Let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your 'no' 'no', anything more is from the evil one. - Mt. 5:37
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Today's Gospel is providential in so far as it speaks to the huge ethical debate going on regarding Live Action President Lila Rose and the group's undercover activities to expose Planned Parenthood corruption and alleged cooperation in illegal activity. All the moral theologians and ethicists are arguing about something many pro-life people would probably prefer to turn a deaf ear to - if not condone. However, it is an important discussion, and one that at least one major news source took notice of. (CBS)
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The brouhaha centers around the fact that in an effort to discredit an 'evil' organization, the 'good guys' have resorted to the evil of lying. Perhaps no longer a big deal in contemporary culture where the flip expression, "I lied, so sue me!" is frequently used to defend self-interest. Nevertheless, Catholic moral teaching is clear on the subject; the Catechism "unequivocally says that lying is 'the most direct offense against the truth.' It goes on to state that 'by its very nature, lying is to be condemned.'"
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Planned Parenthood, an organization based on lies, assists in killing babies - a far greater evil than lying to save a life. From what I understand, John Chrysostom and John Cassian defended the use of lying to save an innocent person. Lila Rose defends the group's tactics pointing to the fact some Christians used similar deceits to save Jews in WWII, as did undercover priests under Communist regimes. Likewise, priests and religious during the civil strife in Spain and Mexico in the early 20th century used undercover methods and false identities, as did those priests ministering to Catholics during the English persecution under Elizabeth I.
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What I find most provocative about this discussion is the renewed focus it poses upon lying in our culture. We live in a culture of lies and cover-up, where just about everything is 'marketed', hyped and manipulated in order to deceive. It's actually pretty amazing this debate has even become news.
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Links:
Pro-life group's video stings spark ethical debate. CNA/EWTN News (for quotes and original news source for this post)
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Additional good commentary:
Building a Culture of Lie: The exorcist and Lila Rose, by Dawn Eden and William Doino Jr.
