United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

Chapter 32. Eighth Commandment: Tell the Truth • 437

• The natural law requires all people to speak and live by the truth in words and deeds. • “The golden rule [‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’] helps one discern, in concrete situations, whether or not it would be appropriate to reveal the truth to someone who asks for it” (CCC, no. 2510). • The right to know the truth is not absolute. Charity and justice gov ern what may be communicated. People’s safety, respect for privacy, and the common good are reasons for being silent or using discreet language about what should not be known. • “No one is bound to reveal the truth to someone who does not have the right to know it” (CCC, no. 2489). • Members of the media have the responsibility to always be at the service of the common good. • In the assembling and publishing of the news, the moral law and the lawful rights and human dignity of men and women should be upheld. • “Arising from talent given by the Creator and from man’s own effort, art is a form of practical wisdom, uniting knowledge and skill, to give form to the truth of reality in a language accessible to sight or hearing. To the extent that it is inspired by truth and love of beings, art bears a certain likeness to God’s activity in what he has created” (CCC, no. 2501). • “An offense committed against the truth requires reparation” (CCC, no. 2509). MEDITATION Truth is more than an idea. It reveals goodness and beauty. This is what moved St. Paul VI to speak of the “inherent attractiveness of Gospel truth.” Love beholds truth as a revelation of beauty. Once it is known and loved, truth is meant to be practiced. St. Ignatius offered this wise advice regarding the need to foster truth: Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another’s statement than to condemn it. But if