commits a sin not only against men but also against God Himself, for justice requires that one bear witness to truth.”
— On the Duties of the Christian, Epistle 214 (New Advent)
Get the Full episode
TJ Haines
Member discussion