Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

We Must Never, Ever Tell a Lie

To tell a lie is always evil and sinful.  No end ever justifies a sinful means.  Even if we were to suppose that a person had the very highest of all motives – which is to promote the glory of God – that would still never justify a lie.

Here is the very striking way in which St. Thomas Aquinas, greatest Doctor of the Catholic Church, teaches this truth:

A lie must be shunned to such an extent that, even if it seemed that the lie would increase the glory of God, we should still not tell a lie.[1]

Let us consider an example:  Suppose a pagan were on his deathbed with only minutes to live.  Suppose also that we happen to know that he would convert to the Catholic Faith and agree to baptism if we were to tell him a small (so-called) “harmless” lie, such as that the dog he loved would go to heaven.  We can never justify even such a (so-called) “white” lie even to save his soul.